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Unfolding dreams... .fashionably
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The Lakme India Fashion Week in Delhi brings as many as 53 designers at the threshold of realising their dreams through blood, sweat and tears before a galaxy of fashion cognoscenti. As the participants vie with one another. MADHUR TANKHA writes... .
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SOME FASHION shows wither away with time but to leave a lasting impression, not only the participants but also the organisers and sponsors have to get their act together. This is precisely what those at the helm of affairs at Lakme India Fashion Week are trying to do - not leaving any stone unturned so that visitors aren't put to any inconvenience and keeping their eyes peeled - on designers - so that they succeed in maintaining bonhomie and congeniality among them unlike the last time around.
Lakme, one of the leading holistic beauty brands, will translate the interpretations of three famous musketeers of fashion industry -- Suneet Verma, Rajesh Pratap and Monisha Jaising -- into an exciting new collection comprising mainstay new lip, nail, liquid lip colour shades. There will be a fashion statement through textures, tones and colours.
Payal Jain, a recognised name in both fashion and corporate world, is bracing up for the big event. She says, "This coming Wednesday, my couture will have both Western and Indian elements. Woven fabric will have embroidery." She has "combined aestheticism with contemporaniety" and has experimented age-old craft with modern techniques in different colours. Textiles have been interpreted in elaborate form using chikan, kantha and zardozi. Her range will have vibrant shades like tangerine, fushchia, canary yellow, golden beige and pale acqua combined with immaculate white and classic black.
The LIFW's first show on the ramp was of Anjana Bhargav's creations. The designer claims that her accent is on "comfort and affordability". The theme - "Shakespeare in Love"— couldn't begin on time as hectic behind-the-scene preparation was going on at the eleventh hour. Minutes started ticking by with no sign of the show commencing. There were last minute hitches as Bhargav gave finishing touches to her representatives so that she doesn't fall from grace in the eyes of her clientele, which includes Booker Prize winner, Arundhati Roy and Magsaysay award winner, Kiran Bedi. Hushed whispers were now becoming a cacophony as interested parties were guessing the price range.
Just when everybody started pouring in and taking their place in the audience, Minister of State for Tourism, Vinod Khanna, arrived and became the cynosure of all eyes. Accompanied by wife, Kavita, he gave a bemused expression every time models sashayed down the ramp.
The most-sought-after female model, Sheetal Mallar, who's carved a niche for herself in the fashion arena, came draped in a pink and green pleated sari with a turquoise and green full sleeve top. As the music started pelting fast lines, the models adapted to fast pace and when the music became slow, so did their stride. Taking time to move each foot forward they kept their hands either on the waist or behind the back after they reached the end of the podium. With shutterbugs clicking in delight they gave attractive poses. A Pamela Anderson look-alike was deliberately given a hairdo like the Baywatch star and to the astonishment of the audience she moved her pout as if she was uttering something. One model flaunted her dress in a seductive manner and soon struck coquettish poses.
Models display Anjana Bhargav's creations at the Lakme India Fashion Week in Delhi.
The dresses were not monotonous rather embroidery was done painstakingly and even though the dress designing was done keeping in mind the Elizabethan era the looks were definitely contemporary. The audiences were left agape as tall and muscular, Shawar Ali, who was adjudged the best male model of the year at Kingfisher award function this past week, came in green brocade jacket and turquoise georgette sari with bandhini detailing. Khanna was in splits when he saw actor-cum-model, Rahul Dev, stride past him in purple brocade and crinkled lehnga with turquoise jacket.
Among other designers, whose works are being eagerly awaited, include Meera and Muzaffar Ali, who after honing their craft in Lucknow and Kotwara, have tried to resuscitate centuries old tradition in their original stateliness. This they have done by incorporating modern elements. The Kotwara label extends from innovations in Indian and Western forms using techniques of chikan, zardozi, tukdi and appliqué with hand detailing. The result is that their product has glimpses of avant-garde as well as tradition. His better half, Meera Ali says, "In our ancestral village, Kotwara, we're doing innovation in zardozi. Our chikan line will have floral motives - flowers in kaleidoscopic colours and classic in white. In diffusion line we will have evening wear in glossy georgette and abstract sequence motives for contemporary women." Their garments will be priced from Rs. 1500 to 30,000.
So, it is a long week ahead - of fashion, fashion and only fashion.
Photos: R V Moorthy.
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