My gowns are for the modern bride: Designer Ashley Rebello

Ashley Rebello is one of Bollywood ’s most loved designers. He has created costumes for a multitude of films, including the much-awaited Tubelight. He has been designing exclusively for Salman Khan, for his films as well as personal wardrobe. Now, Ashley is steering down  a slightly different path by launching his own bridal line, a category Tarun Tahiliani and Sabyasachi Mukherjee specialise in.

Feminine and delicate

The designer explains, “The line is called ‘Heart and Soul’. I have been thinking about it for a long time as everyone tells me that I do lovely wedding dresses. But I was so busy with my film work that the plan was kept on the backburner. My gowns are for the modern bride who wants to look beautiful and sexy on her wedding day, yet wants something a bit conservative. They are all sheer, body-hugging ensembles with lace inside and net on top for a very feminine and delicate effect.”

For his ad campaign, Ashley has roped in his friends and models Malaika Arora, Amrita Arora Ladak and Waluscha DeSousa. Each one represents a different kind of bride — while Malaika personifies the voluptuous, curvy one, Amrita is the cute, fairy-tale bride and Waluscha the modern woman. He explains his choice of faces for his campaign, “I actually started my career with Malaika and then, of course, her sister Amrita also became a close friend as I worked with her on films. Waluscha is a close friend, too. I just mentioned to them that I am working on this bridal line and  they came to shoot for me,” he says.

While Ashley does work on a lot of Indian designs as well, he wanted to go the Western route. As a Catholic, he’s always been fascinated by ‘white weddings’. “If I can contribute to someone’s special day, there’s nothing like it. I consider myself blessed,” adds Ashley, who says it’s not just Christians but even Sindhi and Punjabi brides who want similar gowns for their wedding functions. Each dress has a lot of embroidery and embellishment work.

Diamantes and crystal stones as well as pearls adds a touch of sparkle to the pieces.  “While earlier brides wanted very typical Cinderella-esque pouffy, now they want more structure. A lot of brides prefer low backs and interesting necklines as they work hard on their body and want to flaunt it,” concludes the designer.