“ My dad had this black velvet Rohit Bal jacket , sort of like a blazer, in his closet that I have stolen and kept with me, waiting for the right occasion”, recounts Ananya Panday as she walked for Rohit Bal's magnum opus finale at the Lakmé Fashion Week earlier this October. Panday's connection with the late designer dovetails with a love for rummaging through her parents' wardrobes, finding rare pieces ranging anywhere from old vintage T-shirts to androgynous fits and archival ones. For her sister's wedding, Ananya Panday played the role of an understated yet striking wedding guest turning to her mum's wardrobe.
Like all fashion girls hoping to find a sartorial respite from overdone lehengas scourging through bed boxes and hidden closets, Panday found a quintessentially 90s-coded kurta churidar set. The suit featured a keyhole neckline , racerback detailing, and halter sleeves showing just the right amount of skin envisioned in a Firozi hue easily spotted across different 90s movies starring Kareena Kapoor, Rani Mukherji, Karisma Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai and the likes. Strappy suits styled with cigarette pants, subtle embellishments, and voluminous blowouts formed the fashion mandate of that time, something Panday has served with her iteration.
Panday let the suit laden with gota and kundan work take over the precedent, styling it most minimally with her natural hair, fuss-free round earrings, and tinted glam. While the suit didn't necessarily resound conventional Bal mo.
