The ‘big fat Indian wedding’, Ambani style, is out because of Covid-19. The bridal fashion industry has had to adapt

Covid-19 has caught up with lavish Indian weddings, and conscious consumerism could mean they never fully return

With fewer guests and shorter celebrations, brides are rethinking what they wear and fashion designers offer wedding dresses that can be worn on other occasions

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Big Indian celebrations, like the wedding of Isha Ambani to Anand Piramal in 2018, have been put on hold thanks to the coronavirus – and designers are being forced to adapt. Photo: Twitter/ @WforWoman

Published: 8:45am, 4 Nov 2020Updated: 9:38am, 4 Nov 2020

Search the “world’s most expensive weddings”, and you will see several Indian events included in the results.

Around this time two years ago, Indian high society was preparing to attend the wedding of Isha Ambani – the daughter of India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani – to Anand Piramal, from one of the country’s most respected industrialist families.

A weekend of lavish engagement celebrations had been held at northern Italy’s Lake Como in the summer, with invitations designed by Dolce & Gabbana. They set the tone for what was to come.

In December 2018, pre-wedding celebrations were held in Udaipur in the Indian state of Rajasthan, followed by the actual wedding in Mumbai. The guest list included US politician Hillary Clinton, Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, and celebrity couple Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas. There was even a performance by US singer Beyoncé.

US singer Beyoncé attended and also performed at Isha Ambani’s wedding. Photo: Instagram / @beyonce

Actor Abhishek Bachchan, wife Aishwarya Rai and their daughter attended the 2019 wedding of Akash Ambani in Mumbai. Photo: Reuters

The wedding is reported to have cost US$100 million (more than three times the cost of Britain’s Kate Middleton and Prince William’s royal wedding). The real stars of this extravaganza were the bride’s outfits, including pieces made by India’s top designers such as Sabyasachi, Manish Malhotra and Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, whose label was behind the ivory hand-embroidered, 16-panelled ghagra – a full-length skirt – worn for the ceremony.