Why Kalyani Saha Chawla swears by rewearing wedding fashion

When it comes to wedding dressing, few do it with as much conviction or couture-level commitment as Kalyani Saha Chawla. The former VP of marketing and communications for Dior in India, founder of Rezon Silverware and star of Netflix’s Fabulous Lives vs Bollywood Wives has long occupied a rarefied space in India’s fashion circles: equal parts society insider, glamour fixture, and unapologetic fashion maximalist.

For Chawla, wedding style is never just about clothes—it is about respect and participation rolled into one meticulously planned look. “Dressing for weddings have become mini projects and a production by itself,” she says, admitting that destination celebrations and themed soirées often require a full-scale fashion operation. But for someone known to treat every appearance like a style moment, showing up underdressed simply isn’t an option.

Wed count: “I have attended almost a dozen weddings since November, last year. Thankfully, there are none coming up soon, but an Indo-Austrian one in Austria in July is one I am really looking forward to this summer.”

Wedding guest style: “It really depends on the wedding and how much of a fuss I make out of it. I take dress codes and themes very seriously. But if I know the bride and groom are going to be dressed super simple and super chic, I obviously don’t go crazy or OTT. You really need to think about that and definitely not outshine the bride or any member of the family for that matter.”

Favourite designers: “My all-time favourite designers will always be Rohit Bal, Tarun Tahiliani, JJ Valaya, and Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla. I have a lot from all these designers, really lovely old collections and I always kind of mix things up. I love wearing Sabya, I love, love, love Anamika Khanna, and I have beautiful things from Varun Bahl too.”

Fail-safe styling trick: “When you’re attending so many weddings, you don’t always look to buy new things. I really believe in repeating outfits, and I am also very fortunate that my designer friends let me borrow their clothes to wear for special occasions and that always helps. But I almost always end up wearing one new thing with something old. I have many pieces from Anamika Khanna and hers are the ensembles I mix up most often because they are all very strong individual pieces. When you style pieces differently, nobody really realises you’re wearing the same thing, which I think is an art I have mastered. I have become very conscious of unnecessary purchases, especially if it’s for a single occasion. So, I now buy knowing Tahira [my daughter] will wear it too.”

Destination wedding hack: “Destination weddings are very, very hectic because the trip is probably two nights, but you are still packing in different outfits for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You really have to think it out because you cannot carry more than you are supposed to. I always plan my outfits down to the T, including jewellery, bags, shoes literally on Excel sheets so that everything is organised.”

Won’t leave home without: “My mini steam iron which has travelled with me all over the world. I got it as a return gift from a wedding in Venice years ago, and it is possibly one of the most thoughtful gifts. Everyone needs it—man, woman and child.”

In the potli: “My bags for weddings have to have enough space for my phone and a lip gloss, that’s all I really carry. But cannot carry those tiny minaudières because they fit nothing. As I’ve grown older, I think I have become a little more practical than I used to be.”

I recently discovered… “Platform sneakers at the last destination wedding I went to. I didn’t realise I had a small fracture before I left, so they saved me in so many ways. They give you both height and comfort. Of late, I’ve started putting comfort before style, but never losing style, of course.”

When in doubt… “Wear a maang tikka! I think it looks so pretty on everyone, and you can wear it with anything, even something super simple and plain without any other heavy jewellery. It is just enough of a statement on its own, and it looks beautiful on every woman.”

Next wedding: “July in Salzburg. I am really looking forward to it because it’s a big fat Indian wedding without it being an Indian wedding, because the groom is Indian and the bride is Austrian. It’s going to be great fun with a super nice international crowd, so I think I’ll get away with western wear.”