Designers Shilpa Chavan and Sougat Paul showcased accessories and ensembles with a new age touch at the five-day Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) in Mumbai on Saturday.
Popular for her out-of-the-box accessories, Chavan wowed the fashion-conscious audience with her creativity. She used unconventional materials to showcase a range of beautiful head and neck accessories, which had a futuristic sensibility.
She also turned her attention to the sari and the katori choli, a new style of blouse, with her collection Grey Matter. Silk saris draped in quirky styles and worn with men’s shirts, t-shirts or a katori choli-cum-shirt was the highpoint of the range.
Sougat Paul’s Morocco-inspired collection also made an impression on the runway.
Inspired by Zellige, a terracotta tile formation found in Moroccan architecture, Paul presented a line titled Decoding Zellige under his label Soup. The collection redefined geometric forms and shapes in the women’s wear range. Also, detailing played an important role to add a trendy touch to classic silhouettes.
Designer Anushka Khanna’s theme revolved around photographer Hashim Badami’s images. The well-known photographer’s pictures brought a refined look to designer’s prints and surface textures.
There was shimmer and shine for the line of cocktail wear, which opened with a long navy sweater dress, followed by a strappy mini with hot pants and a layered maxi tube. There were also short cropped tops and long pencil skirts which gave the line a sexy yet sophisticated touch.
Designs exuding the exuberance of the art deco movement, crispness of the vintage military look and the glitz and glamour of Bollywood also dotted the ramp.
Designer Nitya Arora’s label Valliyan celebrated the beauty of the art deco influences of 1920s through an accessories line. Architecture played an important role in Arora’s designs, which were created beautifully with glass, crystal, pearls, semi-precious stones, vintage tidbits, copper, brass and gold plating.
A Soldier Story, the show by designer Sneha Arora, reflected a vintage military theme. The overall look was crisp and tailored in a mix of cotton dobbies, military twills, silks and wool blends. The colours remained totally martial in tones of green, khaki and navy, all blended with burgundy.
Designer Karishma Shahani Khan brought Bollywood glamour to the ramp. Inspired by the quintessential Mona Darling, her collection was titled Maya. The designer has used motifs which added a hint of freedom, symmetry, opulence and mystery to the clothes.
Cotton and knits were some of the fabrics used for the range, which varied from skirts, cropped embroidered sleeved tops, dress, peplum blouse and saris.
Next in the row was designer Ken Ferns, who called his line Moon Rise. He has smartly played with colours like ivory, liquid gold, dusty beige and shades of deep grey to add a romantic feel to the garments, which are in fabrics like satin, crepe, georgette and silk.
His menswear collection was restricted to ombre print suits. Bringing his show to its glamorous end was actor Prateik in a stylish printed suit and his Issaq co-star Amyra Dastur, wearing a chic corset and printed silk skirt.
Young designer Nishka Lulla, who showcases on Friday, was all about unstructured coats and cropped jackets - reflecting a “mature” sensibility.
“I think with each show I am getting mature and the collections showcased today are some mature collections,” said the daughter of popular designer Neeta Lulla. “Style is something very personal and with my collection, one can mix and match in their own way.”
Her use of prints was interesting as she used elements of nature like clouds, crows and trees. The look was subtle.
On the whole, the line was a blend of relaxed shirts, unstructured coats, micro-mini skirts, cropped jackets, ikat embellished t-shirts, oversized pullovers, shirt dresses and wrap skirts.
Actress Genelia D’Souza, dressed in one of Nishka’s creations, was spotted in the audience along with Kalki Koechlin. Genelia said she loves Nishka’s work.
“I have a great association with Nishka. She is a very close friend. I love her garments and today her collections were so interesting,” she said.
