JJ Valaya takes inspiration from nautch girls for IBFW finale

New Delhi: Amid fun, sensuality and design elements focusing on Indian and Moroccan culture, ace fashion designer J J Valaya and his show stopper Shraddha Kapoor brought the curtains down on the sixth edition of the India Bridal Fashion Week (IBFW) here.Valaya turned his `muse` Shraddha into a nautch girl, who sashayed down the ramp in a yellow saree highlighting the sensuality and artistic skills of these trained performers. "Today I got my perfect muse in form of Shraddha and I feel she is perfect for my collection. Nautch girls have always fascinated me.. They were intellectual, but almost like the Geishas of India. It was a beautiful period of India and very important. "So, I wanted to do something royal around it, and combined it with a dramatically opposite culture like in Morocco," Valaya told reporters after the grand show. Visibly nervous Shraddha, who was also the face of this edition of IBFW, said she felt like a coy bride when she walked the ramp in a saree inspired by Moroccan motifs and Indian intricate techniques including gota and zardozi. "It`s a proud moment to walk for the most iconic designers of our industry. I felt like a shy bride almost when I was walking the ramp," she said. The jam-packed show area, which was decorated like a palace of medieval era, also had last year`s grand finale designer Rohit Bal and actor Rahul Dev cheering for Valaya and his crisp couture collection. The couture line titled as `The Nautch of Fez` was a combination of Indian and Moroccan culture which were infused with the subtle elements of the Indian nautch girls of the past who contributed a lot to preserve our rich heritage of dance, music and storytelling. Valaya travelled the Moroccan timeline through his collection and divided it into six parts -- the Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, Spanish, Turkish and Ottoman. The motifs on the outfit also spoke about the design sensibilities of these cultures be it the purple dye technique of Phoenecia, the mosaics patchwork of Rome, geometric patterns of Arab or the famous Fez embroidery of Spain. The collection which included lehengas, anarkalis, sarees and shararas was created using crepe, dupion, georgette and fine velvet. The men`s wardrobe had bandhgalas, sherwanis and coats teamed with tight pants and pyjamas.