The sari may have come first, but the blouse is not much behind. Sometimes it dominates.

A walk into the V-Cut studio at Keyatala is evidence. Rows and rows of designer blouses, in the best silk and brocade, are hung along the sides of the spacious store. There are women who come here to select the blouse first, then buy the sari.

Sometimes, the only thing to buy is the blouse.

“A lady who lives in the US ordered 65 blouses: in all the rainbow colours and their families. That would take care of all her saris,” says the young Lipika Dudhoria, who founded the brand with Darshan, her brother, in 2013. The studio sells ready-to-wear blouses as well as stitches them according to the requirements of the client. It claims it can deliver a blouse within 72 hours.

V-cut uses several fabrics, including raw silk, dupion, brocades, khimkhab and pure silk. The embroidery styles include dabka, threadwork, zari and zardosi. Embellishments include buta, embroidered laces and stones.

V-Cut is sold from their Keyatala studio, and also online, where customers can choose the fabric and add a design of their choice. The brand is also available at the parent store, Indian Silk House Agencies in Rashbehari.

The cuts go much beyond the V. Some are classic, some are very cool. They can be worn with a sari as well as a skirt.

When Jnanadanandini Debi had first introduced the Bengali woman to the concept of a blouse to go with the sari, it was liberating. The jacket-blouse helped the woman to make herself more presentable.

But it was also a straitjacket, in more than one sense. It was a Victorian strategy to cover up the awkward feminine.

The last few years have seen what could be termed as a small revolution, under another impulse of a global influence. The blouse still serves its basic purpose, but it has been liberated from the limitations of its form. It has become so many new things.  And this looks just the beginning!

• Model: Sayantani Guhathakurta l Make-up and hair : Amit Karak

• Photographer: Baban Mukherjee

• Creative director: Nick Rampal