The king of bridal couture could just be doing an about turn. At the Mumbai press conference held by Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WLIFW), Tarun Tahiliani, between holding court and gently teasing fashion doyenne, Ritu Kumar, admitted that the oft-heard criticism on bridal wear had unwittingly pushed him into ready-to-wear. However, having made the sucessful plunge, ages ago, Tahiliani now hopes to go to the extreme. He plans to do very little bridal couture (his flagship store on Mumbai's Apollo Bunder, has already been known to turn down special appointments for bridal wear), a lot more bridal ready-to-wear and, hear this, Oh lovers of Tahiliani designs, a lot more of what he calls 'true prêt' and what we hope to translate as 'finally affordable'. Of course, the couturier will personally advise on matters of grand weddings, for, after all, "Can a Priya Sachdev risk wearing what someone has already seen?"

As for the hoi polloi donning what is available in stores everywhere, "This is like Donna Karan versus DKNY," states the couturier. "Everyone is running around with the same Cartier watch or the same LV bag...." What Tahiliani is promising is beautiful, simple T-shirts, basic skivvies, plainer stuff that can be mixed and matched, to enable a personal statement. And what's more, to ensure a degree of exclusivity, he ensures a change in the prêt line, every six weeks.