Saving the best for the last, organisers of Dubai Fashion Week brought to its fold acclaimed Indian designer Rajesh Pratap Singh (pictured) for the grand finale.
The Delhi-based fashion insider stayed away from body-contouring dresses and unveiled his wearable, futuristic "anti-fit" collection. Largely in black canvas, models wearing morose expressions glided down the catwalk in sheer "cocoon" dresses with sharp shoulders.
Pixilated leather sequins (which gave a reptilian scaly visual), ikat prints and floral designs were embossed on straight-cut, tapering dresses. They were teamed with perforated tights and sheer black leggings.
Taking more than one leaf from Balenciaga's Garden of Delights collection unveiled at the recent Paris Fashion Week, Singh impressed by giving a futuristic twist to his floral collection.
"This is the first time I have used flowers in my collection. I have used a lot of pixilated roses and ikat designs. The idea was to create dresses away from the body," Singh said after his show.
The only exception to this diktat was the body-hugging silk velvet gowns in jewel tones such as burgundy and blue. "I let my inspiration take me forward. Along with asymmetrical silhouettes, I thought velvets made sense," he added.
Though it was largely a dark collection, heralding winter, splashes of orange and pinks were woven into the collection.
Earlier in the day, Indian designer Surbhi Jaggi showcased her Maharani ("queen" in Hindi) collection. But the slightly misleading title did not showcase royal dresses and instead chose to add a splash of richness into the abayas. Banarasi brocades in fuschia tones were incorporated into the fluid black silks.
Meanwhile, Emirati sisters Lamees and Eman Al Haijri chose to stay away from abaya couture. Trimming made from faux fur was incorporated into their creations for At a Glance. "We both wear abayas, but we girls often worry about the dresses that we have to wear behind the abayas. That's why we chose to make dresses," said Lamees.
The final day also saw Aartivijay Gupta's collection. Pale nude dresses with embroidered necklines and sheer white tunics with dull gold detailing dominated her collection, which then gave way to the all-pervading DFW staple — the anarkali-style tunics in vibrant colours with velvet detailing.
This was topped up by the collection rolled out by Parul Chopra and Shriya. Entitled Spontaenia, the collection seemed a bit too spontaneous for our liking. In terms of variety, there was silk gowns, dresses, salwar kameez, saris and even bridal lehenga cholis in their 18-piece presentation.
Though they claim that this wardrobe is "fit for royalty", we think even commoners would be a bit wary of taking this one on.
