Kareena Kapoor's Wedding Outfit is a Bespoke Piece by Ritu Kumar

Image courtesy: Reuters

Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan's wedding is the most talked about event right now. First there was much speculation about the date - it's apparently on October 16, even though Kareena has been resolutely mum on the issue - and then the venue. Places like Casablanca and the Maldives were mentioned before venues like Pataudi Palace. Now it's time to figure out what the bride will wear.

The nawab and begum of Pataudi in Costumes & Textiles Of Royal India

Kareena Kapoor's wedding outfit is a recreation of mother-in-law Sharmila Tagore's wedding joda and has been designed by Ritu Kumar.

What Kareena Will Wear

The designer tells us she has updated the traditional Farshi pajama-kurta, presented to Sharmila by her own mother-in-law, Begum Sajida Sultan of Bhopal, who wore it for her wedding in 1939, to fit Kareena.

"We had to redo the Farshi pajama, because the ones created earlier were actually a cross between a gown and a pajama and came with a trail that the bride had to carry, or have someone carry. Also, they were designed around the one size fits concept, so the new design has been tailored to fit Kareena better," says Kumar, who researched Indian royal style and even photographed the Pataudi women for her book Costumes & Textiles Of Royal India.

She says she sourced the fabric - a peachy pink that is as similar to the original as possible - from weavers in Benares. The weave was created in-house at Kumar's studio and then woven by local artisans. Then, it took a little more than four months for two families of master craftsmen to finish the zardozi work. "About 100 years ago, great emphasis was placed on stitches and their use on three dimensional surfaces. There was no bling in those days.  So it was quite a challenge to recreate the outfit, contemporizing it, and yet making sure it stays true to the aesthetic of the family history."

A rust and gold tissue dupatta with an avocado gote at the hem - the original was simply repaired - completes the look.

Kumar adds that Kareena knew that she was going to be wearing a heritage piece and hopes that she will pass her own wedding outfit down to the next generation.

Soha Ali Khan in shots from Ritu Kumar's Costumes & Textiles Of Royal India

Kumar is also dressing Saif's sisters Soha and Sabah. While Soha will wear a peach woven lehnga and odhni to one event, she will also wear a red Farshi pajama that had been designed for Deepa Mehta's Midnight's Children; Sabah will wear a gold and white Farshi pajama from Kumar's Falaknuma collection.

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