Pakistani designer Rano Usman pays tribute to ancient traditions of the subcontinent in her debut solo show

The haunting whistle of a single flute brought the historic Ganga Ram Mansion to life as Rano Usman unveiled fourteen timeless ensembles from her latest collection, ‘Kayee Chand’ (Many Moons). Three decades of work wove through the art and architecture of Lahore while it travelled to the Himalayas through Srinagar, Banaras, Lucknow and even the film studios of Bombay. As an ode to the history and grandeur of the subcontinent, Rano Usman—a revivalist at heart—recreated the ritual of sehra bandhi where the groom is adorned by his sisters before he sets off on horseback to bring his bride home. It’s in traditions like these that lies the ethos of Usman’s brand Rano’s Heirlooms.

The show was truly magical. The flute made way for the majestic dhols and a live choir that sang retrospective tunes of Ghorri (the songs women sing during a wedding procession). Nostalgia took over as the groom walked in under the protective embrace of an elaborately decorated canopy carried by the procession of girls, an interesting mix of models, dancers and friends for authenticity. “True beauty has to be authentic,” Rano laughed. “I’d like to see brides as they used to be before their wedding, with slicked-back braids and just a red lip for colour.”

Rano explained how every garment was sketched by hand before the crafting process began. She’d sit like a sculptor surrounded by her clay being the fabric, the embellishments and bring it all together bit by bit. One of her favourite pieces from the collection, she explained, was ‘Hema’. An almost icy blue lehnga paid tribute to the word for snow in Sanskrit, also referring to the goddess of snow as she rose from sun-kissed Himalayan peaks. Like Hema, all of her creations adapt more than twenty handcrafted techniques, taking over five hundred hours to complete.

“I was trained by a French nun at the Convent for ten years,” she smiled. “As I’ve grown older, I’ve strived for unmatched excellence that we learnt. It took me 25 years to perfect my embroidery and I did it with commitment, without shortcuts. We also worked for Italian designers for four years; learnt the craft there.”