Keeping in mind the ethos of the major festive season ahead, the mother-son designer duo Asha & Gautam Gupta in collaboration with Guru Padamshri Shovana Narayan, unveiled their new collection Nurjahan, created with timeless Indian handlooms. Through their collection, they paid homage to a remarkable woman as well as to the splendid handloom tradition of India..
According to Gautam, history has witnessed certain great stories and one such story is that of Mihr-un-Nisa’s love story. Her entire life and her love for emperor Jehangir finds a special place in our history. Lovingly and aptly called ‘Nur Mahal”( Light of the palace) , she epitomized grace, beauty, generosity and intelligence. She was well educated and held a deep respect for culture. The new collection is inspired by her, her beauty, her love for fashion and jewelry, art, dance and music and above all her kindness. Music, jewelry, florals, their wedding and its celebration are illustrated and then woven to narrate her story.
Rich textiles such as paithani, bandhani, banarasi silk, tissue, kota, organza and patola are used to give the collection royal feel. They have used vibrant colours such as bright rose, tomato red, radiant yellow, garden green, beetroot purple, hot red, rice gold to coriander brown to give the collection the vibrancy. Vintage zardosi embroidery is used with pearls, ari and resham.
“History always glorifies the Jahangir -Anarkali love story overshadowing the love story of Nurjahan and Jahangir. But this exemplary love story of the emperor Jahangir with this remarkable woman also deserves remembering. Her story is not only inspiring but also way ahead of its time” adds Gautam Gupta
