Challenging India’s submission to red on the big day, Anavila Misra turns to fondant pastels and post-bling aesthetic to present her Ophelia-esque bride
Shot at Rajasthan’s Bundi Fort, the Aamod campaign marks Anavila Misra’s foray into bridal and occasion wear. Celebrating soft pastels and hand-crafted appliqué, the garments are presented against red diaphanous backdrop screens
Insistent on retaining her sense of self, Anavila Misra has held her own ever since 2011 when she would sell handwoven linen sarees at Mumbai’s Kala Ghoda Festival. So, when she begins this interview with, “After a lot of deliberation…”, we smile as she speaks of going “out of comfort zone” with a foray into bridal and occasion wear. This is a debut of sorts after being around in the business for 12 years.
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Misra added her own personality when she introduced an unorthodox twist on saree-blouse pairing in linen, and this is what made her brand unique. “But after a decade, they [linen sarees] are no longer exclusively ours. Every other designer and artisan sells linen weaves with minor colour changes or masking rayon for linen.” This challenge is every day in the mid-range market where Misra’s brand is positioned.
This is what made her deliberate on how she could create a niche product that was difficult to copy and carries her signature. This introspection coincided with a small batch of sarees she created for a trunk show in May 2023. “We replaced the sequins and embroidery with appliqué, weaving a scene of wild deers, birds and trees. They sold out almost instantly, with requests for more.”
Research led to the revelation that for the Indian bride, the choices available were the Kanjeevaram, the Banarasi brocade or yet another iteration of the red lehenga.
AnaviLa Misra
Remembering her own experience with bridal wear when she got married in 2004, she says: “We are so conditioned to follow the right codes, including wearing red, that we forget to question why. I had said no to red and chose a shade of carrot [for my lehenga],” she laughs ironically. “After you hit 40, you reevaluate your choices and do things with profound awareness. For example, I couldn’t walk [in the lehenga] because it was so heavy. Isn’t it funny that everyone else enjoys your special day while you are a sitting duck?”
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Two of Misra’s trademarks—inventiveness with linen and affinity for pastel hues— continue to feature in this new collection of sarees, kaftans, lehengas (a first for the designer) and salwar-kameez sets. There is also an addition of handwoven zari and satin.
Misra says that women artisans in the villages of Dumka in Jharkhand, and Mahuana in Punjab, worked on the appliqué that depicts lush vegetation and peacocks found in the frescoes of Bundi, Rajasthan, where Rudyard Kipling penned chapters of the classic, Kim. “We’ve worked on this collection for the last three months, and the anticipation I feel to see market reaction is akin to the excitement [a bride feels] on the big day!”
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