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Hot couture
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Designer wear is making its presence felt in the twin cities. RADHIKA RAJAMANI checks out the happening names here
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HYDERABADIS' ROMANCE with fashion and style is slowly picking up. With the spotlight on fashion these days it is not surprising that people are making an effort to feel good and make style statements. A burgeoning middle class clientele is also making its presence in fashionbiz. While the fashion spectrum includes all kinds of designers from the top notch to the upcoming, Hyderabadis' dalliance is confined to a few.
Western wear seems on the upswing with skirts really being in. "People are preferring Western wear (skirts, trousers, tops of various kinds) and Indo-Western (which is interestingly styled) as parties seem to demand these. Skirts are really hot," says Vivek Khurana of Origins Fine Line. But that does not signify the fading away of ethnic wear. Saris and ghagras and sherwanis and kurtas for men have their own place on the style barometer.
Who are the hot designers in the twin cities? Prompt come names such as Anju Modi, Anamika Khanna, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Kiran Uttam Ghosh (Kimono), Poonam Bhagat (Taika), Seema Gujral, Nahid Merchant, Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna (H2O), Rajesh Pratap Singh, Preeti Jhavar, Prateek Dube... vouched by boutique owners. In the pręt-versus-couture question pręt seems to have a slight edge over couture, which is mostly reserved for special occasions. Different designers are popular at different boutiques. Although the top names have their niche clientele, there are others too who are finding a foothold in fashion.
Anju Modi is a hot favourite says Smitha Shroff of Elahe and Oorja. She scores on the wearability radar. "She is able to understand the Hyderabadi customers. Her clothes gel well with the South Indian skin tones. Her styling is classic yet contemporary." Rita Sanghi vouches for Anju Modi. "Her saris are good. I pick them up in Hyderabad and Delhi."
Anamika Khanna's saris are doing well according to Smitha. So are Prateek Dube's and Menaxi and Ovik's endorses Vivek. Different treatment in saris (by various designers) is the key to the commercial success.
Sabyasachi continues to make waves in the fashion front. He is now riding the crest of success and has some films (Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Black starring Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee) under his belt. Endowed with enormous creative energy, Sabyasachi will always be a force in Indian fashion. "He will always be ahead in fashion," says Vivek, who first stocked his garments. Sabyasachi's USP is his colour play. His signature saris are embellished with beautiful borders. He has become more of a must-have in the wardrobe. "He has achieved a celeb status with the hype. Everybody wants to own a Sabyasachi," says Smitha. But Smitha and Vivek lament his delivery is not regular and he sends only in bits and pieces (Vivek has stopped retailing his garments). So one finds very few pieces on the racks. So there is a clamour when there is some stock.
The next few months will see an inflow of NRI's and will spell happy times for the boutiques. "The NRI's prefer slightly more dressier clothes and they shop mainly for occasions - be it weddings or others. Seema Gujral's lehngas (wedding/trousseau) are a big hit. Nahid Merchant's formal wear has a lot of intricate ornamentation with coloured stones," says Vivek. "Nahid Merchant's overall effect is good. The ethnic wear is a good blend of ethnic and modern," says Jyoti Adya, a regular buyer of Nahid.
Skirts of Nahid Merchant (long, asymmetric, layered, pleated teamed along with tank tops, strappy tops and ponchos), Preeti Jhavar (khadi print treated differently), Kavita Bhartia, Poonam Bhagat (straight skirts), and Rajesh Pratap Singh (white) are fast moving in most of the stores.
Other Western wear lines include club wear and formal wear. "The club wear of Aparna J. Wangdi is popular. Though slightly wacky, it is wearable. Mayura Kumar's kalamkari look on skirts and kurtis are doing well," says Vinita of Marichika. "The extremely formal western lines of upcoming Menaxi and Ovik is good," says Vivek.
Kimono of Kiran Uttam Ghosh is a commercially viable label says Smitha. "Good quality clothing and regular supply makes it one of the highest selling labels," says Smitha. Taika of Poonam Bhagat is another preferred label. "The silhouettes and colour play is ideal for the 30 plus women. Poonam is one of the few who makes long kurtas," says Smitha.
Moving on to men's wear sherwanis and stoles are going strong. "The strongpoint of Origins is the sherwani and kurtas (in jamewar, brocade and textured silks) teamed up with stoles. Renu Nigam and Anil Sehgal are the hot designers of these, while Sapna and Meena make stoles of crushed silk treated with khadi print and embellished well," says Vivek. Shirts of H20 (Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna), Ravi Bajaj and Rajesh Pratap Singh are picked up most at Elahe.
Designer labels are much sought out by a few fashionistas. But nowadays there seems to be a slight paradigm shift. People seem to go more by their own taste and what looks good. "The label mattered more some years ago but with many designers in the fray, the bigger ones are having a run for their money. Now it is the dress which speaks more than the label," observes Vivek. So today there are people who also go for style, appeal and comfort and not just for designer tags.
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