Big,Bold and Booming

It was hard not to notice the effort put in creating the stage for Manav Gangwani’s ‘A Timeless Affaire’. While a series of cogs and revolving bezels hung low over the ramp,a giant clock was juxtaposed with the signs of the zodiac with the sun in the middle was the backdrop. The collection had over-the-top voluminous gowns,doused with Swarovskis with the use of gota in unusual ways. The fantastical theme saw models wearing exaggerated collar details and armour-like structures,which added to Gangwani’s grandiose couture. Gold dust georgette,Italian chiffon,French lame,sequined fabric,shimmer net,intricately patterned brocade,silk velvet,French lace and Duchess satin the fabrics were lavish.

Suneet Varma

Passion play between a beautiful couple on stage before a fashion show? Designer Suneet Varma lived up to the hype surrounding his Kamasutra collection. Using lovemaking as a thematic background,he said,“Fashion is the politest way of talking about sex.” If that be true,then skirts,ethereal veils,flaming colours,rustling silk,sensually draped chiffons and metallic bras were in sync with the mood. Varma also incorporated Swarovski in silhouettes ranging from shararas,saris,lehngas,paajeb churidars to structured coats and embellished kamarbandhs.

Look,who’s watching

Long before designer Manav Gangwani’s collection walked the ramp on day two Delhi Couture Week 2011,it was on Twitter. Jewellery designer Farah Khan Ali tweeted her arrival with her family — mom Zarine Khan,brothers Zayed and Fardeen Khan with wife Natasha. The starry brigade didn’t dry up there. Actors Soha Ali Khan,Rahul Khanna,Raveena Tandon with Anil Thadani,Dino Morea and Sophie Chaudhary trooped in too. Raveena,Soha and Sophie wore saris from Gangwani’s new couture collection. Soha didn’t leave Rahul Khanna’s side for a minute,even post the show. Also squeezed in,quite literally,in the front row were socialites Riddhima Kapoor Sahni,Sunanda Pushkar,Laila Khan Rajpal and Shahnaz Hussain. Robert Vadra and Suhel Seth Counselage Partner Suhel Seth were the surprise guests. After the show,the designer’s celeb friends gave him a standing ovation.

Shantanu and NikhilM

Perfume,Shantanu and Nikhil’s collection bottled a new exuberance and vintage charm well,but in a familiar style. Wrought iron chairs,bunnies on green patches and roses,it was English garden from the ‘Elizabethan era’. Multi-tiered gowns in baby pink,midnight blue,specks of lavender and orange with fluid and feminine fabrics floated around. It was a tad odd to see showstopper Sonakshi Sinha,dressed in an ivory-white,heavily embroidered and severe jacket paired with a white ‘neither lehnga nor skirt’. Her walk was almost boisterous unlike the demure gait of the other models.

Anju Modi

For the 20 days that designer Anju Modi worked on ‘Maya’,her 20 garment collection,she was in a magical frame of mind. Inspired by Maya,a woman said to possess the combined material power of all the Gods and Goddesses,Modi’s line was bejeweled with Indian weaves in opulent saris,angrakhas and lehngas. The colour palette was white,mixed with hues of blue,ivory and maroon. “White is an important colour for me since it’s a mix of so many colours,said the designer who also had the ‘tree of life’ motif repeat all through. Modi’s Maya for the evening was actor Shakti Kapoor’s daughter Shraddha Kapoor.

Ashima-Leena

Designer-duo Ashima-Leena recalled the censored Cupid. Seeking inspiration from the ‘Zenana’ women in voluminous robes,ghungroos as fussy jewels,they presented ‘Adaa: Revival of a Lost Charm’. A trio of kathak dancers came first,who were followed by models in gossamer silks combined with the mellowed richness of old gold brocades,layered sheer fabrics,overlapping colours like antique peachy rose with soft blues. Jaamdanis over kimkhaabs and silhouettes like Peshwaz over ghagra and draped over churidaars brought together an old world charm. Showstopper Sharmila Tagore said she had worn a ghaghra for the first time.

Manish Malhotra

Couture comes easy to Malhotra,who gave India Bollywood Couture,a NRI phrase intrinsically Indian yet just so original because it tells us who we are and what we like. So,what’s a Manish Malhotra show without Bollywood anyway? As ‘muse forever’ Urmila Matondkar sat in the front row,fashion’s favourite child Sonam Kapoor,opened the show titled ‘Royal India’. The collection was inspired by the pre-Partition era–1920 to 1940,and showed bridal lehngas,shararas,saris with earth-kissing Anarkalis including a sampling of a couture line for men.