Asian paints’ COLOUR TREND 09, a la Pantone

Asian Paints, India’s largest paint company, has launched its annual colour trend forecast ‘Colour Next 2009’, for home and interiors. Leading architects and designers attended the launch which took place at the Oberoi in New Delhi. Amit Syngle, Vice President, Sales & Marketing said, "Colour Next had been initiated six years ago to study colour trends that are specific to the Indian market. Today, this process is not only one of the most comprehensive trend researches done in the area of colour but the exclusivity lies in the fact that experts from varied disciplines come together to articulate the trends and colour palettes which can not be seen anywhere else.” The five themes which have been presented by leading design experts from various fields were Homepage, Metropolis, Indigene, Multiplicity and Earth Song.

Home Page by Jiten Tharkal and Amit Tagra spoke of the colours which dominate the virtual world and cyber space. Bright fire, silver thundercloud, crystal peak, code red and fairytale green are some of the colours in this theme.
Metropolis theme by Ambrish Arora represents everything that is urban, authoritative and masculine. The colour palette of this theme is moonlit silver, green shadow, mud house and smoke grey.
Indigene, introduced by Varun Sardana, describes vibrancy, quirkiness and indigenous through its colours. The colors here are olive gleam, prairie gold, honey comb, English, castle and mustard.
Multiplicity is conceptualized by Marut Sikka and belongs to those who follow their heart unconfined by routine. The colours are synonyms with passion, duality and multidimensionality. The colours which dominate this theme are purple plains, blue revive, rich berry @silver royale, iced silver, coral coast and Corsican sky.
Earth Song by David Abraham depicts responsibility of being alive and fresh. The colour palettes are silver flourish, Caribbean green, soft blue and pebble white.


Wills Lifestyle is again title sponsor of India Fashion Week

The Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) has announced that Wills Lifestyle, whose three year term of contract ended this year, has entered into another agreement and continues to be the title sponsor of the leading fashion event – the India Fashion Week. Sunil Sethi, President, FDCI said, “The Wills lifestyle India Fashion Week has strongly established itself as India’s largest business of fashion event in India. We are delighted that Wills Lifestyle will once again partner with us and be the title sponsor. With the belief of our stakeholders and the dream of taking the industry from strength to strength we look forward to another edition of business of fashion.” The dates of the 13th edition of the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2009 scheduled from 20-24 March 2009.

Anamika Khanna is Lakmé’s Grand Finale Designer for LFW March’09

Lakmé has declared the name of Anamika Khanna as the Lakme Grand Finale Designer at Lakmé Fashion Week (LFW) Fall-Winter’09, scheduled for 27th to 31st March’09, at the Hotel Grand Hyatt, Mumbai. Anamika Khanna has an international presence and has participated in Paris Fashion Week and trade shows in London, Singapore, New York and Los Angeles besides retailing through about 80 stores in the UK, USA, Japan and Europe.



Delhi Fashion Week designers to woo buyers in Dubai

In an effort to combat the economic gloom, 12 designers from the controversial and dull Delhi Fashion Week started by Sumeet Nair, are heading out to Dubai in search of buyers. They will showcase their collections over two days on January 18-19 2009 at Dubai’s fashion fare where over 200 buyers from across the Middle East are expected to show up. Alpana and Neeraj of Azara and Anamika Khanna are few of those selected to show. Sumit Nair fielded queries about the continuation of his Fashion Weeks and defended his action. He was quoted to have said, “We are trying to develop a new market for our designers who are facing a difficult time because of the recession. Middle East has a lot of potential in terms of buyers. This is separate, the fashion week in Delhi wouldn’t discontinue.” Nair added, “Internationally, fashion weeks like Paris or Milan have similar formats.”

Gitanjali Luxury Style Fest

Gitanjali Jewellers’ second edition of India’s first ever luxury event is being held in Mumbai for three days, from January 20-22, in the lawns of the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC). The event provides to all luxury and elite brands and their target audience, a mutually conducive experience of business networking opportunities. The participating designers are Wendell Rodricks, Ritu Beri, Rohit Bal, Shane & Falguni, Nandita Mehtani, Arjun Khanna, Krishna Mehta, Rocky S and Vikram Phadnis while renowned show director, Marc Robinson will be putting the shows together.

NIIFT is now in Jalandhar too

Industry Minister Manoranjan Kalia has disclosed that a branch of NIIFT is due to open in the city soon. The opening of the institute in Punjab will boost the leather industry of the region. Jalandhar Improvement Trust is giving 2.72 acres of land for the Institute, free of charge. The first academic year of 2009-2010 will see 80 students on its rolls. The courses on offer initially will comprise one or two diploma courses with duration of three years in Fashion Design (Apparels), Fashion Design in Leather Apparels and Accessories. The other courses will be added later post assessment of requirement.

So many Fashion Weeks, not enough buyers

The number of Fashion Weeks in India has gone up to a mind boggling eight. That too at a time when the international markets are seeing a record low. Besides the two editions, spring and fall, of the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) and the Lakme Fashion Week (LFW), FDCI’s Couture Week and the new Men’s wear Fashion Week, there is also the new kid on the block, Sumit Nair, with his Fashion Foundation of India’s two editions of Delhi Fashion Week (DFW). While the two big ones, WIFW and LFW, are barely able to make their dates not clash, Sumit Nair has announced that DFW’s dates will completely overlap that of WIFW and open a day ahead on 19th March and wind up together on the 24th March. Sunil Sethi, President, FDCI, reportedly said, “There is a lot of fashion fatigue, no doubt. We have nobody but ourselves to blame. I hope we come to a common platform.”

Equmen launches body-slimming undergarments for men

Equmen, a Sydney based company, has debuted with the launch of its body-slimming undergarment line of T-shirts, briefs and trunks. Besides the slim and streamlined look, the form-fitted garments, which are designed with help from physical therapists, will help improve posture and blood circulation. While performance active wear from brands like Under Armour, Nike and Skins are already offering compression underwear to improve athletic performance, Equmen is geared towards everyday use and special occasions.

Get ready for a makeup line from D&G

Dolce and Gabbana is all set to enter the world of color cosmetics with the launch of their makeup line developed with the assistance of Pat McGarth, a makeup artist. The addition of cosmetics to its successful fragrance business will make D&G a full-fledged house of beauty. Stefano Gabana has been quoted to have said, “It’s a new pathway for us, and it’s not like fragrance. We see makeup as another thing for women, like a dress. We worked on the makeup line like we work on a clothing collection — you can change makeup like you can change your clothes, depending on your mood.” The lipstick is the main stay of the entire collection, which comes in colors typical of D&G; blues inspired by the Mediterranean, black and gold for the volcanic island Stromboli and a deep burgundy of a dahlia flower. The line is packaged in weighty metal glossy gold cases with rounded edges, slipped into black velvet pouches.

Chicago's Fashion Week might get a makeover

City organizers are reviewing the fall fashion week, called Fashion Focus, based on results of a pro bono study conducted to show how Chicago’s retail and fashion rank in the international fashion area. Jason Felger, co-chairman of Mayor Richard Daley’s Fashion Advisory Council has said that the results will be the determining factor. The Chicago fashion week, Fashion Focus, was launched as recently as 2006 and is a eight day event, but it has yet to generate the desired response from local and regional buyers in order to make it commercially viable. Melissa Gamble, the city’s director of fashion arts and events, said,” Our goal is to give the designers here a venue to showcase their work. We know there is a huge consumer interest and demand and we have to try to grow the buyer’s aspect.”

Milan Men’s Fashion Week cut to four days

The men’s fashion week in Milan saw a few upsets last month and had to change the fashion week’s days to four days from the five days planned. Some of the factors that triggered the decision were the cancellation by Fendi of its show slated for the last day on 21st January and Yves Saint Laurent’s decision to maintain its traditional off-calendar event on January 21 itself. Camera della Moda, general manager Giulia Pirovano Italy said that this was a default on the part of Chambre Syndicale with had breached its understanding made in October that Milan would extend fashion week by one day to five (meaning buyers who traditionally skipped off to Paris early Wednesday would have to postpone their flights). Other design houses like Marni and Valentino had already cancelled their shows as well.

‘Year of Fashion’ for the fashion photographer

The International Center of Photography (ICS) has launched the event, ‘Year of Fashion’ on 16th January. This comprises a series of six exhibitions to be held throughout 2009, wherein every aspect of fashion photography and its history, dating almost to the advent of the camera in 1920 to right until now. Works of artists and photographers such as Steven Klein, Steven Meisel, Mario Sorrenti, Edward Steichen, Richard Avedon, and Nick Knight will be exhibited.

Chalayan’s first major exhibition to open in London

Hussein Chalayan, who was named twice as the British Designer of the Year besides being awarded an MBE for services to the fashion industry in 2006, will have his works exhibited at the Design Museum, Shad Thames, London for the first time. The exhibition will run from January 21st to May 17th. Chalayan has been acclaimed as the world leader in experimental and conceptual designs and his innovative use of materials, meticulous pattern-cutting and progressive approach to science and technology. During the 15 year span of his career, he has collaborated across disciplines with musicians, anthropologists, industrial designers, DNA experts, engineers, jewelers and textile designers. Also on display will be exhibits from Chalayan’s show, ‘Afterwards’, in 2000 London Fashion Week, where he experimented with 'wearable, portable architecture' and in which furniture was literally transformed into garments. Chalayan is the creative director of Puma, which acquired a majority stake in his company and his brand.

Stay warm in Victoria's Secret cashmere lingerie

Victoria’s Secret has taken on the winter chill with a new range of lingerie designed in cashmere. The range is not very extensive unlike it silk under garments collections. The line comprises super-soft demi bra and hipster shorts.

Michelle Obama and her designers

The American media was in frenzy about what the Obama’s were going to wear for the various events. Various blog sites speculated and commented on Michelle Obama’s choice of dress or designer. The Indian press too got caught up in the loop and some of the major dailies carried inputs from local designers on the same theme. The Cuban-American designer, Narciso Rodriguez was the designated one for the election night red and black frock, which was from his much acclaimed spring 2009 collection in New York Fashion Week. The dress for the "We Are One" concert on Sunday, custom-made camel-and-black wool coat, black sequin silk beaded top, scarf and pencil skirt ensemble, was also by Narciso. For the Inauguration Address, when Michelle Obama became official first lady, she showed her preference again for lesser known American designers and wore a champagne yellow ensemble by another Cuban-American, Isabel Toledo, an independent fashion designer. Taipei born, 26 year old Jason Wu designed her inaugural ball gown which was a cream-colored one-shouldered dress with a fitted bodice and flared skirt. The choice of Cuban born designers is being seen as a reflection on Obama’s eventual policy towards Cuba. Time will tell.

Alexander McQueen and Puma’s new collection

Alexander McQueen, who had been working with Puma on sneaker designs for the past few years, is taking the collaboration to the next step and is set to present a new, co-branded collection of sports-inspired clothing and accessories for men and women. The new line will be available for Fall 2009 and is to be sold through Puma Black stores. The inspiration for the first collection is ‘boxing’ and a related short film, ‘Ghost’ has been made with director Saam Faramond. McQueen had previously made very innovative and intriguing variations on athletic shoes and the new initiative is being seen as a competitive move against rival brand Adidas with designers like Stella McCartney and Yohji Yamamoto.

YSL Beauté taken to court

Joseph Costa, a former national makeup artist for YSL Beauté, has filed a discrimination lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan on Dec. 17, alleging that the company violated the Americans With Disabilities Act when it fired him in October 2007 because a heart condition forced him to pare his travel schedule. His suit states that the YSL management, which agreed initially to facilitate a more reasonable schedule, reneged on it two years later even though he earned YSL millions of dollars in sale of merchandise. Costa is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, as well as legal fees.

Men's RTW Fall 2009

Men’s wear fashion is getting bigger globally. The market news coming in is that it is all set to match up to, if not overtake, the women’s wear market in the near future. In keeping with this trend, Fashion Design Council of India has also launched a Men’s Wear Fashion Week for the first time in India. Newsvision brings for you the trends for men’s ready-to-wear Fall 2009 lines on the international runways.

Salvatore Ferragamo Men's RTW Fall 2009.

Massimiliano Giornetti, the designer for Ferragamo, has presented a line inspired by Scandinavia. The focus was on pure lines, natural fabrics and spectacular tailoring. Handmade chunky cable knits on pearl gray cardigan with a chocolate brown scarf (also handmade) ruled the ramp, as also did the sartorial looks of a double-breasted cashmere suits or duffle coats in creamy hues.

Vivienne Westwood Men's RTW Fall 2009

The designer actually had her designer, Andy, leading a pack dressed in some extreme styles. WWD describes the English designer’s line as a blend of modern punk and cutting edge fashion. The line comprised loose denim utility garb, bulky knits, and tweed or tartan jackets in a wide range of colors with floral and plaid patterns.

Emporio Armani Men's RTW Fall 2009

Giorgio Armani’s show, titled ‘Green Town’, sported the country flavor matched with smart tailoring in rustic but plush fabrics. The trouser silhouettes were striking with pleats and a high waist, paired with shorter-length blazers. Tweed caps, loden and shearling coats, along with some velvet shawls and even a fur poncho, reflected the theme.

Bottega Veneta Men's RTW Fall 2009

Tomas Maier designed a understated line matched with classic tailoring. Earthy tones ruled. Trousers showed a slimmer silhouette and were matched with blazers and coats. The line comprised calfskin blouson with cashmere sleeves, a deerskin trench with a knitted collar. Faux layering riff on lapels and jacket hems on traditional fabrics such as herringbone, hounds tooth and flannel reflected the designer’s ‘Soft and unassuming, but also confident and timeless,’ attitude for the next season. For the finale were milky toned cashmere velvet blazers worn with ivory cotton trousers.

Prada Men's RTW Fall 2009

Miuccia Prada presented a very commercial collection with elements from the urban themes of the Nineties. Narrow trousers with high cuffs were worn under impeccable, double-breasted gray suits and coats with peak lapels, black leather T-shirts with laser-cuts and unstructured cloaks, striped dress shirts riddled with studs or rendered in offbeat colors – the collection was wearable and yet distinctively fashionable. On the comeback trail were black leather pants and Prada’s triangle nameplate, affixed to the backs of nylon pullovers.

D&G Men's RTW Fall 2009

D&G went on a wild trip with this line. Dinner and smoking jackets made of velvets and boiled wools with ornate damask patterns, flocking and satin piping; gold embroidery on velvet slippers; antique patterns and tapestries photo printed on blazers and cashmere sweaters; an entire battalion of antique-looking military jackets, with ripped jeans and sporty trousers; wow.

Yves Saint Laurent - The last of the fashion Mohicans

By Neelima Mishra Agrawal

That is how Yves Saint Laurent chose to describe himself and befittingly so. His life was a contrast of extremes, a roller coaster which never found level ground. He lived out the drama in each phase to the fullest. He courted throughout with epithets like ‘true genius’, ‘boy wonder’, ‘Little Prince’ of Paris fashion, ‘grande malade’ of French fashion, a libertarian, an anarchist, a pied piper, ‘Yves Saint Debacle’, ‘king of radical chic’. For someone whom Pierre Bergé described as having been ‘born with a nervous breakdown’, Yves showed tremendous tenacity and bounced back to scale new peaks. So intense were his moments of despair that he revealed to an interviewer, "Once I was suffering so much I considered attaching the heaviest bronze from my collection round my neck and throwing myself into the Seine."

Born in French Algeria on 1st August, 1936 into a considerably well-off family, the quiet and retiring Yves Henri Donat Matthieu Saint Laurent showed his nascent talent and was designing dresses for his mother by age 13. School life was tough because of his obvious homosexual leanings. In 1950 he won a prize in a contest for young designers organized by the International Wool Secretariat and subsequently an invitation to Paris, where his mother took him to meet Michel de Brunhoff, editor-in-chief of French Vogue, who encouraged him to join the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture. Frustrated with the syllabus, he quit after a few months. He again entered the International Wool Secretariat competition and won, beating a young German student called Karl Lagerfeld. Brunhoff sent Yves to Christian Dior, a leading haute couturier and this marked his entry into the fickle and tempestuous world of fashion, the onset of his journey to the pinnacles of fame and fortune.

In 1957, Christian Dior anointed Yves as his successor and suddenly died of heart attack. Saint Laurent became the head designer of the House of Dior at the age of 21 and his spring 1958 collection is said to have saved the House from financial ruin. It was here that he unveiled his revolutionary ‘trapeze dress,’ a youthful silhouette that started with narrow shoulders and a raised waistline, then flared out gently to a wide hemline. The hot young star of Paris couture had arrived. Early success brought its own pressures and he succumbed to alcohol and tranquilizers. His subsequent collections did not receive the same response and his hobble skirt and beatnik fashion was trashed by the press. In 1960 he was conscripted to serve in the French Army during the Algerian War of Independence, a horrifying experience that "for me, was like school all over again," Saint Laurent said. The trauma saw him ended up in Val-de-Grâce, a sadistic French mental hospital, where he was given large doses of sedatives and other psychoactive drugs and subjected to electroshock therapy. At the same time Dior sacked him from his job.

Pierre Bergé, who had fallen in love with Yves, rescued him from the mental hospital. They sued Dior for severance pay and damages and were awarded $140,000. The two lovers formed a partnership to open an haute couture house, with backing from an Atlanta businessman, J. Mack Robinson. Berge's business acumen and Yves' creativity saw a surge in the fortunes of the duo. Fashion history began to be created. The 60s and 70s saw such fashion trends as the beatnik look, safari jackets for men and women, tight pants and tall, thigh-high boots. In 1966, he created the famous Le Smoking suit for women, the classic tuxedo which caused a furor and is credited to have liberated women from the corset. He popularized the silhouettes from the 1920s, '30s and '40s. Yves Saint Laurent was the first haute couturier to launch a full pret-a-porter line and sold it from their first Rive Gauche stores on the Rue de Tournon in Paris, which earned them huge amounts despite the scathing critique from the press. Of the many firsts is also the selection of black models as well as Asian and Pacific Islander models on runway shows. Although Yves and Berge stopped being lovers in 1976, they continued to remain business partners. Boutiques round the world sold his lines, hundreds of licenses for scarves, jewelry, furs, shoes, men's wear, cosmetics and perfumes, and even cigarettes were created, the House got listed on the Paris Bourse, a host of awards including the French Legion of Honour in 1985, capped the success story. The measure of his success was when other designers began to copy his styles, to the extent that in 1994 he sued Ralph Lauren over a tuxedo dress that seemed too similar to a 1970 YSL design and won substantial damages.

Success did not dull the deep anguish and Yves fought off his demons by resorting to cocaine and alcohol. He got more neurotic about losing his place as the king of fashion and became quite the symbol of the Gallic cliché of the tortured genius traumatised by his own talent. He announced his retirement in 2002 and showed his final collection at the Pompidou Centre in Paris, after which he spent most of his time in his house in Marrakech, Morocco.

Catherine Deneuve, the French actress embodied the sophistication of YSL and continued to remain his most famous and favorite muse til the end. His other muses like Paloma Picasso, Loulou de la Falaise, the dancer Zizi Jeanmaire and the model Victoire Doutreleau were all equally immaculate and alluring. Yves Saint Laurent was fascinated by Proust and often quoted him. "Like Proust," he said, "I am fascinated most of all by my perceptions of a world in awesome transition." His styles were occasionally outrageous enough to draw muck flak and famously androgynous too, but somehow, he always managed to keep the balance between wearable fashion and fancy dress.
Yves Saint Laurent died of brain cancer on 1st June, 2008. An era came to an end.

Get your own pet seat

Sam Brown, a young designer in Isle of Wight, UK has designed poufs which look like a fluffy pet. The poufs, being sold on the Leigh Harmer website, are covered with New Zealand sheepskin and uses beechwood for the legs. Take a look at these charming seats available in colors black and white and up for sale on the Leigh Harmer website.

Say hello to this sheep

Jean-Luc Cornec’s installations at the Museum for Communications in Frankfurt am Main, Germany are made entirely of telephones and telephone cable, are flocks of Telephone Sheep waiting to be herded out. Good way to recycle obsolete telephone instruments.

llusions in fashion photo shoot

Brian Walker, a contemporary photographer, looks through his lens at the satire of current fashion trends and extremes and comes out with some exotic elements of real women blended with mannequin. Real and the unreal blur to create wild and outlandish images. He has posted these images on his web site, ‘Lick the Sun’. Walker says, “I like the visual language of my images to appear hyper real, as if they could exist but a second take reveals something amiss or askew. The perfection of a single detail or the impossibility between elements is what I continue to find fascinating.”

The vast resource of our cultural heritage is the skill and crafts of the artisan who sits unseen and unheard in remote corners of the country ensuring that the thread remains unbroken as it carries forward the tradition of generations before him. The Indian fashion industry has a symbiotic relationship with these crafts persons and has utilized their skills to make a mark on the international runways. Be it embroideries, weaves, dyeing techniques, prints, textiles, metal work, it is these inputs which make the India designer collections stand out. This column's focus is news related to the handicrafts sector.

Fabindia plans enhanced initiatives for its rural suppliers

Fabinida, the handloom retail chain, is in plans to increase the number of its community-owned supplier firms to 50 plus from the existing 17, over a period of 2-3 years. As an initiative to empower the artisan from the grassroots, Fabindia provides the working capital to these community firms through its wholly owned subsidiary, Artisans Micro Finance and holds minority stake in these companies. The balance is held by the suppliers and other financial investors like social venture funds. William Bissell, MD Fabindia, said, “Within the next few years we expect these companies to grow and become larger than mere suppliers to Fabindia. Artisans are seeing a benefit apart from their regular wages due to the dividends paid by these community-owned companies.” Of the 17 existing community-owned companies, 14 have already turned profitable and paid dividends so far. Fabindia is planning to create employment opportunities for 1,00,000 artisans from the present 30,000 in the next two-three years. Fabindia works with artisans for products like home furnishings and apparel and is also working with Massachusetts Institute of Technology to develop retail models for which they plan to obtain patents. Sunil Chainani, Director Fabinidia said, “We are working on newer supply chain and inventory management models which should be completed in the next six months.” Harvard Business School has taken Fabindia as a model for a case study.

Focussing on accessories

The Indian economy may not have been hit severely as it has been in the West. However, the consumer perception has been coloured by the mountains of gloom flowing in from there. Since the hand reaches the pocket book through the mind, there is a hesitation to buy even if the money is still there. The result is that retailers have seen a slow down. Designers and luxury goods have not been spared this time. The wise say that in such times, it is good to stick to basics and classics. The customer is no mood to stretch his imagination or to splurge on a whim. To take this argument even further – this is a good time to invest time and effort in accessories. They are always an easier buy at the best of times. Western luxury brands recognize this and typically make their numbers from the accessories. A case in point is Alexander McQueen developing shoes for Puma. We remain highly underdeveloped in this area. So the time is now ripe to take it up with full gusto!