Radhika Merchant Wore A 100-Year-Old Blouse At 'Bidaai', Reveals Why She Didn't Follow Latest Trends
Radhika Merchant is the lady of the hour, and everyone has been talking about her ever since she became a part of the Ambani family. Radhika tied the knot with the love of her life, Anant Ambani, on July 12, 2024, after a few years of dating. She became the most beautiful bride, leaving everyone's jaws dropped with her wedding trousseau. Radhika opted for some of the most exquisite ensembles during the wedding festivities.
In an interview with Vogue India, Radhika Merchant opened up about curating her stunning looks at her wedding festivities. She shared that she wanted to make a lasting impression at her sangeet and opted for two different designer outfits. She wore her favourite look at the after-party, which was a saree made entirely of metal mesh. Her outfit had a corset that added a modern twist to the traditional Indian drape. She said:
"For the sangeet, I wanted to make a lasting impression. I turned to legendary Indian couturiers for two distinct looks. For my dance performances, I wore a stunning crystal outfit by Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla. For the after-party, I donned my favorite look of the night: a saree made entirely of metal mesh, conceptualized by my stylist Rhea and designer Manish Malhotra."
Radhika Merchant opted for a unique couture look by Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla to honour her Gujarati roots. She styled it with old jewellery pieces from her family heirlooms, including a necklace that her sister and aunts wore at their weddings. Sharing the details of the precious jewellery, Radhika shared that her father had surprised her mother with that necklace on a holiday to celebrate their anniversary. In her words:
"For my wedding day, I chose a one-of-a-kind couture look by Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla. For jewellery, I turned to family heirlooms for my ‘something old.’ I wore the same necklace my sister and aunts wore at their weddings, and I truly believe it gave me a special strength and blessing as I walked down the aisle. It was actually a piece that my dad had surprised my mom with on a holiday to celebrate their anniversary. I layered this with a new necklace we designed for this occasion."
While Radhika Merchant looked like a queen at her wedding, she chose to opt for a different outfit during her bidaai ceremony. She slipped into a custom red-and-gold lehenga from Manish Malhotra's collection and donned the same jewellery. However, the highlight of her look was her vintage blouse, which was over 100 years old. Talking about it, Radhika said:
"For my bidaai, I opted for the traditional Indian bridal red. My blouse was an archival piece—over 100 years old!—sourced by none other than designer Manish Malhotra."
The bride also revealed that her wedding trousseau took a lifetime in the making as she had been planning them since she was a little girl. She added that she wanted to treasure the old traditions while highlighting Indian creative talent, so she got her looks strategically curated from her favourite designers. Radhika added:
“There are looks—dresses and jewelry, which I have planned on with my mom and sister since I was a little girl; I haven’t paid much attention to trends. I am committed to highlighting Indian creative talent, and strategically curated looks from some of our favourite Indian designers. Many of them are sustaining, and sometimes even reviving, traditional Indian craft and couture techniques."
Radhika Merchant also shared the details about her favourite outfit, which she wore at her and Anant Ambani's wedding festivities. She revealed that her hand-painted ghagra by Jayshree Burman for the puja was something that she adored as it had an entire world painted on it. Talking about her stunning fit for her reception party, Radhika said:
"For the pooja, I wore my favourite outfit of the whole wedding: a ghagra painted by Jayshree Burman in collaboration with Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla as well as my stylist Rhea Kapoor. Burman intricately painted an entire world within my ghagra with Lakshmi and Vishnu at the centre. For my reception, my outfit intertwined East and West with a gold filigree corset from Dolce & Gabbana paired with a constructed saree from Anamika Khanna."
We are simply in awe of Radhika Merchant's wedding wardrobe!