“The idea of having a monsoon or fall collection is funny. It’s about packaging new collections and inviting people to come and empty their wallets,” laughs designer Anand Kabra. Spring-summer and fall-winter collections are essentially western concepts that have crept into India, he says: “These trends don’t work in India.”

Designer Sashikant Naidu agrees. “Designers and stores follow trends from the UK and Europe and bring out similar seasonal collections,” he says. Not everyone abides by seasonal trends. Sashikant points out how young women in the city bend the rules: “You’d see girls wearing mini skirts and one-piece dresses, which you’d associate with summer, in peak winter. It’s rather funny.”

Wear what works for you, is the unanimous suggestion. “Light cottons and linens work throughout the year in Hyderabad. In winters a jacket or a shawl can protect you from the chill. Basically you shift from strappy or sleeveless tops in summer to full-sleeved shirts in winters,” says Asmita Gunti Marwa. She doesn’t fancy chiffons and georgettes during monsoons and suggests cotton-lycra fabrics because “the garments let you breathe easy and don’t cling to you.”

The colour palette changes with the season. “Wear brighter shades during monsoons to offset the dull, grey sky. Winters are characterised by darker shades and summer by lighter hues,” says Sashikant. “Peaches, blues and greens work well this time of the year,” adds Asmita.

Rather than restricting oneself to seasonal clothing, Anand says it makes sense to move from one festival to another. “Beginning from Rakshabandhan to Dusshera and Diwali, these are the months for festivals until Christmas and New Year come along in December-January for which you will need western clothes. For now, there are a lot of takers for ethnic garments. Thankfully, indo-western khichdi fusion lines are out. You either have Indian or western clothing.” Traditiona l saris, ghagras, kurtas will stay with a lot of gold embellishments than silver, he informs: “Colours range from haldi yellows to mustards, oranges to maroons, and greens. The flowy, long kalidar kurtas of the late 80s and early 90s will make a comeback.”

The bottomline: make fashion work for you.

A quick guide

Fabrics: Soft cottons, linens and cotton-lycra mixed fabrics work for both Indian and western casual and work wear.

Colours: Brighter pastels and shades of blue, green and peach for the rainy months. Haldi yellow, mustard, maroon, deep green and oranges work for ethnic garments for festivals.

What’s in: Ethnic garments with ari and zardosi work in gold. Alongside regular salwar-kameezes, long and flowy kalidar kurtas will return.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail