Is Suhani Parekh’s MISHO bodypiece the ultimate wedding guest styling hack?

Is your wedding guest wardrobe overflowing? Perhaps a few garment bags are still draped over the back of a chair, waiting to be unpacked until the next destination wedding rolls around. Between multi-day celebrations, colour-coded dress codes and calendars crowded with functions, many guests now find themselves assembling an entirely new wardrobe every few months. The result is a sea of embellished lehengas, occasionwear bought for a single outing and the familiar dilemma of having "nothing to wear" despite an overflowing closet.

Suhani Parekh, founder and creative director of MISHO Designs, has spent much of the past year on the other side of the wedding equation. “I haven’t had a very packed wedding calendar. I feel like I mostly live at the studio these days, especially with everything we’ve been working on at MISHO.” Even so, weddings remain central to her world. In recent years, MISHO's bridal universe has expanded to include sculptural bodices, bodypieces and custom creations. If today's bridesmaids are increasingly looking for alternatives to traditional occasionwear, Parekh has had a front-row seat to the shift.

The plus-one principle

The designer isn't particularly interested in starting from scratch. Instead, she looks to the piece that can shift an entire outfit's centre of gravity. "I think bodypieces are such an exciting way to dress for weddings because they sit somewhere between jewellery and clothing," she says. "They can completely transform a sari, a lehenga or even a very simple skirt and make the look feel personal, sculptural and unexpected."

And in the day and age of destination weddings that have you flying across the globe, Parekh sticks to the plus-one rule, “Don’t overpack, carry a few strong pieces that can transform a look. Jewellery is key,” she says. “It also helps to plan looks around one strong element rather than trying to do too much at once.”

Something old, something gold

Some of the most compelling wedding looks begin with pieces that already carry history. "For a wedding, I would probably wear something like a Banarasi sari from my mother's collection styled with a cool MISHO blazer and belt," she says. "For me, it's always about mixing something classic or heirloom with something modern and architectural."

It's a formula that feels increasingly relevant in an era of wedding wardrobes with frequent-flyer miles. Guests now favour transformative jewellery over buying entirely new wedding outfits. And if Parekh's approach can be distilled into a single principle, it is this: choose one thing worth centering your look around on.

A new kind of heirloom

While MISHO is best known for its jewellery, its expanding bridal universe signals a wider shift in how wedding keepsakes are being reimagined. At the centre of that idea is the Memento Bodice, a sculptural piece that can be etched with details from a couple's love story. "What I really love is dressing people for weddings," says Parekh. "We've been creating MISHO brides, lehengas, sculptural bodices and bodypieces that become part of someone's story." For Parekh, that's the appeal. "I love that idea of a wedding piece becoming something deeply personal. Almost like armour, jewellery and memory all at once."