Shreya Ghoshal’s Banarasi Lehenga Brings Royal Purple To Life

The best view of Shreya Ghoshal’s lehenga comes when she gathers a handful of it and a single embroidered jutti peeps out from under the hem. Up to that point, it’s easy to be taken with the grandeur of the whole thing: the royal purple Banarasi silk, the gold zari work and that rather splendid necklace. Then you notice the flats. Suddenly, this looks like an outfit you could imagine spending an entire evening in.

That balance is the appeal of her Shanti Banaras look. Shreya Ghoshal wears the lehenga, the ornate blouse and the good jewellery, yet there’s an ease to the way she puts them together. Much of it comes down to how she handles the purple.

A Regal Take On Purple Festive Wear

Royal purple is a particularly good choice if you love the richness of a red lehenga but fancy wearing something different. It has enough depth to carry a generous amount of gold. On the dupatta, where the motifs are small and spaced apart, you get a sense of just how deep that purple is. Across the lehenga, the denser pattern makes the same colour look warmer.

Shreya Ghoshal lets the dupatta fall from one shoulder and cross the waist. It’s a useful bit of styling because it places the simplest stretch of purple right next to the most ornate. A contrasting dupatta might have been tempting, but it would also have interrupted the lovely change in pattern from one piece to the next. Here, the interest lies in seeing what two colours can do.

The Banarasi Silk Lehenga And Its Intricate Zari Work

The panelled skirt gives the gold motifs room to open out. Near the hem, you can follow curling stems and floral shapes across a broad sweep of purple. Higher up, the folds bring those details closer together. It’s the sort of pattern that comes into its own on a full lehenga, where you see a different section each time the wearer gathers or releases the fabric.

The half-sleeve blouse is a good partner for all that volume. It fits close, with a deep neckline and gold detailing along the sleeves. What works particularly well on Shreya Ghoshal is the length of those sleeves: they give the patterned silk some presence at the shoulder while leaving plenty of space between the sleeve edge and her kadas.

That’s a detail worth considering when styling a Banarasi silk lehenga. Before looking for another colour to add, see what a small change in the drape reveals. Here, a little more blouse on one side and a little more dupatta on the other give both pieces their due.

A Polki Necklace And Gold Kadas Complete The Look

The polki necklace is long enough for its pendant to sit against the purple blouse. A shorter necklace would have framed the neckline; this one leads the eye down towards the waist. It’s a generous piece, but the length gives its details room to be seen against the silk.

Shreya Ghoshal adds earrings and gold kadas, and the kadas arguably get the best placement of all. As she lifts the lehenga, they sit directly against the purple folds. The gold in the jewellery picks up the gold in the weave, a connection that feels especially pleasing in such an ordinary gesture.

Soft Waves And Embroidered Juttis Finish The Festive Ensemble

Soft waves drawn back from the face leave the earrings visible, while a small bindi sits above softly defined eyes. With so much detail in the clothes, it’s refreshing that the beauty look feels like something you could wear just as happily with a simple kurta.

And then there are those embroidered juttis. For anyone who has ever changed out of heels halfway through a celebration, there’s something appealing about choosing the flats first. Shreya Ghoshal wears a pair dressy enough to deserve that glimpse beneath the hem. They’re the smallest part of the outfit and quite possibly the first idea to borrow.