Punit Balana’s designer label turns 10

Each sew in Punit Balana’s creations is a proud paean to Rajasthan. The clothes are formed by recollections, artwork, colors, music, tradition and localities from the State that he calls dwelling. Be it Bagru, Sanganer, or the buzzing chowks of Jaipur, all of them discover illustration in Punit’s collections.

“Jaipur is the place the whole lot started. I grew up surrounded by block prints, crafts, embroidery, textile… Craft was part of my on a regular basis life. Town is layered: someday you’re looking on the geometry of Amer Fort, the subsequent day, the colors of Johri Bazar. I don’t assume I regarded for inspiration anyplace else,” says Punit who was born in Bikaner and moved to Jaipur in 2007.

The label simply turned 10 and to commemorate the milestone, Punit and his spouse Malvika hosted a vogue present within the Pink Metropolis final week, and unveiled a model new retailer. The shop — his third within the nation, after Mumbai and Delhi — has calm terracotta olive interiors which can be dropped at life by the brilliant colors from his Festive 2025 assortment Amer. The brand new house displays his aesthetics and options his trademark work like coin embroidery (within the type of curtains and as aesthetic touches on chandeliers and cushions), and chaandi tille embroidery round mirrors.

Amer is impressed by the fort in addition to Punit’s decade lengthy journey. So, naturally, it contains a lot of silhouettes, colors, parts, and embroidery seen through the years, proper from his first assortment Pyari Darpan to the current Johari Bazar. “If you see an previous silhouette, it could possibly inform the story of Punit Balana nevertheless it nonetheless has freshness and that’s what we stored in thoughts whereas creating this line,” he says.

Diana Penty in a Punit Balana creation
| Picture Credit score:
Particular Association

The recurring chaandi tille work is impressed by the Sheesh Mahal of Amer Fort. “It’s tikri work, which is mainly glass inlay. But when we put glass in our clothes then the fluidity of the garment goes. So we did R&D with completely different supplies and opted for silver sheets that we minimize into completely different shapes and did zardozi embroidery,” explains Punit. That is an embroidery approach that only a few can grasp. Up to now yr we’ve got skilled a variety of karigars which is why Amer has a big collective of chaandi tille ka kaam, he says.

The model new Punit Balana retailer in Jaipur
| Picture Credit score:
Particular Association

The coin embroidery, one other trademark, took place when he wished to interchange sequins with one thing uncommon. Now one sees them on the label’s signature silhouettes like ghagri maxis, handkerchief blouses, and waistcoats.

Notes from the runway

The style present, set in opposition to the backdrop of the enduring Rambagh Palace, featured a ramp lit by quite a few candles, with waterfalls and a waterbody including to the enchantment. The garments matched the setting with dramatic silhouettes, flairs that made the fashions twirl, and elaborate gota, coin, and chaandi tille embroidery that add a festive really feel. Ananya Panday closed the present in a gulaabi gulal lehenga, a shade of pink that clearly appears to be Punit’s favorite.

A Rajasthani people singer did the job of background music along with his highly effective, earthy vocals. This was interspersed with beats by musical duo Tech Panda X Kenzani. Folks dancers from the area took to the ramp displaying conventional Rajasthani dance varieties like ghoomar and kalbeliya. The ramp was a blur of vibrant colors with gulaabi gulal, kacha aam, and surkh laal from the Utsav assortment and mustard and dry henna from the Rabari assortment. Saleti blue is the one new color launched for this assortment. Every little thing is a tribute to the heritage and craft of the area, together with the bandhani hand followers that attendees had been thoughtfully geared up with to fight the humidity.

Interiors of the shop
| Picture Credit score:
Particular Association

These creations are my manner of acknowledging my roots, says Punit, visibly relaxed after the present. He admits he was a bundle of nerves earlier than the present. This was his first solo occasion and that too on his dwelling turf. Whereas the rain did play spoilsport initially, the grandeur of the present and garments made up for it. “Rajasthan is a dwelling museum of craft. Each cluster right here works with one thing distinctive,” he smiles, including, “I’ve travelled the entire world, the calm, serenity, and peace that I get from this metropolis, I don’t get really feel that anyplace else. If I needed to stay anyplace on the earth, it could possibly solely be Jaipur.”

30MP_Punit_New
| Picture Credit score:
Gulshan Sacheva-(Vidhi Pictures)

Printed – August 25, 2025 05:07 pm IST