March 24 - 28th, 2010
NSIC Grounds, Okhla, New Delhi
Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, a leading business event for the fashion industry, is back again with the Autumn/Winter 2010 collections. The event will unfold at the NSIC Grounds, Okhla, New Delhi from March 24 - 28, 2010. We at RVG Newsvision, bring you daily coverage of the shows with detailed reviews specially written for us by fashion expert M.Mistry, Asha Baxi senior faculty NIFT and Neelima Mishra Agrawal of Newsvision.
Oriental detailing like Japanese wide armholes, warrior prints, dragons, chevron weaves
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Using wool and felt for 3D detailing like curls, rolls, chains, ruffles
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Detailing using rocks quilted under fabric, textured leather, tattered gauze, prints of marbled whirlpools and apocalyptic landscapes, armour made of crystals burnt to look like amber
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Pencil trousers
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Elegant capes
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Leather chic
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Bespoke tailoring
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Classic western silhouettes
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Understated embellishments
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Black is black
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Exaggerated shoulders
Nandita Mahtani
Nandita Mahtani is a self taught designer and has become a regular at the Mumbai fashion week. A high profile socialite, she has got the pulse of the popular fashion trends. Her creations are sold under her label ‘Ananya, which is a chain of designer stores jointly run with her sister Anu Mirchandani located in Mumbai and London. Ananya designs are also available in Paris, London, US, Australia, Italy, Middle East, South Africa etc at 300 department stores all over Europe.
Nandita Mahtani is known for her very popular resort wear line and for the Autumn/Winter 2010 season too she preferred to stick to what she does best. A Nandita Mahtani collection has its basics as far as colour, fabric and silhouettes are concerned. Georgette, chiffon, Lycra, and knits with a few prints of bandhani with butterflies are her favourite.
The colours Nandita loves to work with are black, olive, brown, tan, skin and a bit of white. The silhouettes are minis in sheath, shift or sack shapes, miniskirts, micro pants, vests, jackets and long gowns and kaftans. The embellishments moved from sequin sheeting to chain mails, stones and rivers which added that touch of glitter.
The predominantly evening wear line had a glittering gold mesh one shoulder mini, a net over lurex bonze/black sack and then moved on to a lineup of different minis. Drop waists, will-power bodices, long sleeved jackets with gold lapels, white satin long sleeve kaftan with CRYSTALLIZED™ - Swarovski elements crystal borders, petal skirts satin one shoulder ensemble with gold mesh sleeve, maxi with bronze bodice, wrap chiffon covers, black long gown with shoulder pads, toga drapes over minis, and finally a black halter jumpsuit.
Where Nandita may have to pay a little attention is with the finish of the garments as hemlines were sagging and the repetitive silhouettes did not add to the interest of the collection.
Maybe a tightly edited line would make the buyers get a clearer picture and leave the audience begging for more.
Creatively it was a very safe and saleable collection that is something Nandita has been doing for several seasons. But if that is what her buyers want then she is a very smart woman to stick to the tried and tested genre.
With the heightened focus on our planet’s fragile ecology comes a palpable desire to return to more traditional values and re-establish harmony with nature. CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements’ innovations for Spring/Summer 2011 reflect this mood. On-trend, precision-cut crystals reinterpret the flowing forms of the Art Nouveau movement in myriad light-filled reflections and refractions; crystals in organic, textured shapes evoke insects, leaves and fired earth; and new colours mirror the lush beauty of vegetation.
Designer Editions: borrowed from nature, captured in crystal
Following the début of legendary designer Andrée Putman’s ‘Fantastic Flowers’ in February 2009, CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements is delighted to announce her completion of this collection with three beautiful new pieces. The Ginko, Zinnia and Lotus Pendants are delicate, crystalline interpretations of leaves found in nature, their organic shapes providing an aesthetic counterpoint to their graphic faceting. Innovative use of indents in the design of Zinnia and Lotus gives the illusion of a pattern of symmetrical ‘holes’, lending them a contemporary feel. As with all Designer Editions moving forwards, this collection now bears a distinctive stamp on its packaging.
Fusion Concepts: trend-driven style
Hot on the heels of last season’s Crystal Mosaics come Ceramics, a unique selection of loose Ceramics, Flat Backs, Beads and Pendants that draw on the natural beauty of fired earth. Available in a tonal range of Marbled Black, Marbled Blue, Marbled Ivory and Marbled Yellow, these latest innovations are the first to offer fully cut ceramics as a creative material. Completely opaque, their highly polished finish produces subtle reflections, while the textural craquelure effect creates individual, discreetly elegant pieces. Tough and scratch-resistant, they open up new functional design possibilities, such as key ring accessories and extra-narrow bead fixings.
Designer Prashant Verma graduated from NIFT, Delhi in 2005 with a Diploma in Fashion Design and a graduate collection that was sponsored by Manish Arora, Puja Nayyar, Rohit Gandhi & Rahul Khanna, Varun Bahl, Ashish & Smita Soni, and Tarun Tahiliani. He started his training in Fashion Design at the age of 18, in London, at the Fashion House of Alexander McQueen. Across 2005 and 2006, Prashant worked at the design studio of Manish Arora for the London Fashion Week SS 2005 and AW 2006/07 collections; for Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna and as a stylist for the WIFW Grand Finale AW 2006 / 07 Runway Presentation.
Last season Prashant Verma was inspired by Ayn Rand and called his collection Ego featuring the skyscrapers of New York in digital prints. This season the title was “Love Song” and if one is hoping for a tender story like the one written by Erich Segal, then there will be disappointment.
Prashant’s Love Song inspired of course by love art and Lady Gaga is all about feelings that emerge from this state of the mind while in love. So rage, anger, hope, fear, death, passion, love, horror emerged first in a short AV in which Prashant was the star going through the anguish and angst including some gruesome torture scenes in solitary confinement.
The collection comprising just 16 pieces was shown to the sound of painful shrieks and whip lashes. Using the dinosaur as a comparison – a creature so strong but helpless and now extinct - the creations had the reptilian skin feel achieved by quilted rocks under the fabric, by black textured leather and tattered gauze, wool embroidery marbled prints in shades of orange and brown, and crystals which were burnt to look like aged amber. The shoulders were exaggerated while the silhouette was very rigid for the upper garments but fluid for the shredded asymmetric layered skirts.
Opening the show with a black pearl encrusted jacket with matching boots in the first section called Shadows, there were leather and stone embroidered jackets some with stone embellished shoulders and duck taped silk trousers. The second section called Remaining Earth had satin stone shift, wool silk jacket with wide trousers, camel gauze dress and an olive green fingerprint quilted jacket. For the section the Glorious Clot the dinosaur inspiration came alive in the print for dresses in jersey with drapes often teamed with flared trousers. In the final Love Song group, black wool played an important part for dresses and coat dress and a sequined shift dress was followed by a shimmering red burnt crystal deconstructed gown that ended the show. Black pearl boots were a constant with most of the garments.
For the audience it was the extreme construction and the treatment of the garments that made all the difference to the collection.
While the jersey creations were very wearable it is the others which need women with very strong personalities who can do justice to the designer’s visions.
Prashant Verma appears to be a very intense creative person whose shouldering creativity comes to the fore on the ramp and at times reveals a very sensitive but troubled young man. But with the thunderous applause and the awe in which the collection was viewed by the audience it is apparent that here is a designer who will go very far with his creativity which he prefers to push to the ultimate limits.
Nandita Basu acquired her fashion design education from NIFT Delhi and Central St Martin’s School of Art in London where she won the ‘Society Young Achievers Award for Fashion' in 2005. She has worked with Suneet Varma for several years as part of her training and subsequently set up her design studio and her namesake label, ‘Nandita Basu’. The team of Nandita Basu and Abhishek Gupta has won the ‘Breakthrough Designer Award 2004' at the Kingfisher Fashion Awards in Goa. She specializes in working with a wide range of fabrics and her apparel are high on construction details.
It was a mix of the orient and the occident in fashion, very skillfully created by Nandita Basu. Inspired by Utagawa Kuniyoshi a Japanese master whose art form Ukiyo-e means “pictures of the floating” world gave Nandita the right directions for her well designed and beautifully finished line.
With a strong colour story of dark chocolate, brown, maroon, olive green, khaki and navy blue with hints of khaki, beige and rust the simple silhouettes for slim dresses, pencil skirts, jackets, flowing capes, trousers and tops had radiant imagery in the form of surface texturing, digital prints and embroidery so fine it almost looked like a painting.
Jersey, silk and leather were textured cleverly and blended seamlessly to form striking creation. Blouses had basic Magyar sleeves while the blouson hot pants with knits had the interesting dragon prints snaking around the garment and warrior motifs were used to highlight simple shapes. Jodhpuri trousers in velvet were fluid and feminine pencil slim skirts were topped with elegant blouses. While the leather textured coats some with wide collars were very dramatic.
Boleros, chiffon blouses with skinny pants, jersey minis with extended shoulders, a stunning leather dress with chiffon sleeves and chevron weave grey wool cape were some of the highlights of the show. Shimmer appeared in the form of Lurex fabrics and the wide armholes of samurai costumes and sleeve detailing were woven into the dresses very subtlety. The final maroon leather patched and pin tucked fabric dress was a beauty. To enhance the Japanese look the models sported oriental hairstyles with chopsticks and makeup to match.
While the theme was very opulent its usage by Nandita Basu was very discreet making the garments very stunning in their visual appeal as well as wearability.
Varun Sardana, NIFT graduate, is one designer to watch. In 2004 he won the prestigious ‘Bijenkorf Fashion Design Award 2004’ held in Amsterdam. His edginess and genius has already got him global recognition and his designs are carried in top glamour magazines like WWD (Japan), Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Marie –Claire and Elle. He debuted in the WIFW S/S-08 and has continued to charm and stun each season.
The wait for Varun Sardana’s ten minute show was two hours and the seating on the ground was something the audience did not expect; although the designer is known to try things of the unconventional kind.
Last season he used hundreds of metres of ribbons to create his summer wear. This time it was the Kathakali dancers who got his creative juices flowing. The models faces were painted in the mask like makeup that the Kathakali dancers wear.
The head gear was a mix of oriental, medieval knights at a joust with models heads covered in black full skull caps, with spears, birds, feathers and all types of assorted items on them. The fabrics were wool and felt cut to perfection with detailing that comprised stripes of fabrics twisted, looped, cut, curled and chain stitched and added to smock coats, jackets, long skirts, military ensembles, capes and swirling cape coats in either panels clusters or lines.
Feathered boots appeared along with all-in- one shoe leggings. Skirts moved from mini with fluffed woolen borders or long with side drapes. Intricately curved armholes blended with collars and Zen like draped gowns were a somber offering. Pants were skin tight and rolled fabric fringes created a great textured look. The 3D effect was apparent on all the garments and the construction was intricate and gave the collection a very futuristic edgy look.
The 19 garments shown to the drum beats of Kathakali dance, must have obviously taken Varun Sardana some months to create. One only hopes that his labour of love will get him the business that his creativity deserves since there were some interesting fashion directions that can be worked out with some of the pieces slightly toned down.
A graduate of NIFT, Delhi, Rajesh Pratap Singh introduced his own line of men's and women's clothing only in 1997. His lines are well known for their simplicity matched with obsessive attention to detail. Recipient of many awards, he has worked towards technical improvements in 'Khadi' and is associated with a cooperative society for developing India's finest Cashmere.
After a long wait, the much hyped Grand Finale was a short crisp presentation as expected of Rajesh Pratap Singh.
The stage was set against a huge back drop of unfinished muslin toils and a deliberately worn out looking ramp transporting the audience into a work in progress atelier. The models emerged from the back ground and what followed was the usual Pratap collection in his own words ‘’ A simple finale and I am doing what we usually do.” At this point it looks like somewhere the design fatigue is setting in and although the audience may like what they see out of love and adoration for him but expect something more from a Genius of his calibre. We are waiting to be surprised Rajesh!
The formal chic sportswear collection for Autumn-Winter 2010 was exquisitely crafted but lacked freshness and oomph. The colour palette was usual, predominantly black with bright accents of electric blue, lipstick red and metalized silver, grey, gold, bronze and copper. And the fabrics were the same, soft and supple, like pure wool, leather, organza, silk, satin, lame, crushed tissue and a variety of other luxurious blends.
The jackets were semi draped with asymmetric volumes cut on bias, roll over collars, folds and handkerchief hems. They were teamed with smart pencil trousers and sheath skirts. The red, leather appliqué jacket was an immaculate piece of work. Another interesting detail was discreet surface embellishment with embroidery and sequins used for abstract graphics and geometric lines.
The show ended with a sober choir song and chant rather pleasant to the eardrums.
With another day to go by default after the ‘grand finale’ hopes are on to see some good work from the designers of the day 1 of the 15th edition of the FDCI Fashion week.
