The last dance

Before the curtains fell on the most recent edition of the Lakme Fashion Week,fashion watchers deserved a mega party.

Before the curtains fell on the most recent edition of the Lakme Fashion Week,fashion watchers deserved a mega party. And grand finale designer Suneet Varma ensured that they got one. With his Night Fever collection,inspired by the freewheeling lifestyle of the partying set,when they made Mykonos the hedonistic capital of the world in the 70s and 80s. They were the first jet-setters. They set the trends in partying,music,fashionI couldnt find a better eference for my theme, the designer told us.

With shiny disco balls,an elaborate stage set and live music by electro duo Midival Punditz,the models took to the ramp in bright neons,sequins,elaborate embroidery and lots of energy. The clothes ran the gamut of trends that the two decades gave fashionjumpsuits,kaftans,animal prints,leggings and sequined turbansall accompanied by Varmas clutches,designed for Judith Leiber. Our special love went out to the one-shouldered fringed kaftan which has the potential to transform a gamine into a goddess. And when Varma finally came onto the ramp,dancing with his models,we knew he had as much fun putting together the collection,as the audience did watching it.

The other high profile show of the day was TIGIs presentation of British designer Christopher Kanes spring-summer and autumn-winter collections. The front row was chock-a-block with the rich and the famous. Rising star and fashion muse Freida Pinto had especially flown down to watch her friend Kanes Indian ramp debut,and she showed her support by wearing one of his spring creations. She was accompanied by Sabina Chopra,who wore an autumn-winter design from Kane,also sported a birds nest hairstyle,created by the stylists at TIGI. If Lakme wanted to ensure maximum publicity for their collaboration with the global brand,they couldnt have been more emphatic.

While the autumn-winter collection was predictably heavy on velvets and dark colours,Kanes spring-summer collectiondiaphanous fabrics and pastels with delicate embroidery,played upon the Lolita paradox. Ordinary gingham lost its innocence with sheer skirts,thigh-high slits and peek-a-boo cutouts. The hair,Anthony Mascolo,top stylist at TIGI,claimed was integrated with the fashion for the first time in India. Frankly,for us,it stood out like a sore thumb. Something less frizzy and more edgy is what we expected,considering Lakmes energetic promotion of the collaboration.

Given the hype surrounding the TIGI show,one couldve almost forgotten the other shows of the day. Anita Dongre,who was unfortunately squeezed in between Varma and Kane,had an interesting collection of pale blues,pinks and white,replete with kurtas,jumpsuits and jodhpurs. Inspired by Jaipur,both the Anita Dongre Iinter-Pret Line and the Timeless Collection,emphasised day-to-night pieces. Pale shades dominated the day. Payal Singhal showcased maxis and cowled skirts in ecru and sand,and sprinkled them liberally with crystalsa little too much,in our opinion. But the pieces made for great separates,both as formals and casual. Lina Tipnis had dresses in ivory and mahogany that stuck to the tent and trapeze silhouettes. The only elaboration was in the form of tromp loeil embroidery in the shape of necklaces and belts.

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