Each year as the festive season rolls around, the impending doom of having to get in and out of tight, sweaty traditional clothes starts to set in. How many Diwali parties have ended with you tangled in a kurta, arms bent at unnatural angles, sequins poking you everywhere, waiting to be rescued by a second, or even a third, person?
Save yourself the struggle this year with a flowy bandhani piece. Lightweight, colourful, and endlessly versatile, it makes for one of the easiest additions to your festive wardrobe. Of late, the centuries-old tie-dye technique native to Gujarat and Rajasthan has been getting a contemporary makeover at the hands of designers most closely associated with it, finding its way onto silhouettes beyond the usual kurta and sari.
Anushka Khanna, for instance, has turned bandhani into a signature, offering everything from handkerchief kurta-dress hybrids to bubble-hem kurtis. Naina Jain pieces together fragments of bandhani into a patchwork pallu on her Boro sari, while Pink City by Sarika eliminates the anxiety of draping a sari with a pre-draped version. Meanwhile at Dyelogue, Ituvana, and Dash and Dot, the craft finds a canvas on easy separates and throw-on-and-go dresses—the kind you could wear to a card party with jewellery and heels and then re-wear with flip-flops or sandals while on holiday.
There’s also plenty for those who’d rather stick to the classics. Labels like Raw Mango, Pooja Keyur, and Twenty Nine offer simpler bandhani kurta sets, kaftans, and tunics that can handle both the festive office lunch and the post-work party that follows. More ornate styles are also on offer at Arpita Mehta, who pairs a bandhani dupatta with an embroidered kurta; Punit Balana, whose strappy bandhani kurta is teamed with an embellished churidar; and Ritu Kumar, who takes things further with gota work, ensuring your fashionably late entrance becomes the main event at any party.
Once the festive season runs its course, your new bandhani pieces can blend seamlessly into your wardrobe, adding a fun pop of colour to dreary mornings spent recovering from the festive hangover. Wear that kaftan to brunch, pair those pants with a plain tank, or throw a bandhani kurti over jeans.
Below, our edit of styles you’ll want to make a staple this festive season:
