Source: The Stitch Times, April 2009
With more than a hundred designers
participating at the latest Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, the business of
fashion seems to have emerged as the biggest trend of the apparel industry. The
flurry of fashion weeks in the country is a direct indication of a growing
business and high-rising lifestyle. The recently concluded WLIFW reflected an
expanding demand for the creative collection of Indian fashion designers while,
echoing a mixed mood due to the overall market slowdown.
Fashion Everywhere
The five day long affair was all about the fashion, style
and the latest in trends for the forthcoming season. The Autumn-Winter '09 week
kick-started with the happening and appealing collection of an accomplished
designer, Nitin Bal Chauhan, who left the message of dark sombre moods and
global slowdown with an apt title 'Condition apply-II'. The neutral shades were
the talk of all five days with designers Rajesh Pratap Singh, Rohit Gandhi and
Rahul Khanna, Raghavendra Rathore, Yuvraj Siddharth Nagpal, Gaurav Gupta, among
others, unveiling dim and moody collections to show their awareness of the
times. "The neutral shades might be apt with the present timings but
personally, I've always liked black and the grey shades," summed Rathore.
Several other collections despite slump were high on
exuberance and very colourful which included designers like Ritu Kumar, Pankaj
and Nidhi, Ankur Modi and Priya Modi, Rehane, Sonam Dubbal, Kavita Bhartiya and
Jenjum and Jasleen. While a number of designers played with the tints of placid
blue, dark pink, vibrant orange and burgundy, the others preferred to stick to
the traditional tones of red, maroon, yellow and green. "I feel the
vibrant colours play magic when the mood is sombre around. Also, fashion is all
about the colours with designers working on varied hues," opined Ranna
Gill who partnered with designer Rina Dhaka and Fiama Di Wills to showcase a
special collection titled 'Nature Meets Science'.
Designers like Prashant Verma showcased as artistic
representation of the Greek narrative of robust and mighty male aggression and
its fascination with perfection. Titled 'Meat'- the outfits were all about
power dressing and aggression. The utterly exotic and high on drama show by
Manish Arora, brought the beauty and vibrant colours of 'Jungle' live on the
ramp. Models carrying the sitting monkey hand-bags were exceptionally creative
and were highly appreciated.
Most of the designers were high on wearability and presented
a collection with a lot of Indian silhouettes and sari. Satyapaul's 'Maya' was
a beautiful portrayal of an illusionary life, comprising the contemporary and
traditional attires. Designer duo Swapan and Seema showcased a women's wear
range that combined femininity with power and success. The amalgamation of
Western and Indian ethnic wear was very much visible. Another designer Reynu
Tandon and duo Ashima and Leena Singh showed their proficient technique of
heavy embellishments, sequins and beads mostly in the Indian silhouettes.
The fashion week was not completely about the feminine lines
alone, as there were a couple of designers who exclusively presented the men's
wear range. Rajvi Mohan, the debutante of the previous season presented neat
and clean cuts in menswear with a wide range of fusion of colours. On the other
hand, Manoviraj Khosla's collection was all chic and sporty reflecting a
complete menswear wardrobe. Designer SiddarthaTytler's collection fashioned an
amazing impact on the audience with a combination of basic and trendy
silhouettes with great detailing. Designer Manish Malhotra, this season too was
involved in designing the complete look of the Kolkata Knight Riders, which
dictated the fusion of glamour and sports on the ramp.
