The Autumn/Winter 2009 season is an elegant time for Sanchita as she dreamt up a collection that was a mix of several fabrics that came together to create winter magic. There was tulle, paper silk, gauzy wool, satin, printed velvet, modal, micro cotton jersey in delicious colours like cayenne, cinnamon, black pepper, fennel, poppy, pepper and thyme that added spicy touches to the A line skirts, some egg shaped dresses with a mix of muslin and tulle for the feminine touch for the necklines. Sheath dresses, high waist narrow pants, flapper, trapeze, shifts, and swing coats.

There was interesting detailing in grosgrain on velvet and taffeta with some supple leather along with Sashiko quilting on wool and in satin insets for moulded coats, and dresses.

The accessories were the highpoint of the collection as nubuck and printed velvet were turned into soft boots and ballerina shoes along with some stylish totes in woven leather, velvet and canvas. The silk and velvet scarves were inspired by the German Expressionist Nolde.

Some of the fashionable stunners were the padded wool gauze embroidered pea coat, the striking gauze wool padded cocoon dress and trapeze coat, a great reversible jersey cardigan and an elegant poppy hued printed velvet tee dress.

Sanchita then added a stunning silver black tulle layered evening gown, a

Keeping aside the intricate explanation which Puja Nayyar gave for her collection which was supposed to reflect a symbolic change and transformation of a dragon fly on one hand and The Golden Girl in the Mystic Land on the other; for the audience what was on the ramp that matter and what they saw was very interesting in colour, fabric and form except for the last segment where Puja was probably giving wind to her creative pursuits and allowing them to fly helter skelter with no particular reason or rhyme.

The colour palette was firmly in place for the four segments of “The Golden Girls Life”. They were Introduced in ivory, frosted gold and silver. Struggle had to be in charcoal and black. Introspection was a chocolate and steel tale and Achievement turned euphoric in fuchsia, olive, midnight blue, deep plum, bronze and ochre.

The fabrics were varied in choice and application with organza, silk, knits, mohair, furs and fishnets on one side and tweed and satin on the other; while muslins and velvets gave a fine balance.

Opening the show with a long ivory crochet coat over a flamboyant black and white striped maxi skirt, Puja moved to a stunning pearl cable wool blouson dress, then onto a wool organza top, a stylish satin quilted coat with extended cuffs and an oversized collar and had a cute lattice ribbon tunic with knit sleeves and a U shaped hem.

Bias velvet skirt with gold/silver embroidered discs, a red draped poncho, a futuristic brown ruffled wool knit long sleeve sack dress with leather cuffs, grey corset teamed with a brown velvet Spanish skirt with gold/silver embroidery, and a great looking brown satin quilted front/back knit tuxedo jacket were great additions.

The two saris were quirky – an organza tulle with heavy side embroidery and another in crepe with black and white graphic work. The silhouettes were lean or voluminous though the trousers were form fitting. The finale creations somewhat bizarre in nature especially - the red lurex pin cushion long skirt with a knit tee and a gold lame skirt with long sleeve knit T worn by a pregnant model. But then designers do like to suddenly stray from a great collection.

While Puja Nayyar hopes that this collection, like life, will reveal the mystery of women who dream of chocolate apples, we hope she will harvest the fruits of her creativity with this line.

When a collection is well conceived and focused then 34 pieces tell a complete story. Ashish M Soni has always been a designer of few outfits when he has a show and he makes an impact in his perfectly crafted and edited collection which gives an idea of his expertise with men’s as well as women’s wear.

The inspiration was the movies of the 70s era like the hit films Network, Eyes of Laura Mars and Mahogany which Ashish loved and this admiration prompted him to remake the look of the 40s which was the inspiration of the 70s in the 21st century.

The dress, according to Ashish is the best garment for women as it can be dressed up. So luxurious fabrics like satin, taffeta and silk in muted but strong shades like burgundy, prune, Bordeaux, moonbeam, hematite and onion were used for both women’s and men’s wear.

Detailing for women’s wear started with multi pleating for dresses, some discreet embroidery on the waist and asymmetric drapes, masculine silhouettes for the jackets and stylish knits along with feminine rolled collared blouses, and kimono tops which were teamed with flat front or pleated trousers.

Some of the elegant styles were the pleated taffeta yoke dress with cape collar, the kimono top with sailor collar and teamed with silver grey silk taffeta pants, the one shoulder gold top with single pleat narrow trousers in textured silk, the double collar front pleated yoke dress with leather beads embroidery, the draped cashmere and tulle dress with a smart cashmere coat and the full box pleated yoke dress with embroidered belt.

Men’s wear was stylishly simple. Black leather bund gala jacket with velvet collar had black velvet details in the centre and red piping on the jacquard pants. Jacket flaps had neat velvet piping while jackets often had multi pockets, two button closure, single or double back vents and innovations like double lapels and raised necklines.

The decades of the 20th century never seem to cease to inspire designers in India but if the result is as stunning as Ashish’s collection then looking at the past is definitely welcome in fashion anytime.

Kingdom of Love

Thunder, lightening, pouring rain, broken pillars, fallen chandeliers and a deep throated commentary describing the gloom cast by the recession – that is how the drama unfolded at the grand finale by J J Valaya. The suffering masses who were kept waiting for over an hour in a tightly packed holding area for the show to start were already in a bad mood.

But this was only Act I of the three part show, which progressed from black and white to color and optimism of gold and glamour and the mood lifted as perfectly crafted and well finished stunning styles – all seventy of them - appeared on the ramp.

Colors progressed from basic black, ivories, white, grey to copper, coral, beige, moss, cayenne and jewel tones of gold, dull bronze and silver, exuding glamour and glitz as drummers draped in white built up a steady drum beat.

The silhouettes remained primarily Indian. Jackets, bund galas, angrakha cuts, mandarin jackets, all carried the black with white piping detail on the edges of hems, sleeves, collars and pocket flaps and were worn over paneled skirts, jodhpurs, pencil pants, churidars. Jacquard, silks, georgettes, cottons, organza, velvet, wool, satin and woven fabrics were intermingled together or across tops and bottoms to create elegant and immensely wearable garments.

Tone on tone floral embroidery detail on the back of coats, or in contrast of black and white on skirt panels, short sleeve angrakha cut short kurtis worn over full sleeve shirts with knit sleeves and detailed collars were teamed with pencil pants or churidars or skirts. Shaded halter dress with empire waist line and embossed print on velvet, long cuffed short jackets held in place with slim belt and worn over paneled skirt with piping made for very dressy and elegant evening wear.

Empire waistlines and Juliet sleeves were played out in the more optimistic segment of the show. Slim belts worn over wide cloth ones in weave or print, hoods and stoles, trimmed and with gold embroidery, of varying width, colour, materials added glamour and drama.

Men’s wear too was designed along the same lines as women’s wear. The skirts made a brief appearance. Beautiful hobos, totes, sling bags, ankle boots, slippers, strappy sandals, open shoes all blended well perfectly with the line. Exquisite jewelry enhanced the regal and glamour quotient. An exquisite jewel toned short dress with three dimensional details did not seem to belong to the line.

By the time the stunning Royal couple, Kabir Bedi and Dimple Kapadia, in ivory toned jacquard dress, crinkled cotton stole and kundan jewelry, strolled out, bonhomie and good cheer sloshed around in all hearts. Not for nothing is Valaya called the ‘Royal Nomad’. A most fitting finale to the season.