Raw Appeal: Amazon India Fashion Week Day 1

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Titled “Mashru”, 45 garments walked the ramp, in shades ranging from charcoal to bright red, rani pink and parrot green. The colour combinations — pink on pink and red on red — although eye-catching, were not the highlight of the show. The protagonist was mashru, the fabric itself. Developed in the 16th century, it’s silk woven with cotton, and traditionally worn by Muslim men according to the collection note provided by the designer. Too thick for the climate in India, Garg reinvented it in 2011, and his Delhi debut was all about that.

Designs from the “Mashru” collection; Sanjay Garg (third from right) with front-row celebrities (from left) Soha Ali Khan, Deepti Naval, FDCI President Sunil Sethi, Mini Mathur and Konkana Sen Sharma

As 20-odd members of the a cappella group got on stage, in the middle of MSA, beatboxing , humming, slamming their arms and stomping on the wooden floor, models walked in kurtas paired with lehenga skirts; plain, bright lehengas with embroidered motifs such as peacocks on dupattas, kurtas paired with jackets and pencil pants. The choga was the main silhouette that Garg worked on created an entire collection keeping that as the base. As the music picked up, so did the clothes – the colours progressed from black to brighter hues. His colour pairing too gets a full score – a rani pink sari over a red blouse is all Summer should be about. However, why Garg shifted to bridal lehangas towards the end of a show that was all ready-to-wear remains a mystery.

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