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Rodricks,
Dhaka steal the show on the last day
Mumbai,
July 25: The week-long Lakme fashion fair, featuring India's best-known
designers, models, critics, international buyers and mediapersons, had
its 'grand finale' here on Thursday. Goa-based Wendell Rodricks electrified
the audience with his water-based collection. Models in soothing blue
and white ensembles, with low-line cuts and bubbles in their heads were
contrasted by water jacket, an interpretation of his statement on style.
Another
person to showcase his designs on the last day was Mumbai's Hemant Trivedi,
who outlined Indian women using feminine colours like pink and white.
Trivedi, the only Indian to have been invited to unveil his collections
at Harvey Nicholson's exclusive showroom in Riyadh, used more props
to display his collection than ever before. Rodricks was touched with
the audience's appreciation. "I am very happy that the crowd loved it.
They loved what I did in a very simple way. Beacause what Hemant (fellow-designer)
has here is his elaborate, bejewelled way. I am touched that the audicences
loved what I did," said Rodricks.
The
audience included who's who of the city's glitterati - Reliance Group
chairman Anil Ambani, his wife Tina, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's
wife Gauri, MTV VJ Malaika Arora Khan, actress Padmini Kolhapure and
many others. "It was height of creativity, very well conceived," said
Kolhapure.
Delhi-based designer Rina Dhaka's show preceded the grand finale. Dhaka,
known for her usually bold styles, this time presented a subdued collection
with the use of colours like white with flashes of orange, grey, indigo,
black and taupes. This time she toned down her usual exhuberance to
present bolder outfits like bikinis and sarongs. Her Western silhouttes
were created from a variety of modern fabrics including lycra, for a
body-hugging line georgette, and panne' velvette. The collections also
saw a lot of Indian touch to drapes like chikan', mirror work, 'lehraiya',
'gota' and a bit of beadwork. Skirt lengths were short, with flippy
asymmetrical hemlines. Trousers had the usual slimline flares. Dhaka
said her collection was based on various moods in a woman's life. "The
whole essence of the collections is to show my strength and my ability
to be able to demonstrate the various moods of a woman transcending
through her life right from absolute purity, simplicity of the cottons
down to the very modern cut-throat edge of the shorts and the T-shirts
to a very very clever, wicked bikini," said Dhaka.
Style-God
Satya Paul also bedazzled the audience with his colourful yet suave
collection on the last day. Paul, known for his artistic collection
full of vibrant colours with rich palette and patterns, also used the
woman of India as a muse. His creations were a popular draw with an
imaginatively crafted fashion show with slow pulsating music and natural
sounds created for the effect. Paul used sarees and salwar-kameez in
a different style with colour schemes ranging from black to white, organzas
and violets. In all, more than 50 designers showcased their 'pret-a-porter'
or ready-to-wear collections at the annual event, which drew at least
15,000 spectators from across the globe. Some of the big name potential
buyers including luxury conglomerate Moet, Hennessy-Louis Vuitton and
British clothing retail giants Marks and Spencer and Selfridges attended
the week- long fashion parade.
Valaya's
funky fabrics
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Fashion
czar JJ Valaya put up a show that lived up to everyone's expectations,
on the sixth day.
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The
sixth day of Lakme India Fashion Week was a sure shot hit. Fashion czar
J.J.Valaya put on a show on Wednesday that lived up to everyone's expectations.
He displayed beautifully embellished traditional Indian garments. Delhi-based
Valaya added touches of funky fabrics - denim, faux fur, shocking colours
- to surprise the audience. There was indeed a glittering array of his
exquisite work on traditional Indian garments. For women, Valaya presented
fusion silhouettes: flared pants, straight pants and ponchos in black
and sizzling white. For men, Western shirts with motifs ruled the ramp.
Valaya's use of colours damped down to Ecrus, Vanillas, Ivories- accompanied
by the ubiquitous black. In all, his collection was wearable.
"It's something that can be worn. It may give a feeler to next season
but it is not next season," Valaya said. A host of celebrities, including
advertising guru Alyque Padamsee, model Malaika Arora, actress Amrita
Arora, singer Ila Arun and a host of others were mesmerised by the amazing
collection of Studio Valaya. "I found it excellent. I've always said
that J.J.Valaya is one of the best designers and the last item in his
collection I thought was terrific...very unusual and really class,"
said Padamsee.
Another
show to enthrall the audience on the sixth day of the Fashion Week was
the inevitable Meera and Muzaffar Ali's 'Kotwara' collection. Their
endeavour has been to look at style in the broadest sense of the concept
and create products with a universal appeal and relevance. And that's
what was visible on the ethnic Indian collection presented by the husband-wife
duo. Using simple craft techniques of 'chikan', 'zardozi', 'tukdi' and
'appliqui' with hand detailing, the Alis created dramatic effects on
chiffons and cottons, evoking the blend of historical and modern culture.
The label of 'Kotwara' thus acquired a style of its own which is both
avant-garde and traditional and evoked an image which is an interesting
blend of detailing and innovation, modernity and old world charm.
At
least 60 designers showcased their 'pret-a-porter' or ready- to-wear
collections at the event which drew 15,000 spectators, including film
stars, fashion critics, buyers and upcoming fashion designers. Some
of the biggest names in Indian fashion industry-Rina Dhaka, Rajesh Pratap
Singh, Satya Paul, Wendell Rodricks, Hemant Trivedi and Suneet Verma
are yet to showcase their collections on the last day of the event.
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