| Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week begins |
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A model sporting
Pratap's fresh outfit |
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5 September: Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week began amidst much hype and hooplah in the national capital on Wednesday. Veteran and young designers along with buyers , both from India and abroad collected at Pragati Maidan to witness the biggest fashion extravaganza in the country. The Fashion Week kicked off with designer Rajesh Pratap's fresh spring summer collection. He came out with a fresh summer breeze collection. Following the 'less is more' funda he opened the show with simple summer dresses in light weight fabrics in pure white with a sprinkling of vibrant neon colours, interpreted through graphic elements and geometric floral motifs.
There was a strong reference to the eighties off-shoulder necklines and jersey tops which ended in broad tight fitted hems worn over capris and slim fitted pants and shorts presenting a smart urban metropolitan look. The focus of the collection was on subtle shimmering fabrics in cool grays and muted shades of blues.
The effortless crisp cuts of the silhouettes were highlighted through strong linear fabric textures which created optical illusions and accentuated the body like a sculpture. The creativity shown on the part of designers and the enthusiasm of the buyers clearly depicts the growth the Indian fashion industry has witnessed in the past few years.
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| 'Muslin' the theme speaks it all for Payal |
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| A model displaying
Payal's collection |
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5 September: 'Muslin' the theme spoke, what designer Payal Jain wanted to say with her collection for the Spring/Summer 2008. A natural and breezy design, giving a soothing effect of summers, with textures and long gathered dresses, especially for women making them more feminine and elegant. The outfit was designed keeping in mind the costumes worn in India, Spain, Hungary and Croatia giving a feel of fusion look altogether. The texture was a mixture of pleats, smocking and embroidery in harmony with the raw colour of cotton. Camisoles with thin straps in combination with pants and knee-length tights. The Angarkha neckline made her collection more attractive. The colour palette started from coral, indigo, tangerine, moved to soft lemon and ended on Black with embroideries as surface decorations. Fabrics such as linen, silk and lycra were used to give that body fitting style.
During the interaction with media Payal jain said, "I have made this collection for women, keeping in mind the elegance of a woman. 'Muslin' for me is simple, yet stylish, and I have used a lot of linen and lycra so that it gives the sexy look. Also I have tried to give the look and design of early days of fashion which had more of white, indigo and hand- made embroideries." She added by saying, "My target market is Middle –East as the colour and pattern is designed according to them." |
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| Shantanu & Nikhil take audience to Banaras |
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| A Shantanu & Nikhil
collection |
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5 September: The designer duo Shantanu & Nikhil showcased their collection at Wills India Fashion Week this season giving a complete Banarasi look as they named their collection "Banaras Boulevard" which was a complete mixture of richly textured fabrics, shimmering materials, flowing silky weaves and glamorously crafted ornamental cutwork. The blouses were made in such a way so that they could juxtapose with stretch shorts and giant ornaments. The volume for the collection was long flowing sleeves, puffed sleeves and gathered necklines.
The designer duo explained about their collection by saying, "We have made white leather jacket with Victorian ornamental as menswear to give a shadow effect in yellow colour. The women's wear has a short trench coat worn like a dress to give that subtle simplicity." They added by talking about colours being used, " The colours which we have used are sunny yellow-Midas, gold in all kind of variations from noble pale golden beiges and subdued matted oxidized tones to bright rich pure yellow gold which have accompanied shades of white."
The designer duo not only made the models dance but in fact could attract a lot of buyers from around the globe. After the show Sunil Sethi, CEO Alliance Merchandising Company, with a smile on his face said, "The collection was very catchy and with that it gave a fun and lively feeling to all, showing the fun-loving side of summer. I am happy to see this vibrant range by Shantanu & Nikhil."
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| Manoviraj collection gives menswear a new look |
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5 September: A collection to make all women bite their nails after seeing men in vibrant colors from Candy pinks, curacao blues, citric oranges and marshmallow yellow were put together to create a vibrant summer palette for casual menswear. The collection was all about a crisp slim-fitted cropped pants, sporty details with voluminous bellow pockets, flaps and heavy contrasting top stitching as well as silver studs on the side seams. The combination of trousers with shirts was giving a resort-wear-look. Shirts had cutwork across the shoulder and t-shirts were body hugging. Sharply cropped jackets as well as boxy blousons were contrasted with advanced surface textures. the second range was more of an occasion-wear with dark grays and black in combination with red hues. a 3D textures in denim look-a-likes was also given to the outfits.
On this Khosla said, "The whole collection is to give a different yet stylish look to men and with this I have tried experimenting with a look giving different style to men." The whole collection gave casual menswear a holiday feeling.
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| Anjana, a designer with an Indian theme |
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A model displaying
Anjana's collection |
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5 September: A trained designer under the French pattern expert showcased her Indian side by 'Revival' the theme of the design, which is specially meant for the Indian beauty of today's world, giving women a recognition and a sense of achievement for their style. Anjana on Tuesday gave the relevance of today with block printing techniques, hand-crafted lace and hand-made garments in natural textile and did justify to its theme. the show started withn a gold Balinese lehnga and continued with a variation of Indian, Western and Fusion silhouettes focusing on the light weight cotton and hand woven fabrics. the color pallete started from white to golden hues mixed with earthy shades of sandy beiges, muddy greens and coppery brown.
On talking about her designs she said, "We are bringing to the forefront crafts and techniques of yesteryears which were more earthy and natural. I want to show the real side of India and Indian women by giving the right color for the beauty which would enhance it with its natural look." The collection was a symphony of aristocratic elegant rich ensembles which eveoked reminiscences of the days gone by.
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| Kamal Nath marks his presence at fashion week |
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5 September:The last show of day one at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Spring Summer 2008, was entitled to renowned designer Rina Dhaka. Apart from the buyers, celebrities and who's who of fashion industry, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Kamal Nath, also came to see the collection. Though the minister was physically present during the show, but he seemed to be mentally lost as he hardly showed any interest in the show. While speaking to media about the collection, Nath said, "The collection was good, it had a lot of colours and well cut designs for summer outfits." On being asked about his personal choice and preference between the regular working schedule and his party life, Nath replied: "I believe that a bit of everything is must. One can't just keep on working or partying all the time, so according to me, its always important to look at both sides of the coin."
The Indian Fashion industry is undoubtedly growing at an ever increasing pace, and events like Wills Fashion Week are giving a new definition and leap to the Fashion industry. Moreover, with the support of Indian government, the fashion industry can touch new heights.
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