Keep it simple,silly

If there is one big spring-summer trend to look forward to,it’s sporty-chic,and joining the team of designers experimenting with this is Rahul Mishra. On Day Two of WIFW Spring-Summer 2014,the designer presented his collection titled “KISS — Keep it Simple & Sport”. Mishra’s summer is a romantic one,always. The models sashayed down the ramp in long dresses,often paired with pallazos,saris with jacket blouses,crop tops with skirts,trench dresses,jumpsuits and tunics. Everything,as always,was hand-woven and Mishra refused to end his relationship with handlooms. No one’s complaining.

Earlier,Mishra brought the Kerala sari on the runway,along with Banarasi brocade and that collaboration worked rather well. This time,he brought khadi from West Bengal and bandhani from Bhuj on one platform and this too seemed to make an impact. Mishra’s palette for this collection ranged from white and indigo to orange and corals,and his favourite,black. The collection was like a breeze and he used fabrics such as silk organza,jersey and PVC.

Mishra has always done feminine,but this time he also added sexy to his vision. It was exciting to watch a designer reinterpreting sportswear in a way that it retained the feminine charm. So sporty zippers made several appearances on dresses and tunics,a few jerseys were a part of KISS,and Mishra added shorts to the collection too. It was a no-fuss,easy-to-wear range that only suffered from one problem — the plastic sandals were a styling blunder and added nothing to the exciting collection.

But all’s forgiven for the man who consistently puts up one of the best shows in town.