WIFW Day 3-Celebration of Beauty and Style

"Beauty is everywhere a welcome guest."

                                                                 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Day 3 witnessed beautiful & stylish collections of Manish Malhotra, Abraham & Thakore, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Reynu Taandon, Kavita Bhartia, Kiram Uttam Gosh and many other tallented designers. The emphasis seemed on celebration of colours and India's rich heritage of fabrics.My Pick for Day 3 are:
Abraham & Thakore
Abraham & Thakore presented their collection on behalf of Office of Development Commissioner Hadloom, Ministry of textiles. Their collection was called Shaadi Redux. For this new collection Abraham & Thakore takes a look at India wedding dresses from a modernist and somewhat minimal perspective. They reinterpret traditional occassion dressing into a sleek, modern 21st century bridal wardrobe for the contemporary Indian woman. The lehenga was a long pleated skirt worn with a crisply tailored top. In a play on androgyny, trouser dressing is proposed as a chic alternative, borrowing key elements from the classic Indian menswear wardrobe.The Sari is restyled while it maintains classicism. The forehead was beautfied with big red bindis.

Ekru by Ekta & Ruchira
Ekru by Ekta Jaipuria and Ruchira Kandhari presents INDIAN KALEIDOSCOPE. The colour palette is brightly festive, restrained only through the use of black, white and grays. Thread work and motifs borrowed from traditional textiles have been given a twist by mixing and matching. There has been a generous use of sequins and pearls. The textiles used in the collection also reflects the same diversity as the colours and motifs used – Matka for Bihar, Chanderi from MP, chiffons and woven yardages along with borders from Banaras, all finds it place in this kaleidoscopic journey.

The silhouettes are ethno – futuristic - traditional Indian silhouettes have been contrasted with Avant Garde drapes, which in turn emulates the drapes of Indian saris, creating an interesting cross current of form. Traditional A- line and tent shapes have been merged with slimed and restrained volume in the lower torso. The collection also flaunts fair amount of structured jackets, which are layered with Kalidar (paneled) inners and flared Palazzos.

Soltee by Sulakshna
Designer Sulakshna Monga 'Soltee' showcased her evening party wear collection, a veritable reflection of Sartorial Elegance. Sulakshna has played with colours from pastel to gold. Fabric and cuts of the gowns were making the collection glamorous.Assymetrical patterns with sharp cuts and slits made it classy and western. Beige Sari with zardozi elements paired with net blouse, and and auatic bluse chiffon gown were rocking.

Mynah's Reynu Taandon
Reynu Taandon has showed her signature style in her 'Urban goddess' collection. The colour palette began with peaches and brown, and later came shades of black which stole the limelight with gold and offwhite thredwork. The printed kaftan tops with skin tones fitted bottoms depicted the modernistic sense of design. Reynu has experimented with golden colour leather and made leaves, bird feathers to embelish her designs, it gave the collection comfort of wearability with beauty & style.

Rajesh Pratap singh for The Woolmark Company
Rajesh Pratap Singh’s sense of design can simply be defined as cerebral. With an incredible knowledge in textile engineering and an unmatched design record, Pratap is easily one of best minds in design. Rajesh Pratap’s ability to manipulate wool and noble fiber while injecting a sense of minimalism has gained him influence above and beyond fashion.
In his Autumn/Winter 2013 collection, Rajesh Pratap Singh traces his roots, juxtaposing the masculine and the feminine. Inspired by The Wool Lab trend forecast, the collection is testament to rural India, and exemplifies traditional tailoring in a more modern and contemporary light.
With details like satin inserts, giving pocket detailing a geometry of its own, asymmetry, zipper fasteners from motorcycle jackets, and elements of classic menswear tailoring, every seam has a reason in this collection.Wool Accessories: footwear with leather and wool tweed interspersed. Sheepskin gloves and headgear, shearing combined with tweed.The show was dramatic and there were leaves on the ramp and snow flakes falling depicting winter season.

Manish Malhotra
Treads of Emotion by Manish Malhotra celebrates the magic and heritage of embroidery. Phulkari embroidery is at the heart of collection. In a reinterpretation of traditional craftsmanship from a modern approach, Manish has embellished the line in Phulkari work with a difference. From the collection it was evident that,Manish, who has Midas Touch, has passionately worked for improvement of Phulkari artisans and infused the embroidery with style. The collection featured saris,anarkalis, floor length anarkalis and angrakhas.For men, there were bandhgalas and structured clothes. The primary fabrics used are georgette, net and raw silk. Colours used are rich mustard yellow, navy blue, deep rust, earthy olive and intense red.Actress Jaqueline Fernandis, Isha Gupta and Actor Siddhartha Malhotra walked the ramp for Manish Malhotra. Audience enjoyed to the core the beats of dhol during the show.