Even though the designer earlier said he did not encourage Bollywood's presence on the ramp, Varma was all praise for Pernia, whom he knows for 15 years now.
Dancing to the tunes of her film Jaanisaar, actress Pernia Qureshi, looking gorgeous in a dark blue anarkali, enticed the fashion lovers as she turned showstopper for ace designer Suneet Varma's show to put the curtains down at the BMW India Bridal Fashion Week.
The model-turned-actress, who is making her Bollywood debut with director Muzaffar Ali's period-love story, opened the show with her dance performance and later walked the ramp last night.
"I was happy to dance for him. I love dancing so it wasn't a tedious work. He does the combination of making something exquisite and high end but still make it flowing and easy to wear. I had a fabulous time. Even the crowd was enjoying. I was wearing a beautiful anarkali. I am honoured to be a part of the show," she told reporters.
She sauntered down the ramp, looking elegant and oozing grace with both her performance and the outfit. Even though the designer earlier said he did not encourage Bollywood's presence on the ramp, Varma was all praise for Pernia, whom he knows for 15 years now.
The designer said he was waiting for an opportunity like this to showcase her talent. "I know about her ability. I have known her as a dancer since 15 years. I had always wondered if somehow I could weave her talent and dance into my show. And this was the perfect opportunity."
Titled "Couture- A Love Story", Varma's collection was based on the art and literature of Persia and the poetry of Omar Khayyam, who was hailed as one of the greatest Persian poets. Rather than taking inspiration from Perisan influences during the Mughal Empire, the designer looked at its culture that formed a part of the Ottoman Empire (Turkish Empire).
The famous Topkapi palace of Turkey, which was the one of the major residency of the Ottoman sultans, was recreated on the stage as models sashayed down the ramp. "It's my first finale in 15 years. I haven't done any finale for any fashion week in many years. When you do a finale at an event like this, not only me but everybody puts their energy together," Varma said.
The designer, who took six months to prepare his clothing line, divided his collection in to three segments, 'Arzu' (Desire) , 'Aziz' (Precious) and 'Ahibba' (Beloved). The three parts had different silhouettes, colour palette and fabrics.
Persian blues with a hint of beige, ivory and rose comprised 'Arzu', which had long and languid silhouettes. The embroideries were in resham thread and zari, in elaborate artworks inspired by the tapestries from the palace.
The floor length coats were worn with tiered skirts in soft nets, straight long tunic with sharara pants and short crop jackets in velvet with zardozi borders, the lehenga sarees with long sleeved blouses and the 30 kali floor length anarkalis with soft velvet stoles. Collared jackets worn over chiffon tunics and ombre dyed layered skirts.
The colour palette of 'Aziz' was in soft pastels of peach, rose, beige and moss green. The embroideries were in gold and silver kasab thread with beads and kundan stones.
The two-piece sarees in silk georgette had all over jaal embroidery, the long kurtas were worn with shararas that trail languidly and the stoles are generous with beaded tassels.
'Ahibba' had the purity of ivory, shades of soft beige and gold Benares silk jacquards with pearls, gold ribbons and Swarovski crystals make up for the last collection. The silhouettes included the ornate ottoman-inspired knee length kurtas with wide pants with all over metallic embroidered motifs, cutwork blouses encrusted with pearls and beaded tassels, worn with gold and bronze sequin sheeted sarees, long floor length jackets in gold with generous skirts and stoles in peach and rose.
Varma based his line on Persian love poems, the lyrical motifs, the decorative arts in architecture, the Persian blues, the soft pastels and the nostalgic shades of gold and rose.
The line was high on accessories, which included head dresses in beaten metal, in antique shades of gold, ornate pieces of Meenakari jewelry and Swarovski crystals.
"I believe the accessories always tell the best story. When we look at the theme from the Ottoman Empire, a lot of research went into what kind of jewelry we should do in terms of detailing. Every single thing has been hand made in our office. I like to work on accessories as I believe they complete the entire picture of the show," he said.
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 "Pernia Qureshi at India Bridal Fashion Week")
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