Wills India Fashion Week:SS,2013-Day 5, Bid Adieu!

"Saying goodbye doesn't mean anything. It's the time we spent together that matters, not how we left it."
                                                                                  Trey Parker
On the last day of WIFW, the feeling of nostalgia creeps in almost everbody. Most of the designers leave on a happy note, some not that good but with a feeling of making it better next time, some have mixed feelings. But the crux of the story is, everybody is moving and marching to achieve a goal, conquer a dream, or win over people hearts.
The last day saw collections of 12 designers, the day started with young designer Raj Shroff and the much awaited grand finale was done by The Ritu Kumar.
Here is my pick of the day from Day 5:

Pia Pauro:Isola Pia

Isola Pia – translates into Pia’s Island in Italian, a flirty, fun and sexy collection ideal for an exotic resort holiday. It is first ever that Ikat prints are used on swimwear, jute beach bags with ornate Ostrich feather trimmings.

Pia loves colours, running riot, in bold greens, bright pinks. Sequinned kaftans and bikinis, party Sunset cocktail dresses. Embroideries inspired from Sind playing on pencil skirts, cotton dresses, and brunch specials. Sunset dresses to be worn till sunrise bling cocktail dress inspired from French Polynesian motifs. The first print in verdant green and brown, is inspired by Coconut groves.
The second print, playing on black, white, pink, and blue is inspired by ancient body art.Fabrics like silk satin, silk georgette and cotton silk with the perfect match of ease and luxe to it.
The accessories were the interesting part of Pia's show, they were having looks of colourful feathers as earrings. The same feathers were used on high heels to give oneness to glam the dresses.
Wearable quotient:7/10

 Virtues by Viral, Ashish & Vikrant: Moroccan Princess
The “Moroccan Princess” takes you to a world of exotic Middle Eastern glamour, inspired by the Moorish art and design of the Marrakesh. Abundant in rich colors and warm spice, the summer collection is the lavish oasis of luxurious silks and prints in saturated tones that pop sparkling silver metallics. Brilliant hues of sunshine yellows, salmon pink, sea green, beige, ivory and indigo are stunning against accents of coral, olive and black. The vivid colors and high shine lend a 70’s influence with the sleek and flowing lines of flowing silhouettes. Digital prints, summer dresses, kaftans and robes combine for an opulent look. The collection is a spectacular cocktail of bold 70’s glamour and the rich sensual mystery of Morocco.
wearable quotient: 6/10

Hemant & Nandita:Kaleidology
Designer duo Hemant & Nandita presented a sporty collection. On white base X-ray prints of Hibiscus, Rose, & tulips were used which gave a very fresh feel & appeal to the collection. Models walked the ramp with white excecise band on head giving it more sporty & fun look. Fabric used were Organza, opaqueness with thick crepe. The collection had shorts, peplum tops, shirts, pants, body suits.
Wearable quotiuent for summer- sping: 6/10

Grand Finale': by Ritu Kumar
Ritu Kumar's show for Grand Finale' was grand & synomym of splendour in true sense. The ramp was turned out to be an entry gate of a palace, the sides of the hall were turned into "Mehrab". On those Mehrabs 6 screens were placed where the show began with a short 2 minutes movie depicting her "Karigar"  mental conditions, they think about work, work & work. Later there movies alongwith the show featuring ace model Sonalika sahay in Ritu ji's different-2 collections. Their were 4 D picturisation.
The show began with Label Ritu Kumar, her casual contemporary dress collection. The dresses were classy, fabrics and prints being her forte', were stylish & soothing.Using the motifs and moods of the era, the pieces are crafted to offer a modern representation. Dropped waists, bold forms and delicate embroideries are juxtaposed with modern techniques and shaping. The collection is very graphic. Fabrics are predominantly silks in chiffon, crepe and twill. The mood is svelte eveningwear and embellishments exude themes and inspirations from architecture. Blazing colors, rich deep inks, bold and elegant lines made possible by treatments like serigraphy and lithography spell glamour, romanticism and wit.

Before the 2nd half, a ball dance sequence by 4 couples were presented on ramp on Late actor Shammi Kapoor's hit song "Baar dekho,hazaar baar dekho......". It put the mood of the audience in tandem and joy.

The second half of the show draws inspiration from the Indian Freedom Movement and the colonial era and dips into the romance of the 1930's. Using the rich design heritage of Ritu Kumar Couture, the collection draws from the European influence on Indian royalty during the pre-partition period. This results in the use of rich tapestries, laces, brocades and embroideries. The interpretation of the theme uses expert workmanship of the atelier. It carries forward the vintage mood of the previous segment but in its Indian avatar. The geometric motifs form graceful curvilinear feminine lines of paisleys and chintzes in luxurious colours.

The collection ends with a regal collection of gold, black and jeweled ensembles reminiscent of the India of the mid 20th century with its Baroque influences and distinctive style of Indo European fashion.

The distinctive element of the show is the showcasing of the wide range of the Ritu Kumar brand at one event. Both history and the future of the brand have been made available on one platform and the appeal is aimed across generations and tastes through a lavish and adventurous presentation.

 

Wills India Fashion Week:SS,2013-Day 4

We all might have heard or read about the life cycle & business cycle; it goes up till the boom, them move downwards till the end. But for the WIFW day4, it was a downturn in positive way. There was plethora of colours in designs; there were buyers from all over the world to close the deals with the designers who were showcasing their collections of ramp, and who were showcasing it through exhibition stalls only. Not only dress designers, the accesories designers were all praises for the event.

Here is my pick of the day for WIFW-Day 4:

Gauri & Nainika Karan+Nainika Karan - My Fair Lady
Designers duo sisters Gauri & Nainika Karan's latest collection "My Fair Lady" stole the show.  Inspired by Races of high fashion and glamour of roaring 20's and the lady like look of 40's, the collection showed that so much can be done with white with a hint of black colour. White evening gowns has its own charm and appeal. It was Romantic red carpet dresses glorifying the feminine curves in pure whites celebrated the beauty and style what the races stood for in the earlier part of the twentieth century. Black headgear, black lace belts were adding to the eliteness.It was absolute stylish evening wear for the coming Spring Summer season.
Wearable quotient:9/10

Ranna Gill: Fiama Di Wills ''Exotica''

For the SS,2013season Ranna Gill has joined hands with Fiama Di Wills. She has desined "Exotica" collection which exotic in true sense. The colors are soothing, the experiments are stylish, the silhouttes are amazing; the list is unending. Ranna draws inspiration from nature and her collection is evocative of an sculpture garden or to say Garden of Eden.
The show started by breathtaking stunts by an acrobat. Her collection showcased a range of vibrant 70's inspired loose fitted dresses with gentle pleats and tuck details. Dashes of fluorescent shades were adding the beauty of white based dresses. Dyeing techniques such as shibori patterns and tie and dye were combined with intricate embroidery to give details depicting orchids and joyous garden lanscape.
Wearable quotient : 8/10

Wills India Fashion Week:SS,2013-Day 3

               "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."
                                                              Leonardo da Vinci

Day 3 of WIFW saw simplicity in colours, designes, cuts everything but very appealing. It seemed as if in a world of difficulties, there lies soothness in the form of simple designes. Rahul Mishra, Divyam Mehta and Manish Gupta were the torch bearers.

Rahul Mishra: Weave, Sew,Yeild & Bloom

Rahul Mishra's latest collection has been designed using chaste hand woven Kerala Mundus, Organic Khadi, textiles, and his signature strong graphics in hand embroideries with japanese lineage. 

Rahul told that he received a call from Kerala Government to make Kasav & Mundus interesting for the new generation as they are leaving traditional clothing and wearing T-shirts & Denims instead. He has not only designed it so beautifully without disturbing the very essence & feel of Mundus. I personally feel that even it will be diificult for the Malayalees compatriots to believe that so much could be done with Kasav's & Mundus.

Wearable quotient:9/10

Indrani in Rahul Mishra's collection.

Manish Gupta: Primrose

Manish Gupta embraces the beauty of spring with his "Primrose" collection. As the name suggests, the flowery collection is inspired by the shower of delicate yet showy primrose which are the first blossom of spring. The collection brings a whiff of freshness through floral motifs and elaborate use of 3D tapesteries. The experiment and play of exquisite textures and embroidery was in verve this time with use of appliques, laces, tapes, beads, sequins and organza flowers.

The pastel colour pallette was enhancing the zest of season. Collection has short dresses, silhouttes and gowns. Wearable quotient: 7/10

Divyam Mehta:
On speaking about his collection and inspiration, Divyam says; Clothing… from a piece of a cloth.

Fabric ..wrap it ,drape it , tuck it , hold it ,pleat it , pattern it , cut sew , hand tailor , craft it , its really

fascinating to see how a simple piece of cloth turns into a second skin

They are more than a hundred styles of wearing a saree tying a dhoti , holding a lungi wrapping a

kimono, tucking a samurai hamama.This collection is simply an attempt to rethink ,restyle ,redesign some of these clothing styles .a fine balance a perfect harmony between exquisite fabrics ,drape ,pattern ,and form accurate construction ,craft and tailoring.

The pleats the layers ,the twists and turns ,the wrapping ,folding , the shapes ,the forms , the

balance ,the proportions ,bold crotchet ,soft linen voile ,French chiffons … all come together the create styles that evoke a sense of culture from which it originates .

Colors used are Ethers whites ,natural beige ,and dhoop chaon ,rosewood.

The collection had such soothing effect that I am bound to give it 8.5 out 10 on wearability quotient.

 

Wills India Fashion Week:SS,2013, Day 2

"Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening."
Coco Chanel 

Day 2 my pick of the day:
Manish Malhotra presented his signature style, like Anarkalis, Gharara, Sharara but with a difference.Earlier he was concentrating on Kashmiri Tilla work,Zardozi etc.; but this time he has explored "Chickekari" in a very beautiful way. He has presented Kurtas with heavy work of Chicken with Parralels or Gharara; Lehngas with heavy Chiken work Dupattas wrapped in a gracious way. This collection has helped the self help group "Mijwan" run by accomplished actress Shabana Azmi. The collection was evening wear for Spring Summer collection.
The show was opened by Shabana Azmi & the show stopper for the show was Ishaqzade fame Pareenita Chopra.Wearable quotient: 8/10





Parineeta Chopra in Manish Malhotra collection.Pic Courtesy Monica Dawar Fashion Photography

 

 James Farreira: Dressing woman to accentuate the curves:





On Day 2, Designer James Farreira not only made his audience amused by his 'mast'

dance in the end; the collection he presented was sexy, appealing, & beautiful. The collection was white in colour with hand painted lotus, Lord Ganesha, child angels by renowned painter Bhamini Subramaniam. The colletion was called "Ganesha Frolicking with Cherubs". On the Silhouttes & gowns lotus flowers were  hand painted to give a feeling of lotus pond, with flying angels. Silhouttes were edgy as it was showing curves of the models very beautifully. Wearable quotient: 8/10

 



Ankur Modi:Priyanka Modi(AM:PM)- The Mayan Maze

 

Known is a drop, the unknown is an Ocean.This season, for Spring Summer 2013, the designer duo draw inspiration from  ancient civilization, imprinting an entire collection with hints of its  myths and mystique.

Exotic imagery of God-Birds, Pyramids, Birds of Paradise  and the Maze Floritisque, all find their way into the soul of this lush collection.

The fabrics used are natural with dewy freshness. Silk Satins and Organzas was woven to reflect, as if water was their thread, and from them silhouettes, so fluid, as if liquid in form.
In my view was it was unleashing the Corporate look.The latest collection The Mayan Maze of AM:PM definitely reminded me of stylish corporate dressing, which will make today's woman confident & glamorous. Colour pallette was mostly Black & White, checks & thin prints gave the collection an international look. Parrallels, Straight Skirts, Closed collar shirts and much more. Wearable quotient: 9/10

 

Wills India Fashion Week:Spring-Summer 2013

Fashion Development Council of India is back with latest edition of Spring-Summer fashion forecast for Wills India Fashion Week. Delhi is raining with models, celebrities and of course designer dresses everywhere at Pragati Maidan.  In this 5 days activity, 132 designers will participate, out of which 65 will showcase their latest collections through ramp shows and all of them will have stalls in the exhibit area.
On  Day one, 13 designers showcased their collections, out of which here are my Pick of the day 1:-
Payal Pratap: Payal's collection was named as Gates of Dawn. It was a boehmian collection drawing from the Kutch desert. Nomadic in Spirit, urban in appeal. Light weight fabrics used to create layers and volume.  Payal has used Chanderi Moonga silk,
Beautiful colours were used for geomtric embroidery, cross stitch and hand detailing. It has both hand and machine embroidery.


Olga in Payal Pratap's collection.

The collections has silhoettes, Gathered skirts teamed with choli style corset tops, layered suits( read kurtas & churidars), Sarees. It was definitely  Spring Summer collection in true aesthetic sense.
The colour contrast was beautiful and had experiments like Purple and mustard, blue & orange, Orange & green. Dark Pink and orange.
Broad multi coloured bangels were used to in large numbers to match the Kutch desert bohemian lady style. The price range is from 10 K to 30 K.
In my view it was the most wearable collection from day 1. Suttle colours, comfortable fabric, and multicoloured geometric & cross stich embroidery was making the collection so interesting.  Former Miss India & Miss Universe Runner up, Manpreet Brar gave 9 out of 10 in wearability quotient.


Shweta in Orange green Saree with Angrakha style blouse.

Atsu Sekhose-The Traditional Stylist:

The second designer which impressed me and the fashion hunger audience was Atsu Sekhose. Atsu traveled to North East, his hometown, for inspiration. Touched by the effortless style of his people & the ease of summer, an intimate collection unfolds this season. Elegant parkas and trench coats in Eri Silk, layered over bold woven shorts, silk dresses, create a new graphic vocabulary.

 

Traditional tribal shawls & textiles have been given a new lightness for carrying comfortable by new age fashion icons.  Sekhose has created a print amalgamating traditional Angami, Ao, Lotha and Sema Shawls that offers a graphic punch and gives a new global identity to these timeless woven treasures.  Shots of red & cobalt colours stand out against a clean canvas of black & white.

Assamese muga silk shirt was paired with Mizo woven silk pants or Angami pencil skirts. Sleeveless tops & T-shirts are belted with sharp Manipuri woven shorts.

 

To give it a contemporary look, leather was used for detailing and it gave a very international look to the collection. It seemed perfect for the ATSU women who live in Nagaland & New York! Wearable Quotient- 8/10

The show was sponsored by Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. Ms.Kiran Dhingra, Secretary, Ministry of Textiles was present to grace the event.