Shanaya Kapoor effortlessly echoed the subject of her debut film with a romantic look for the launch of the love movie Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan. She showed up wearing a butter-yellow, pre-draped sari by Manish Malhotra, which combines couture craftsmanship with sensual elegance. Her ensemble is recreated with modern precision, even if it is rooted in traditional draping.
The layers of delicate tulle and the vivid butter yellow color of Kapoor’s sari immediately caught the attention. With its structured boning and sweetheart neckline, the corset blouse was the sari’s main attraction. It was shaped around the waist and added a glamorous touch to the ensemble. If you look closely, you can notice the ruched design that adds dimension and textural complexity by flowing diagonally over the corset.
Its creative use of illusion, however, is what really makes the appearance better. Malhotra used the centuries-old trompe l’oeil effect technique to produce crystal work that resembles shimmering water droplets dripping down the pallu. Trompe l’oeil, which translates to “deceiving the eye,” is the technique of making a painted or embroidered detail appear three-dimensional through a hyper-realistic optical illusion. The technique has long been used in haute couture, from the bows that seemed to float in Viktor & Rolf’s autumn/winter 2010 collection to the pixelated designs that reflected digital distortion in Loewe’s spring/summer 2023 presentation.
With just a pair of emerald drop earrings from the designer’s own line, which precisely counterbalanced the butter yellow hue, Kapoor maintained the focus on the sari and its craftsmanship. Butter yellow is far more adaptable than its pastel or jewel-toned brethren, and it can be used for both seductive cocktail hours and sunshine ceremonies.
