Lakmé Fashion Week, a leading business event for the fashion industry, is back again with the Spring/Summer 2009 collections being showed at National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA), Mumbai
from 20-24 October 2008
. RVG Newsvision bring you daily coverage of the shows with detailed reviews specially written for us by fashion expert M.Mistry.
CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements ANNOUNCES WEDDING BELLES: ITS GLOBAL INITIATIVE IN INDIA
TOP TRENDS OF THE DAY
1.
Using surface darts for ornamentation
2.
Feathers and sequins for glitter
3.
Shaded fabrics in soft pastel hues
4.
Khadi to the forefront of fashion
5.
Recreating paintings on garments
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Patan Patola weave for bridal wear
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Inspirations from artists
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Fabric braiding as embellishments
9.
Cutting trousers in nine parts.
anuj sharma
Anuj Sharma attended the Masters program in Apparel Design at the NID Ahmedabad and went on to win the prestigious Charles Wallice India trust scholarship in 2002 to study Masters in High performance Sportswear Design from the University of Derby, UK. He has been on the faculty of his alma mater and also been involved with other social projects related to craft.
Anuj Sharma's creativity knows no bounds. This designer can push his creativity to the ultimate limits and each time he has proved it very successfully. His last two collections won him accolades. So his fans wondered can he do it again? And he did! This time once again he used his imagination and it was the 'knot' that fascinated him so his collection was called "Knot for You" an inspiration which Anuj felt was very apt since a knot holds so many things together and therefore he made an attempt to work with rectangular pieces of fabrics like georgette and crepe to work with transparent and opaque fabrics to observe whether his theory of knots would really work. And it did!
Using the concept on various parts of the garments to achieve forms like flowers or a butterfly Anuj; tied fabrics into knots which were strategically placed at the midriff, shoulders, waist, back, sides, neck, hem, hips to mould the fabrics around the body and achieve a shape and five form to the fluid outfits. Very suited for the summer season, the dresses both long and short resembled togas with Grecian drapes and were held at the shoulder by very thin black satin ribbons and just one seam.
Using just three colours – peach, grey and brown in layers or folds, the creations that emerged were exciting and interesting to behold as the audience was kept guessing how the various silhouettes were formed. A master at geometric cutting, Anuj Sharma once again proved that there are still many new garment construction techniques up his sleeve which he is waiting to spring onto the audience.
With "Knot for You" he proved that even so humble a "joint" can be turned into a style statement.
Arshiya honed her creative skills with a degree in Fine Arts from the J J Institute of Fine Arts and qualified for the Dean’s Merit List. She connected with her latent fashion streak and went on to add more degrees, first from NIFT-Mumbai and next FIT-New York where again she received the Presidential Scholarship Award. While in New York, she interned under designers like Ralph Lauren, Onyx Noire and Neil Beiff.
The Journey of a Doll in Space - is how Arshiya Fakih Eappen for her Araiya label visualized her Spring/ Summer 2009 collection and it consisted of mini dresses in colours that ranged from mid pink to dull green, bright blue and champagne with pearl white, silver and gold adding to the glitter of the satin, silk and Lurex fabrics. The silhouette was very typical of Arshiya's look of the past - cocktail dresses for the party going trendy girl which would love a figure hugging sheath or shift.
With so limited a choice it had to be the texturing and detailing that could do all the "talking" for the garments. So there were embossed satin dresses with turned pleats, some with hexagon patch work embroidery, or embossed sheaths with leather patches, shifts with cord work and pleating, tubes with Swarovski touches, draped satin creations with silver and gold patch work and stretch satin outfits with pleats and leather interest. Embossed fabrics gave an interesting mix of matte and glossy effect for some of the dresses. The Lurex section had sexy late night dresses with geometric leather appliqués.
Where Arshiya has to pay more attention is the finishing of the garments. Linings were causing bulges in the hemlines and seams were not exactly behaving well for some of the dresses. Besides there was nothing futuristic or space age about the collection which appeared rather tame. There is no doubt that this line could work well for Arshiya's loyal friends if they are not too fussy about the overall finish of the garments.
CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements ANNOUNCES WEDDING BELLES: ITS GLOBAL INITIATIVE IN INDIA
CRYSTALLIZEDTM – SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE UNBRIDALED – THE MARRIAGE OF TRADITION AND AVANT GARDE On 16 September 2008, at the Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi,
CRYSTALLIZED™ –Swarovski Elements, Swarovski’s new product brand for all loose Swarovski crystals, will unveil its fabulous wedding initiative and aesthetically ground-breaking coffee table book “UNBRIDALED – The Marriage of Tradition and Avant Garde” for the very first time in India. The breathtaking exhibition, displaying exclusive accessories, jewellery, fashion and interior pieces embellished with CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements, will be open to the public from 17-20 September. To make this initiative more relevant in the country CRYSTALLIZEDTM has exclusively partnered and collaborated closely with top local influencers in the Indian wedding market.
Distinctive Indian cultural richness and grandeur will be displayed by over 65 spectacular exhibits from Indian design labels and talents, which will be juxtaposed with a host of renowned international pieces from the unveiling of the exhibition earlier this year in Paris. Showcasing a fresh, modern and edgy interpretation for the burgeoning Indian wedding market all exhibits will be illuminated by the brilliance of CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements.
The designer duo Bhumika and Shyamal Shodhan launched their namesake label in 2003 after which Shyamal went to London to attend a brief training program at the Central St. Martins College of Art & Design. Their designs are replete with techniques like appliqué and hand embroideries.
The wedding season is upon us and designers are moving into top gear to cater to the bridal rush. Shyamal and Bhumika obviously want to cash in on it too, even if the seasons for the Lakmé Fashion Week are Spring/Summer 2009.
Their collection called "Gaam" (which means village in Gujerati) reflected the beauty of Gujarat and Rajasthan in the colours, fabrics and styles. The look revolved around kachli, choli, kurti, ghumerdaar ghagras, kalidar ghagras, kedia, puthia, bandi, jodhu coat and dhotis for women and men.
The colours were the vibrant shades of purple, canton, red, orange, honey, oasis, green, mustard and otter. There were traditional craft techniques like Zari, aari, gota and dacha with khadi print in antique gold and copper with muticoloured suf and rabarid embroidery motifs on the very ornate garments. The Zari tassel and fumtaas (pom-poms) added to the festive look of the garments.
There was an attempt to modernize the silhouettes of the kurta and tunic a little to give a fusion look; but it did not give the outfits any noticeable change. What also did not quite make the collection memorable, was the fact that there was a certain de ja vou about the garments. One had seen them so many times before there were no more surprises left in their creativity.
May be not following the traditional route so religiously but instead attempting a detour would have made Gaam by Shyamal and Bhumika a more exciting collection.
Raakesh Agarvwal trained at Nift, Delhi and went on to work for Tarun Tahiliani as head designer. He launched his own studio in 2005, which is known for creating glamorous yet comfortable apparel.
Raakesh Agarvwal loves to dress glamorous women in his beautiful clothes, so his collections are always Red Carpet entries - very well finished elegant with just the right amount of embellishment and style without over doing it. The fact that the garments may have a limited audience is very obvious since not every one can do justice to his creations.
His “Summer Solstice” was a line of resort and evening wear in colours of white, orange and raspberry for ultra glamorous effect. The ensembles had a retro touch of the glorious 40s and 50s era of Hollywood stars, with feathers and sequins along with shimmering crystals being used judiciously to add to the beauty of the garments and not detract from them.
Satin cotton, chiffon, silk and georgette were the staple fabrics for the minis, skirts, blouses, long gowns, saris and stylish jumpsuits. There were minis with cowl skirts and corset bodies, sequined tops, tiny sequined cycle shorts, glittering sheaths with sashed hemlines, flowing palazzos, one shoulder sequined tops with micro miniskirts - all comfortable for evening glamour. For those important nights there were the orange halter jumpsuit, layered shaded chiffon kaftan, draped mini and satin chiffon plisse will-power gown, a great looking red draped mini with feathered and sequined bodice and finally a orange halter mermaid skirt gown with a shimmering crystal belt. The two saris in orange and raspberry chiffon were devoid of any embellishments, but Raakesh added the glamour to the glittering bustier and a matching belt to the hips.
There was discreet elegance in the garments and the overall collection will appeal to the popular faces on the glamour circuit.
Lina Tipnis belongs to a breed of born designers who make a mark without any formal training. She launched her label LINARIKA in 1996 and 1997 was invited to showcase at the IGEDO fair in Düsseldorf where she started out with her signature label ‘Lina Tipnis’.
Lina Tipnis is a bestselling designer all over India and abroad and she knows her buyers’ needs very well. Her collection was a total prêt line for which she can expect some large orders. There was no fuss, not too many frills either, but there were minute touches of detailing that could be missed by the unseasoned eye. The concept of using surface darts to create almost flower like detailing on the garments was interesting. The blossoms appeared in strategic places of the blouses and skirts; giving an almost star burst like effect to the clothes.
There were tiny pleated skirts with the surface darting which also appeared on organza shrugs. The hemline for the skirts was kept way above the knee stating that the legs are the focal point for Spring/Summer 2009. Of course, this limits the appeal of the garment as Indian women are not known to have Amazon like never ending legs.
Playing with sheer and opaque, Lina used the former for back yokes to add a summer touch to the blouses. There were some hot selling staple items like the black/white satin draped batwing dress, the black petal draped skirt with racer back blouse, some flowing patio pants in shades of brown with a digital print and a shirt dress with op-art prints. For evening glamour there was the one-shoulder black dress with wide diamond cuff, a grey cowl dress with crystals on the cowls and a silver raw silk dress with embroidered neck.
There was not much ramp drama in the collection but when it comes to filling the order forms the garments could make Lina Tipnis smile.
Sabyasachi Mukherji had made waves in the fashion circles even before he graduated from NIFT, Kolkata where he won three top awards. He launched his label soon after graduating in 1999. As winner of the the Femina British Council most outstanding young Designer of India award in 2001, he traveled to London and interned with Georgina Von Etzdorf based in Salisbury.
As the finale collection of Lakmé Fashion Week Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s line titled Bridal Sutra to match the makeup line launched by Lakmé for the coming season; was very grand with all the right touches of glamorous kitsch which the designer is renowned for.
But somewhere down the line the bridal collection with the flowing angarkhas and full circle floor length kurtas, the multi patterned panelled lehengas, the long sleeved patch work cholis and heavy dupatta are now getting very repetitive and gave one a sense of déjà vou that one has seen similar ones some seasons ago. The one distinct interesting aspect was the use of the Patan Patola weave for dupattas and parts of kurta and saris.
No doubt the embellishments and workmanship was very lavish with the heavy Zari borders for the dupattas, the giant paisleys on the men’s sherwani back, the double and triple saris worn together to create a fashion statement, the heavy rose motifs and the kurtas, salwars and churidars with prints in muted colours, that Sabyasachi is known for.
The silhouettes did not reveal anything one has not seen in the past, the only difference was the way the entries of the models were styled with the mix of different garments.
The starburst like rustic handbags were quite unique and matched the look of the collection and the lavish use of colourful woollen fumtaas to edge dupattas and hemlines gave a rustic touch to the creations. It was ethnic wear of a very high quality, but now Sabyasachi Mukherjee needs to start setting new trends and leave the world of kitsch behind.
Soumitra Mondal, the young designer from West Bengal, launched his label, MARG, in 2002. His creations are inspired by Indian art and textiles. He set aside his training in science to pursue the course of fashion design.
Think of khadi and the first image that comes to mind is a politician or a freedom fighter dressed in starched white kurta and churidars. Now think of khadi in a new light as presented by Soumitra Mondal for Spring/Summer 2009. The designer who has worked with this fabric for a long time presented it in a new avatar and the result was amazing.
It was hard to believe that the collection on the ramp was made from the fabric of freedom promoted by Mahatma Gandhi. It was so stylish most of the women in the audience wanted to grab the dresses off the ramp. The colours were everything but white and beige. Soumitra literally brought the rainbow onto the ramp. There were indigo sheaths with multicolored diamond weaves, trendy pedal pushers teamed with kurtas with drawstring sleeves and muticoloured yoke, a blue long kurta was teamed with stylish sun yellow pants. Giant motifs appliquéd on khadi dresses had a great summer look, fake pinafores with embroidered bibs, cycling shorts in mustard with strappy tops, thigh length shaded jumpsuits, cute smocks with contrast edged hemlines and sleeve cuff were all aimed at attracting the fashionable women of the country. The matching handbags and the braided sandals made a great fashion statement.
It’s wonderful that Soumitra Mondal is promoting our home spun fabrics so religiously. If only more designers used our wonderful fabrics maybe India will regain its lost glory of being a great textile producing nation.
Both designer are commerce graduates from Sydenham college. Thereafter Priyya went on to P V Polytechnic (SNDT) and worked with Sheetal Design studio. Chintan trained at the Parson’s School of Design in New York and worked for Calvin Klein and later Randy Rahm.
Artists have often inspired fashion designers so it was not surprising that designers Priyya and Chintan designed their Spring/Summer 2009 collection after seeing the work of Bose Krishnamachari’s “Stretch Bodies” series which they translated on garments in the form of colours and embellishments as well as textures.
A dash of gold was added to the garments in fabrics like linen, silk and georgettes. The women’s and men’s wear line was in pastels like white, crème, blue, yellow and black. The dresses were knee length or mini while the men’s wear was quite stylish with linen wrap around jackets teamed with matching trousers or a striking yellow and red draped jersey shirt with another wrap around vest and black shirt with blue overstitching worn with black vest and pants.
The artist’s inspirations appeared as muticoloured embroidery on waistline or on textured flaps, corsets with drapes, chiffon dresses with intertwining texture and embroidery, a dramatic draped maroon dress with embroidered belt, black corset with beading and texturing and a fully embellished mini skirt.
It was a relief that the inspiration was not overused or overdone in the garments and kept to the minimum wherever possible. The silhouettes of the women’s wear were elegant and quite suitable to most figure types, except for a few outfits that would need a perfect ten body.
It was an interesting collection with just the right amount of ramp appeal that will get the buyers thinking and the women happy to own it.
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