During a Zoom call, Naeem Khan said he wanted to “cleanse” himself of India’s traditions this season, taking a 180-degree pivot away from spring’s collection, which was steeped in it. There was nary a sari nor ceremonial headdress in sight. Instead, Khan took a cosmopolitan approach with silhouettes he described as “clean, simple and modern.”
Khan name-dropped his friend — architect and 2023 Pritzker prize winner David Chipperfield — as a reference. While the harsh angles of Chipperfield’s concrete buildings seem worlds away from Khan’s world of romantic evening wear, their influence was felt in the plunging V-necklines and jutting, square shoulders. Even the neat folds on a champagne silk A-line somewhat mimicked the exterior of Chipperfield’s James-Simon Galerie in Berlin.
But try as he might, Khan couldn’t rid himself of romance — or tradition, for that matter — which came through in the laborious fabric treatments. There were rhinestone fawns and raffia roses, but most interesting was the soutache embroidery using folded ribbon in paisley and baroque patterns. “Only certain artisans in India can do that,” said Khan, adding it’s his life’s mission is to ensure their art is not lost.
Khan proceeded to explain how his palette of gem tones, which ranged from emerald to ruby and sapphire, stemmed from a recent experience with a VIP customer. Before completing her mother-of-the-bride dress, she went out and bought a quarter-million-dollar necklace from Chopard to wear with it. “I said to myself, ‘so many clients of mine wear lots of jewels with my clothes, so why not do clothes they can coordinate them to?’”
A halter gown in violet satin crepe was calling out for a pair of drop earrings with amethysts the same size of the rosette that came attached at the neck, but the sapphire stretch-sequin dresses with blue floral stitching? Those were dazzling enough to be worn on their own.
