September 2006
Ethnic opulence, drama and colours rock Wills India
Fashion Week
New Delhi:
A blend of ethnic poise and innovation ruled the fourth
day of Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week on Saturday. While
the designer couple Meera-Muzaffar Ali's collection evoked
a blend of detailing and innovation, modernity and old world
charm, Deepika Govind and Krishna Mehta unleashed a riot of
colours on the ramp. Meera-Muzaffar Ali's 'Kotwara' collection
sparkled with fine Urdu calligraphy imparting the outfits
an exotic touch. Designers said the collection was a tribute
to craftsmen and calligraphers. "The artists who do this kind
of work are absolutely, I think, on a different spiritual
level. So, taking those forms, those alphabets we put them
together and move them around. They do not mean anything on
the fabric... they need to be embroidered. But they have all
the dramatic look and we kept it all metallic - gold silver,
bronze, copper - all layered, one on top of another," said
Meera Ali. The show evoked heavy applause from the spectators.
"It was pretty interesting. They have used Urdu calligraphy
all over the work. Because you do not know Urdu, it looks
like a design and that's the best part of it. And they use
it subtly," said Mishti, a visitor. With simple craft techniques
like chikan, zardozi, tukdi and appliqui with hand detailing,
the designer duo created dramatic effects on chiffons and
other fabrics. On the penultimate day of the fashion week
Deepika Govind stole the show with here depiction of a variety
of moods in the form of drama and myriad colours - pure black
and white colours and flamboyant bright shades. "We had three
colours in them - bone white, brown and charcoal. We started
with charcoal..., to show how gradually (it changes). We used
charcoal, which is not jet black but it is almost sullied.
Then with the brown - to show earth - and white is to show
purity," Govind said. The fashion week has provided an opportunity
to both fashion and accessory designers to share the platform
with international buyers and consultants. The Will Lifestyle
India Fashion Week was made a bi-annual event this year in
order to cater to the international market segments. At least
160 buyers, including 70 international buyers, are exploring
Indian designs, floored by their ethnic yet classy opulence
and an amalgam of traditional and modern lines.
-Sept 3, 2006
Women's mood influence cloth designs at
Wills India Fashion Week
New Delhi:
The fourth day of the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week
saw apparels to match women's mood. The clothes on display
for the urban women were a work of the Indian patterns in
a Western cut, making them more contemporary and comfortable.
An appropriate platform for displaying talent the designers
made the most of it. The day saw designer wears by Priya Awasthy,
Ashish Pandey and the Swapan and Seema duo. Priya Awasthy's
designs were an inspiration from her belief that every woman
has two facets, soft and hard. So was visible in her designs
in which the lines described the softness and the hardness
being projected by the other elements. "I tried to create
an element of balance in my collection. There are the sharp,
strong, diverse forces within us. In our nature, we feel positive
on certain days and negative on others. So it's just that
diverse moves or diversity in the day. Anywhere you look around
there is the sharp contrast of darkness and daylight. So the
union of that is what brings in harmony," said Awasthy. Swapan
and Seema's clothes boasted the Indian elegance, with a historical
touch to them, which surely ruled the ramp. Ashish Pandey,
tried to stick to the basic whites and the light colours,
as he believed the basic colours embellish the work and enhance
the essence of the dress. "I personally like ivory or beige
or cream, because it is like an open canvas where you can
paint anything. It's like a painting for me. So that is why
I use colours which do not rule out the work or the amount
of effort we put in it," Ashish Pandey said. In order to cater
to the international market segments, the Wills Lifestyle
India Fashion Week was made a bi-annual event this year. The
fashion week has provided an opportunity to both well-known
and budding designers to share the platform with international
buyers and consultants. At least 70 international buyers are
exploring Indian designs, floored by their ethnic yet classy
opulence and an amalgam of traditional and modern lines.
-Sept 2, 2006
Contemporary and subtlety rules day three
of India Fashion Week
New Delhi:
The third day of the Wills India Fashion Week showcased
clothes that were a gorgeous combination of fabrics and soft
colours that were inspired from nature itself. Using a lot
of soft colours and flowing fabrics, the designer duo of Paras
and Shalini won rave reviews from the fashion watchers. The
duo's clothes were designed for the urban woman and made subtle
use of embroidery and ethnic patterns but were cast in western
cut thereby making them look more contemporary and high on
wear-ability quotient. With the "Queen of Elphame" theme,
the model walked down the ramp wearing tiaras, adding to the
dreamlike quality of the designs. "This time what we really
tried to do was quite a lot of patterns, just like draping
on the form. They are not like more constructed in the sense
they are all draped on the form. They are very irregular,
like you do not see side seams; they are all just draped on
the form. That is what we really worked on this time. We also
used a lot of layers that is what we worked on this time,"
said Shalini of the Shalini-Paras duo. Another designer who
showcased his creations was Varun Bahl, whose designs were
all about clean cuts and individuality. His clothes were designed
to make one feel different without compromising on its wear
ability. And like the other designers, his clothes too seemed
to place comfort above everything else. He made use of ivory,
gold and green colours and made use of fabrics like linen,
crepe and silk. The audience seemed to love the impeccably
tailored clothes and appreciated the minimal use of patterns.
"Both (Varun Bahl and Gaurav Gupta's designs) were very nice;
they were very refreshing, beautiful palettes, very spring,
very refreshing, colour palette. The silhouettes were nice,
the detailing was very good. Some I really really like. Designer
Gaurav Gupta had taken inspiration from Art Naouveau and ancient
Greek draping. His clothes were more luxurious in their feel
and he used the classic colours like pearl and oyster. Gupta's
designs also included the traditional Indian 'Sari'.
-Sept 1, 2006
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