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On the cusp

This has been a year of steep highs and lows for designers

PHOTO: RAJEEV BHATT

STYLE STATEMENT Skirts took on new forms

For the fashion industry, 2006 turned out to be a year of hope and despair. On the design front, the year brought amazing possibilities, as this was the first year we saw four fashion weeks, two each a season. Indian designers continued to move towards individuality where embroidery and embellishments were no longer used to hide the ineptness at cuts and styling.

Names like Gaurav Gupta and Dev and Nil proved the future of fashion is in safe hands.

Designers continued to play around with balloon and bubble forms and dared to include more and more dresses in their collections.

Going global

This was also the year when many Indian designers showcased their work at international fashion weeks. There was the whole plagiarism rigmarole as well.

This was also the year when the line between costume designer and fashion designer blurred even further.

While big names like Raghavendra Rathore and Suneet Varma accepted film offers, Vikram Phadnis decided to go mainstream without diluting his USP, Bollywood glitter. Rocky, on the other hand, decided to take a break from films to concentrate on his fashion lines.

Extending their brands, Rohit Bal, Rocky S and Sabyasachi Mukherjee entered into the home furnishing business with tie-ups with leading brands. Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna struck a deal with Barista coffee chain during the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week.

ANUJ KUMAR

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