New Delhi, July 14: Traditional Indian wedding finery, with its vibrant colours and rich embroidery, has become the latest favourite of the leading designers of the country with bridal trousseau becoming the new face of the industry. "If there is haute couture or high fashion in this country, it is undoubtedly the trousseau of the Indian bride - sarees, lehngas and salwar suits", says prominent designer J J Valaya, whose couture label by the same name is known for deriving from the traditional textiles and crafts. "The big Indian wedding rules and we are only just waking up to the potential of the huge bridal wear market in the country," says Valaya. Calling it the one `recession-proof' part of the fashion industry, Divya Gurwara, whose brain child the annual `Bridal Asia' event is, says trousseau-shopping has undergone a sea change in recent years and trends and fashion are now more of priority than tradition.
Although unable to provide exact figures as to what the bridal wear market is worth, Gurwara says one can safely call it a multi-billion industry.

Her Bridal Asia show-cum-sale of bridal wear and accessories, a high-profile `by invitation only' event, which started in 1999 with 40 participants and 10,000 visitors here, has grown into a major event in the fashion calendar of the country, attracting over 80 participants and over 40,000 visitors last year.