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V for Victorian

The word is out and the look harks back to times past, say Bangalore's designers heading for the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week. Mini Anthikad-Chhibber does a style check

INTO THE WILD Deepika Govind's collection plays on 'The woods are lovely, dark and deep' theme

It is all happening — wardrobe malfunctions and what have you at the Lakme Fashion Week. And close on the heels of the show comes the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week to be held at Delhi from April 5 to 9.

"Skin show is out," comments Deepika Govind who is going to present her line, Parchment Blues Inked in Ikat, at the fashion week. "The look is demure and proper. There is a quietness and simplicity. While the forecast is Victorian, with flowers, rosettes and corsage, I do not go much for flounces and stuff."

For Raj and Neetu Gupta of Ravage, who are participating for the first time at the fashion week, the look is "Victorian inspired theatrical opulence. It is hippy couture. We have used a lot of silks, taffeta and brocades. We have contemporised traditional styles. Like we could take a herringbone stitch, which is a very basic rural Indian stitch, and give it a contemporary twist."

Manoviraj Khosla, who is also participating in the fashion week, has decided to go retro but not 200 years back in time for inspiration. "My line, Rockstars at the Palace, is inspired by the rockers of the '60s and '70s and I have imagined what they would wear if they were to meet the queen."

The clothes rock like the rock stars themselves in leather, synthetic suede and denim.

Manoviraj has created a super smart line where silk is slashed and then woven. Hats (cowboy and berets) and boots (knee length for girls and calf length for men) complete the look. "There is a lot of Jim Morrison in my clothes and that whole biker ethos," Manoviraj explains. Deepika has used different shades of blue in her 34-colour palate. "I also used colours that highlight the blues like browns, greens and mineral red. It goes with `The woods are lovely, dark and deep' theme. It is all about being rich, deep, dark and mysterious."

Raj and Neetu have two palates. "One is the basic black, white and grey supplemented with fresh and clear colours and the other is the rich colours of the Victorian era, the wines, purples and browns. Texture is a design element that gives one an open space to experiment. Going with our brand name of Ravage, the clothes are ravaged — shredded and then woven. There is volume in fragility."

Ravage has jackets and trench coats. "The military flavour in a fun feminine way is in and goes with our concept of cutting masculine styles in a sleek trendy look," explains Neetu.

Deepika, who believes in the magic of Ikat, is going to have a lot of the weave in her line. "It is Ikat reborn and contemporised with different washes. There are also tea stained silks, my favourite silk, modal, satin lycras, crimped chiffon and coarse Bagalpur silks."

Deepika's silhouettes are an interplay of structure and drape. "I do not like volume beyond a point. My clothes grace the body. My line has loads of skirts. There are layers of fabric, but the outfits are lightweight. I love structured clothes, so I have a lot of structured paperweight jackets."

The layers Deepika says is intrinsic of people as well. "Layers cloak and reveal. We did the photo shoot to complement the concept. We shot at a place that is rich in history. It has passed through so many hands — the ancients, the Mughals, the British and now is a government office. The line is about a secret, a way of life that does not use words."

Looking to the Victorians for inspiration does not, however, involve the corset. "The corset is essential part of a western woman's wardrobe and so will never go out of style," says Raj. "We do not do corsets as we do not do structured clothes, our clothes are free flowing." Deepika is also not particularly enamoured of the corset.

"If you look at the history of the corset, you realise it was created to compress the waist to an unbelievable 18 inches. I do not do sexy or glamorous clothes. I like to do clothes that say something about the wearer."

God is in the details and Manoviraj's outfits have patches of organza filled with colourful sequins and embroidered on the outside, asymmetric skirts in denim with a kiss of embroidery and jeans with the Nataraj or a series of swamis printed for the esoteric look. Deepika has finely interwoven excessive surface detailing and threadwork. Ravage has pearl embroidery in copper wire, brocade in patchwork, taffeta and sequins and frayed accoutrements to temper the opulence.

Whoever sniffily commented that Mumbai and Delhi are the fashion capitals of the country will have to perforce eat humble pie as their eyes pop out at the wondrous wonderful designs from Bangalore!

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