Every stitch in Punit Balana’s creations is a proud paean to Rajasthan. The garments are shaped by memories, art, colours, music, culture and localities from the State that he calls home. Be it Bagru, Sanganer, or the buzzing chowks of Jaipur, all of them find representation in Punit’s collections.
“Jaipur is where everything began. I grew up surrounded by block prints, crafts, embroidery, textile… Craft was a part of my everyday life. The city is layered: one day you are looking at the geometry of Amer Fort, the next day, the colours of Johri Bazar. I don’t think I looked for inspiration anywhere else,” says Punit who was born in Bikaner and moved to Jaipur in 2007.
Bhumi Pednekar
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
The label just turned 10 and to commemorate the milestone, Punit and his wife Malvika hosted a fashion show in the Pink City last week, and unveiled a brand new store. The store — his third in the country, after Mumbai and Delhi — has calm terracotta olive interiors that are brought to life by the bright colours from his Festive 2025 collection Amer. The new space reflects his aesthetics and features his trademark work like coin embroidery (in the form of curtains and as aesthetic touches on chandeliers and cushions), and chaandi tille embroidery around mirrors.
Amer is inspired by the fort as well as Punit’s decade long journey. So, naturally, it comprises a number of silhouettes, colours, elements, and embroidery seen over the years, right from his first collection Pyari Darpan to the recent Johari Bazar. “When you see an old silhouette, it can tell the story of Punit Balana but it still has freshness and that’s what we kept in mind while creating this line,” he says.
Diana Penty in a Punit Balana creation
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
The recurring chaandi tille work is inspired by the Sheesh Mahal of Amer Fort. “It is tikri work, which is basically glass inlay. But if we put glass in our garments then the fluidity of the garment goes. So we did R&D with different materials and opted for silver sheets that we cut into different shapes and did zardozi embroidery,” explains Punit. This is an embroidery technique that very few can master. In the past year we have trained a lot of karigars which is why Amer has a large collective of chaandi tille ka kaam, he says.
The brand new Punit Balana store in Jaipur
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
The coin embroidery, another trademark, came about when he wanted to replace sequins with something unusual. Now one sees them on the label’s signature silhouettes like ghagri maxis, handkerchief blouses, and waistcoats.
Notes from the runway
The fashion show, set against the backdrop of the iconic Rambagh Palace, featured a ramp lit by numerous candles, with waterfalls and a waterbody adding to the appeal. The clothes matched the setting with dramatic silhouettes, flairs that made the models twirl, and elaborate gota, coin, and chaandi tille embroidery that add a festive feel. Ananya Panday closed the show in a gulaabi gulal lehenga, a shade of pink that clearly seems to be Punit’s favourite.
A Rajasthani folk singer did the job of background music with his powerful, earthy vocals. This was interspersed with beats by musical duo Tech Panda X Kenzani. Folk dancers from the region took to the ramp displaying traditional Rajasthani dance forms like ghoomar and kalbeliya. The ramp was a blur of vibrant colours with gulaabi gulal, kacha aam, and surkh laal from the Utsav collection and mustard and dry henna from the Rabari collection. Saleti blue is the only new colour introduced for this collection. Everything is a tribute to the heritage and craft of the region, including the bandhani hand fans that attendees were thoughtfully equipped with to combat the humidity.
Interiors of the store
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
These creations are my way of acknowledging my roots, says Punit, visibly relaxed after the show. He admits he was a bundle of nerves before the show. This was his first solo event and that too on his home turf. While the rain did play spoilsport initially, the grandeur of the show and clothes made up for it. “Rajasthan is a living museum of craft. Every cluster here works with something unique,” he smiles, adding, “I’ve travelled the whole world, the calm, serenity, and peace that I get from this city, I don’t get feel that anywhere else. If I had to live anywhere in the world, it can only be Jaipur.”
30MP_Punit_New
| Photo Credit:
Gulshan Sacheva-(Vidhi Images)
Published – August 25, 2025 05:07 pm IST
