BENGALURU: When fashion designer Husna Sait wanted to make heads turn for an evening out, she picked a bright red dress with bronze pumps and a classic Bottega Veneta clutch. But the highlight of the look was beetles perched on her shoulder. Not the real ones obviously, but those in the shape of golden brooches.
Giving a breakdown of her look, Sait says she follows the French philosophy of having four-five elements while decking out. “The first one is the outfit, the second are the shoes, the third is the bag, and the fourth is one good accessory,” explains Sait, who picked the brooch from city-based jewellery brand The Mauve Unit. “It was initially a bracelet but since I am not a bracelet person, I requested for the bugs to be pulled out from the bracelet and create a brooch. Now, I have two of them in gold,” she says.
Not just gold and silver, you can add a pop of colour to make it summer-friendly, just like socialite Ila Dorairaj Naidu, who got a hot pink-coloured seahorse to match her psychedelic-themed Christian Louboutin pumps. “These styles are in with Western fashionistas. A lot of the people I follow in the fashion scene in the West right now are using it as a summer beach look. Big earrings with coral designs. Since I was doing an evening out, I paired it with an under-ocean-themed bodysuit with a black skirt,” she adds.
The stars are also picking this look for the red carpet. Jr NTR’s jewelled tiger embellished on his jacket, Ranveer Singh’s bird-shaped brooch from Tiffany and Co or Deepika Padukone’s panther necklace from Cartier...stars carry their animal spirit in style.
Rajini Nayak, owner of jewellery brand Mon Tresor, says this is a quirky and niche style but what makes them special is the craftsmanship. “We don’t really stock them, we only customise items. We’ve done a couple of bracelets that resemble the ones from Cartier...a panther head,” she says.