Latest Lehenga Trends for 2021 from Top Designer Collections

We’ve analyzed the designer collections of India’s top designers to bring you the latest lehenga trends for 2021. Check out all you need to know about what’s trending this season!

Latest Lehenga for 2021 Top Designer Collection designs style
Featured: Manish Malhotra, Falguni-Shane, Suneet Varma

Hey gorgeous! Looking for an outfit to rock at the next party? How about a trendy lehenga?! Indian women have sworn by this garment for ages and it remains one of the top choices when comes to picking an attire for special occasions. But before you pick a lehenga, guess what’s more important? You got it right! Familiarizing yourself with the latest lehenga trends for 2021. That’s where we come in, we bring you the lehenga trends forecast report.

After checking out the latest designer lehenga collections of the top Indian fashion designers, we’ve compiled some of the hottest styles. These eye-catching lehengas are an amazing option for marriages, evening parties, festivals, or family gatherings. Why wait? Check out our list of the latest lehenga trends for 2021.

Latest Lehenga Trends for 2021

1. Light Pastels

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L to R: Shantanu and Nikhil, Falguni and Shane Peacock, Anju Modi

The shift from dark hues to light pastels has been quite evident lately. Pastels have been emerging as a top trend in recent years. Similar to the last season, light pastel secures its top position in the latest lehenga trends for 2021 as well! Pastels have been an integral part of bridal couture in celebrity weddings. We’ve already seen the brides ditching auspicious red shades in favor of light pastels, and the trend continues.

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L to R: Manish Malhotra, Falguni Shane Peacock, Anushree Reddy

This season we are noticing some beautiful pastel lehengas, adorned with floral motifs, linear and geometrical patterns. We spotted light golden banarasi prints slightly contrasting the light surface. Go for lehengas embellished with intricate zari, and threadwork. These pastel wears are suitable for both daytime and evening occasions.

2. New Choli Silhouettes

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L to R: Falguni Shane Peacock, Abu Jani, Shantanu and Nikhil

Lehengas with regular cholis are a thing of the past. Lately, designers have been experimenting with the cholis bringing us some exotic and bold styles. And we have no complaints! And we’re not talking about surface work or adornments. The cut of the choli itself is evolving in 2021.

Criss-cross halter, half cap sleeves, high low styles form some of the most interesting choli silhouettes we spotted this season. Half cap sleeves hug your body like armor, the cutouts choli with sheer sleeves sports a feminine look whereas Abu Jani’s sleeveless choli has a sexy stature.

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L to R: Falguni and Shane, Manish Malhotra, Vani

We also spotted high-low cholis with a deep neck with a revealing back. The choli is stitched at the upper end with two strands running low to form the bottom, this design is present in the collections of popular designers like Sabyasachi. Contrary to the regular halter necks this season we also spotted criss-cross halters. When it comes to cholis, the designers have presented you with a lot of options, so why not make the most of it!

3. Contrasting Dupattas

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L to R: Anita Dongre, Falguni and Shane, Tarun Tahiliani

Are you a huge fan of dupattas and want them to stand out in your attire? Well, in that case, this trend is for you! Though not super new, many designers are continuing to add a contrasting dupatta to enhance the look of the overall attire. We are noticing lightly to heavily embroidered dupattas added in contrast to the lehenga and choli.

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L to R: Shyamal and Bhumika, Manish Malhotra, Anushree Reddy

The bridal wear by Tahiliani includes an off-white lehenga covered in golden zardozi work with a contrasting signature red dupatta. The metallic gold lehenga on Kareena Kapoor Khan is accompanied by a slightly yellow dupatta adorned with feather hems. Some have broad borders while others have imbibed the lehenga’s patterns.

4. Peplum

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L to R: Amit Aggarwal, Ridhi Mehra, JJ Valaya

Heavily embroidered peplums with lehengas are everywhere! Peplum tops are narrow till the waist and slightly flare out from there. This season we are seeing a variety of peplum tops as almost every designer has included peplums in their collections, thereby making peplum top the fourth latest lehenga trends for 2021.

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L to R: Tarun Tahiliani, Suneet Verma, Sabyasachi

We are seeing lots of heavily embroidered short peplums. The silver peplum top by JJ Valaya has linear patterns with layered flares and a turtle neck. Amit Aggarwal and Suneet Verma’s and designer peplum tops sport structural and angular cuts. Sabyasachi’s dusty pink lehenga shows floral prints and a broad mutli-color border.

5. Layered Lehengas

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L to R: Gaurav Gupta, Manish Malhotra, Anju Modi

Lehenga designs with several tiers not only add to the skirt’s flamboyance but look quite chic too! Lehengas with layers are back in fashion. We spotted two-tiered lehengas, where a plain bottom layer was slightly revealed beneath the heavily embroidered top layer. I’m loving the black and grey lehenga by Gaurav Gupta, it subtly reveals the different layers of the lehenga, matching it with a similar architectural dupatta.

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L to R: Tarun tahiliani, Shyamal and Bhumika, Shantanu and Nikhil

Tarun Tahiliani’s golden lehenga is quite unique. The design reveals skin-tight heavily embroidered pants underneath a sheer lehenga. It’s further teamed with a similar choli, making it look extravagant yet simple.

6. Flouncy Ruffles

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L to R: Gaurav Gupta, Amit Aggarwal, Suneet Verma

We’ve been seeing ruffles in Indian wear for a few seasons now. But what’s new in 2021 is that they’re getting bigger and more voluminous. Flouncy ruffles are your key to a voluminous lehenga look. This season we’re seeing large poufy ruffles in the cholis and dupattas. Designers are also adding flouncy ruffles in the sleeves of the cholis pairing them with both minimal or heavily embellished lehengas to balance the look.

For example, the solid black colored blouse by Abu Jani is paired with a heavy embroidered multi-colored lehenga, which comes along with a net dupatta with similar floral motif. Whereas a similar white blouse is matched with a comparatively less embellished skirt. Some designers are also going for ruffled dupattas, which again adds volume but keeps it classy and elegant.

7. Belted Dupattas

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L to R: Ridhi Mehra, Adarsh, Falguni Shane

The traditional idea of wearing waistbands is making a comeback, and has evolved in form of designer belts. Belted lehengas were at a high in our lehenga trend forecast for 2018. While the craze for these belted lehengas has gradually decreased, it is back in the latest designer lehenga collections. While pulling off this trend, one can either pin the entire dupatta on the sleeve or let one end hang loose.

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L to R: Rimple and Harpreet, Tarun Tahiliani, JJ V alaya

We are noticing belts in the bridal collections, which makes sense too! Brides can take a break from having to worry about the dupatta. We spotted designer belts, minimal belts, and belts made out of the same material as that of the lehenga, securing the dupattas. Most of these belts matched the color of the lehenga, we did spot a few contrasting embellished belts as well.

8. Pre-attached Dupattas

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L to R: Amit Aggarwal, Falguni Shane, Suneet Verma

Pre-attached dupattas are one of the chicest trends in the latest lehenga trends for 2021. As the name suggests, we’re seeing cholis that have dupattas sewn onto the sleeves or back, so it doesn’t need to be draped separately. What can be better than wearing a lehenga and not having to worry about the dupatta? It not only makes your style hassle-free but also saves you the trouble of wondering where to pin it. We’re seeing dupattas attached to the cholis, either hanging low from one sleeve or attached near the shoulders giving a cape style look.

9. Bird Motifs

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L to R: Rimple and Harpreet, Anita Dongre, Rimple and Harpreet

Birds are the chicest botanical motif to try this year. How about having it embroidered in your lehenga? This season we’re seeing some enticing bird motifs in the lehengas.

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L & R: Falguni and Shane Peacock, Center: JJ Valaya

Rahul Mishra is already known for his botanical motifs but recently several designers like JJ Valaya, Rimple and Harpreet have quite vividly portrayed beautiful bird motifs in skirts and blouses. We saw small and large peacock motifs, swans, colorful sparrows, and parrots delicately embroidered on the lehengas.

10. Cape Sleeves

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L to R: Amit Aggarwal, Falguni-Shane, Manish Malhotra

Cape sleeve is a trend that takes inspiration from the west. These sleeves are really long, at times they flare down to the bottom of the lehenga and often do the job of the dupatta. A white lehenga by Falguni Shane is paired with a sheer cape with floral embroidery and long fringes. We also saw cut sleeves and structural sleeves. Cape sleeves give you an indo-western look and you can wear these without dupattas.

Also read: 21 Indo-Western Fashion Elements Every Girl Needs to Try

11. Feather Sleeves

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Falgun-Shane Peacock

Beautiful feathers sewn onto a lehenga make it even more elegant. Feathers are one of my personal favorites. This season we are seeing the choli sleeves embellished with feathers. Katrina Kaif looks bewitching in the blue choli with heavy feather sleeves. The sleek silhouette of the embellished choli is exaggerated by the feather sleeves. Whereas Bhumi Pendekar rocks a light pink choli with feathers embellishing the neck, shoulders, and wrists.

So, those were the trends that caught our eyes while browsing through multiple designer collections. Some of these trends aren’t super new but we’re good as long as we get to see some amazing designs and styles. For example, the beautiful birds etched on the skirts or enhancing the cholis. Speaking of cholis, we have seen an array of designs. Ruffles and feathers look somewhat delicate but continue to beautify the cholis, lehengas, and even dupattas.

That sums up our list of the latest lehenga trends for 2021. Let us know your favorite trend by tagging us @shilpaahujadotcom or tweeting @shilpa1ahuja.

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