The fashion extravaganza that concluded Sunday had as many as 11 top-notch designers splashing the ramp with vibrant colour, style and a mixture of old and new design aesthetics, with cope with bridal collection.
Though the designers weren't very keen to discuss business aspect, they said the purpose is to make wearable clothes and bridge the distance between ramp and rack.
Designer Varun Bahl flagged off the development and presented a set with less cope with embroidery and more on wearability. With lehengas, saris and anarkalis within the darker tones in fabric like silk net, chiffon and silk velvet, he attempted to “merge evergreen classic feel of old India with modern dressing styles”.
“Today’s generation want something which are light to hold and yet look elegant and that’s what I NEEDED to concentrate on the collection,” Bahl told IANS.
If Bahl was low on embroidery, ace designer Manish Arora was high on needlework. Returning to ramp after an opening of 3 years, he chose to provide a retrospective of his collections shown at Paris Fashion Week during the last few years.
The inspiration for all his garments was “India and its great culture”.
“The collection contains some my favourite pieces that I showed in Paris. All the things has been handcrafted and feature meticulous embroideries and embellishments,” he added.
From a mixture of ultra-feminine skirts and dresses to streamlined pencil skirts to cigarette pants, Arora’s collection was a visible feast for fashion conscious people on the lookout for freshness.
Generally couture means high price tags, but designer duo Ashima and Leena Singh say they go by the clients’ budget and requirements.
“Our couture wear range relies on the budget of our client. If a customer wants something in certain price bracket, we're there to offer them. Couture today isn't meant just for high end customer,” said Leena.
Anamika Khanna and Gaurav Gupta also hogged the limelight by showing different interpretation of sari, which boasted of a contemporary touch.
Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor, who was present at their show to cheer for them, liked it and said “it was so incredible”.
“They have taken something that was so traditional and so beautiful and presented it in a contemporary way, which I BELIEVE was so wonderful. I FEEL they both gave the sari a special outlook altogether. I'M incredibly grateful that I'LL see something like this today,” Sonam told IANS after the show.
If designers managed to woo fashionistas with their collection, Bollywood divas wowed them with their ‘adas’.
If veteran actress Sharmila Tagore brought elegance at the ramp as a showstopper for designer duo Ashima-Leena in a red sari teamed up with a protracted jacket accesorised well with a “potli” (bag), Hindi films dancing diva Madhuri Dixit scorched the ramp when she took ‘devi’ avatar for Anju Modi and hit the runway in an ivory coloured heavily embroidered lehanga teamed with black choli, maroon dupatta — to not miss the sindoor on her forehead.
Madhuri’s senior Sridevi too came in full force and sashayed down the ramp for finale designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee. The actress, who's making her Bollywood comeback with “English Vinglish”, looked gorgeous in a heavily embroidered cream lehenga and he or she too wore it with a full-sleeved black blouse.
One couldn’t miss Bollywood extravaganza at Manish Malhotra’s show. If Katrina Kaif and Vidyut Jamwal walked the ramp for him, filmmakers Karan Johar, Madhur Bhandarkar, Satish Kaushik to newcomer Alia Bhatt to Hrithik Roshan’s wife Suzanne occupied front row to cheer for his or her favourite designer.
Another highlight of the trend week was the announcement of joint collaboration of Indo-Dutch fashion by Jan Taminiau, one of the most leading couturiers from Netherlands.
Co-initiated by the FDCI foundation, HTNK Fashion recruitment and consultancy foundation and House of Denim, the programme is titled “Dutch Fashion Here & Now India”.
The three-year collaboration will see two designers from Netherlands collaborate with two names from the Indian fashion fraternity to showcase a suite at later date.
