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Journalism of Courage
Chinese Whispers
THE West has dried up; the East is now the Mecca of all muses. The Far East sets the mood of the moment with cheongsam-inspired dresses. JJ Valaya’s Tintin in Shangri-La captures the spirit of the traveller—long woollen coats that reverse into mesmerising Chinese prints. Tarun Tahiliani’s black embroidered dress, ivory backless and decolletage kurta are Indianised takes on the cheongsam. Manish Arora’s ode to the East had Chinese collars and obi belts and in case you missed the point, a geisha opening the show.
White Town
WHITE is elegant, no-nonsense and also the most demanding of all colours—it constantly wants newer fabric, textures and embellishments. Abu-Sandeep had an entire collection in white—quilted tunics, flared skirts, chikan and lots of sheers. Rohit Bal’s layered flared skirts, tunics, sari drapes and coats with silver flat sequins and studs were inspired by his home state, Kashmir—his collection was dedicated to the first snowfall. Ritu Kumar showed a white linen layered line too.
Animal Kingdom
FAUX fur trimmings peer from Manish Arora’s orange short jacket, Tarun Tahiliani’s feather-lined hems, and Wendell Rodricks’ bags, shoes, even a sarong. Arora had running horses printed on his T-shirts, while Sabyasachi cleverly married leopard prints with dusty wallpaper florals.
Summer Holiday
RESORT wear is the buzzword in fashion circles, almost every international biggie has a line dedicated to the holidaying traveller. Closer home, Suneet Varma’s big bold prints and colours, and sheer kaftans with hot pants look best on a cruise ship. Krishna Mehta has wispy chiffon shirt dresses, and Wendell Rodricks’ lounge collection was inspired by the ocean. Raghuvendra Rathore’s clothes are safari-bound, with big pockets, knee-high boots, white-jewelled kaftans and jodhpurs. Even a traditional Mughal label like Kotwara (Meera & Muzaffar) came up with a bikini top beneath a sheer ikat kaftan. Need we say more?
Royalty Revisited
THE Empire strikes back, with vintage Victorian served with a twist. A tumult of lace and crochet from Rohit Bal, Victorian collars and neck scarves from Ashish Soni, Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna’s (Cue) baroque-printed velvet turtleneck dress. Namrata Joshipura had a slick modern line of smocked dresses and T-shirts in orange and moss velvet. Coin danglers are the new zardozi—Tarun Tahiliani had them on clothes and accessories, Gill on her skirt hems and Rocky S on his mini-lehengas. Knee-length lehengas featured in many collections—from Manish Arora and Malini Ramani to Rocky. Luxurious velvet T-shirts are printed on (JJ Valaya), jewels are unabashedly displayed (Tahiliani). Jamevars (Tahiliani) and brocade aren’t missed (Rocky, Arora). And the empire cut dresses (Abu-Sandeep, Bal, Narendra Kumar) and blouses bring to mind ample bosoms from the turn of the century.
Quotable Coats
JACKETS are the strongest statement of the season, lest you forget it’s a fall/winter showing. Coats that sculpt the body are worn with chiffon skirts, palazzos and knee-length skirts. Manish Arora had some warrior jackets, Ashish and Smita Soni had them in tie-and-dye, Rina Dhaka with a drawstring. Bal’s were short, floor-length, angrakha-style—in quilting, tonal embroidery and flat sequins. Valaya’s had reversible prints and button-on shawls. Anamika Khanna made her women androgynous, with ingeniously tailored jackets and square-cut and noodle-stripe applique.
Gypsy Kings
GYPSY skirts are modern versions of a lehenga. Ranna Gill’s entire line was an ode to the fortune-telling, nomadic gypsy.
Rococo embroidery (Gill), gota (Rocky S, Manish Arora), warm spicy colours and paisley motifs (Malini Ramani, Kavita Bhartia) and mirror work (Rocky, Ritu Kumar)—Indi-kitsch at its best.
Printing Press
EVER since the new-wave international designers developed print fever, prints are spotted everywhere. There are colour innovations, computer graphics, delirious optical illusions and animal motifs too. Manish Arora’s now famous pop art has roosters, horses and Cine Blitz covers on his shirts, Suneet Varma has zany polka dots throughout, Wendell Rodricks developed a blue ocean theme, and Shantanu Goenka and Tarun Tahiliani had digitised jewels. Sabyasachi’s line was incredible purely because of his dull wallpaper prints, and Anamika Khanna had a beautiful mosaic leitmotif running through her collection.
