Sumit Sawhney’s ‘Apala’ proved to be a victorious celebration of ‘The Royal Tribe’, with the alluring presence of the Bollywood actress Sunny Leone as the showstopper.
Jewellery designer Sumit Sawhney of Apala presented ‘The Royal Tribe’ at IIJW where the amalgamation of the Royal and Tribal elements
was seen.
Sumit affirms this was ‘an evolution’ where he fused the Tribal and the Royal styles and in doing so he created a tribe called ‘The Royal Tribe’. Sawhney works with the otherwise two contradictory roots, by using their distinctive characteristic traits to complement one another.
This collection has the finesse and the preferred gemstones of the royalty with the use of favoured traditional elements like peacocks, floral designs, lions, elephants, big gemstones and multi layering.
For tribal inspiration he sought inspiration from various regional settlements through his use of weaves, bunching styles, haslis & choker necklaces, bold anklets and distinct arrangements of forms.
The Royal Tribe unravelled itself in three sections:
*The Tribal: The Rugged route travelled through antique silver
The powerful rawness of The Tribal’ was punctuated using peaceful music that transited from the Australian didgeridoo music into tribal tunes and showcased a rustic Tribal background on stage. The collection consisted of bold antique silver pieces that were placed in a noteworthily distinctive and freshly original manner.
*Royal: An unforgettable contribution of magnificence
‘The Royal’ opened with a marvellous change in the backdrop and the music with rugged setting transforming itself into a majestically palatial setting. Sawhney’s work in this section is extremely intricate, especially with its filigree and the filigree work’s subsequent interplay with gemstones like ruby, sapphire, turquoise, blues sapphire, taking one back to the charm and magic of the royal era itself.
*Celebrating the Evolution: Melange of the tribal and royal styles
*Evolution- The Fusion section makes up the last bit of the show, marking the amalgamation of the almost paradoxical elements, The Royal and The Tribal. This section showcased a lot of accessories for the face, including nose rings, eye drapes and ear cuffs of various kinds.
Unusual placement of elegant pieces like cuffs for the bridge of the nose, and some gorgeous back accessories, a bold move that seemed to have paid off well for Sumit Sawhney for it received ardent appreciation from the audience.
Adorned in exquisite hand-crafted Apala by Sumit, with a gorgeous Victorian neckpiece was the showstopper of the event, Sunny Leone. The play of the Hasli with the Victorian elements and the gold claws added the tribal touch to it. The elephants along with the bold calf-piece, the neckpiece along with the elephants added a regal character.
The back-piece was a gorgeous wreath embellished with Jade, cascading on Leone’s back accompanied by extremely intricately woven one of a kind earrings, cufflinks and head-pieces. Addressing the media after the show, Sunny Leone said “Sumit’s jewellery has so much creativity and finesse. ‘Apala’ was a break from the usual bling on stage. I was awed by its breathtaking designs. The back pieces were very different and spectacular. I absolutely loved the entire set he designed for me.’’
The ensembles for the show, labeled ‘Meraki’, are designed by Atithi Gupta, a Delhi-based designer. Sunny Leone along with all the other models showcasing the collection, dazzled in shimmer and cotton gowns that showcased the latest fashion trends and cuts, thus adding further to the charm of the ‘Apala’ collection. While in confabulation with Atithi, she expressed how, “it was a great feeling to be associated with ‘Apala’ by Sumit. I enjoyed bringing out this newly inspired collection.”
While reflecting on Apala’s successful second season, Sumit believes, “ My line, by combining the Tribal and the Royal ventures forth into a territory that was yet to be explored. My collection captures the true essence of the two, coalescing it into a beautiful synthesis.” He further added, “Showcasing my work at the IIJW was a tremendous amount of hard work that has been richly rewarded by the audience. For me, the day couldn’t have gone better with the showstopper Sunny Leone adding her bold grace to the jewellery.”
Designer Sumit Sawhney with his new line, The Royal Tribe has successfully managed to capture the charm of a world gone by. At his show, he successfully managed to transport his audience to a splendid and opulent world despite managing to recapture the old world charm in a contemporary manner.
Each piece of jewellery has a story- a deeper meaning hidden inside the beautiful carvings and intricate designs. Sawhney’s amalgamation of the Royal blended into the Tribal, was a breathtaking class act with beautiful synchronisation of these elements, which proved to be the highlight of the evening.