The three-day fashion extravaganza ends on a high note What a start to the year its been. The last couple of days have seen Chandigarh make the most of fashion,some good,some not so good. The Chandigarh Fashion Week has been successful in bringing forth a healthy mix of seasoned labels as well as budding regional talent. Day Three too made the most of it all with names like Shama and Monika Bhatia; Akhil and Nikhil,Shaveta and Anklesh along with city-based designer Babi Grewal. The evening finale had biggies like Arpan Vohra,Satya Paul and Ritu Kumar present their collections. Making the day worth was Babi with her opulent designs that made the most of heavy embroidery and gota work. The show opened with a line-up of sarees in rich colours and even more intense styling. It was interesting to see the designer fuse a range of fabrics - her sarees had crinkled crepe meeting georgette and ending with net pallus. Targeted at a bride-to-be,the collection made the most of heavy embellishments that ranged from traditional gota work to more contemporary sequins spread across suits,sarees and lehenga. Her colour palette was essentially Punjabi and rightly so with saffron,maroons and pinks ruling the ramp. Spring is here!Delhi-based designer Charu Parasher brings a whiff of fresh air at CFWDaffodils in bloom,pretty bouquet of roses,flowing silhouettes ushering in Spring Summer at the Chandigarh Fashion Week was Delhi-based designer Charu Parasher. It was a welcome change to see minimalist embellishments make a strong impact. Essentially a resort wear line,the designer made the most of floral prints and breezy fabrics like chiffon and crepe put together in dresses,tunics and more. The colour palette was equally vibrant with Parasher bringing in a rather English summer with mustard field yellow and soft petunia pinks. The accessories were a perfect match to the ensembles,something we have seen being amiss in showcases by other designers. Charus models walked in carrying floral baskets and wearing sunny hats. If not a soiree in the English garden,one can imagine the dresses making their way to a Hawaii beach or a Greek Island with the ladies basking in the sun and sipping on a Long Island Iced Tea. While Charu couldnt come in personally to close her show that had models like Candice Pinto,Amanpreet Wahi,Barkha walking down the ramp,she sent in her showstopper singer Shibani Kashyap. Dressed in a floral one piece dress,Kashyap was at her affable best even belting a line from her favourite song Ho Gayi Hai Mohabbat! This evening,however,it was Parashers floral line-up that we fell in love with. Style stingSonu Gandhis collection was dedicated to the animal kingdom with the serpent reigning supremeProving that regional talent is pretty much in league with the biggies of fashion was Ludhiana-based designer Sonu Gandhi as she presented her collection for Chandigarh. The designer had a strong theme and she was diligent in keeping it all through. Much inspired by the animal kingdom Gandhi zeroed in on the Serpent complete with its snake-skin prints. In fact,the Serpent was more like a logo for the designer as it kept reappearing on sarees,cholis,jackets down to the clutches! Working on a breezy silhouette,Gandhis first collection made the most of metallic hues like silver,gold and bronze showcased in short dresses. Then came a line that made the most of cocktail sarees and gowns in sheer fabrics coupled with sequined styling in ice candy colours. Clearly,going by the colour palette,summer is just around the corner,in fact at the Chandigarh Fashion Week (CFW) its already arrived in all its vibrancy.
