Velvet verve

This autumn in women’s and men’s wear, the buzzword is texture — so it’s no surprise that designers are revisiting the luxe touch of velvet right now. But where it used to be reserved mainly for dressy gowns and skirts, it’s showing up in less-traditional silhouettes for both day and evening.

Designer Amy Billimoria says, “Velvet is undergoing a renaissance. Although its past associations include historical festivals and pouf sleeves on Eighties dresses, it’s time to wipe the slate clean — and then swathe it in velvet. The first entry point into the plush rebirth is fall’s baroque trend. Velvet’s innate opulence lends itself well to channelling seventeenth-century grandeur — almost referencing to royal courts. However, there are plenty of simple ways to wear it too. From velvet jeans, velvet biker jackets, cross-body velvet patchwork party dresses to crushed velvet bandeaus and jumpsuits, there are different and unique ways to wear the fabric without feeling cloaked in its suffocating richness and incorporating it in an unexpected way. But velvet pieces are a lot like diamonds: whether serious or playful, you have to commit.”

Designer Kiran Uttam Ghosh adds, “There are some fabrics that stand for ‘dressing up’ — right from your first party frock. Velvet is one of them and, because it is often used for little girls’ dresses as well as grown-up ones, it comes with a certain innocence and nostalgia attached to it. If satin and lace are seductive and only for people who aren’t prone to spillage, the soft pile of velvet makes it comforting, a bit huggable, the kind of fabric where you find yourself absent-mindedly stroking your own sleeve.”

There are several types of velvet in the market. Pure velvet is the most luxuriant, according to designer Nandita Thirani. She adds, “Made of an acetate/viscose mix, you’ll know it by its opulent sheen and usually find it only in top-end evening wear. It drapes beautifully and if you’re looking for an investment piece, this is the one to go for. The slightly less expensive silk velvet is a lighter-weight, viscose/silk mix. Most of this season’s velvet jackets are actually velveteen that are surprisingly made of 100% cotton, it has a much shorter pile, is less expensive and more hardwearing.”

You can also go vintage, says designer Aartivijay Gupta. “Velvet doesn’t have to be new. Real velvet aficionados can search and hunt down vintage pieces at garment shops. Very old velvet will have more natural fibres and will probably be pure silk, so it’s fabulous. But you will have to pay considerably more for it. Before buying, check the seams and for patches of wear in a good light.”

In the 40s, ladies wore clinging, bias-cut velvet dresses. In the 70s, girls and boys wore skin-hugging velvet suits. But with velvet there is a fine line between close-cut and too-small. Velvet so tight across the crotch or back that it leads to “elephant wrinkles” is, as Kiran says, “not a good look”. “Wrinkles are a no-no in velvet. They’re the equivalent of cellulite.” Which — heavens! — none of us will be modelling this season.