WIFW SS 2013

Manish Malhotra
Manish Malhotra’s been using a lot of Kashmiri embroidery and chikankari recently, and for this ramp collection, he continued with the latter, associating with the NGO Mijwan. And there were the usual suspects of colours like ivory, creme, burnt orange, dull shades of red, pink and the like. Some great stuff to look at, but not new.

AM:PM
Ankur and Priyanka Modi stuck to a simple colour palette, but with exotic imagery of god-birds, the Mayan maze, and birds of paradise. Exoticism was balanced with elegant fluid silhouettes, though the designer duo could have taken a few more risks.

Anaikka
The designer tried to capture the multiple facets of a woman through garments crafted for specific personalities, character traits and looks. This ranged from the simple feminine charm to the complex mysterious allure. Two key themes in the collection: attention to detail and strong use of monotones.

Dev R Nil
Clever print mixing in dresses and separates comprised this very wearable collection. The colour palette was restricted to mostly nude, taupe, pale lime, and navy blue with sparks of tangerine and fuchsia.

James Ferreira
Moving away from last year’s tie-and-dye, the designer’s new collection features hand painting by textile artist Bhamini Subramaniam and minimal embellishment. Chic and modern, the draped silhouettes were all seen before.

Kavita Bhartia
The “Romanian” influences is not quite apparent, and the headgear was quite disconcerting. The odd-coloured wigs distracted us from the garments, which were quite likable once you saw beyond the wool-hair.

Rajesh Pratap Singh
Rajesh Pratap Singh experimented with new materials (fabrics and otherwise), used tassellation and various drapes for a slightly futuristic look (big shoulders, surface textures).

SCHON by Sakshee Pradhan
Marking the journey of the sparrow, the rich fabrics and an outfit with some embroidery were the only interesting bits about the collection.

Samant Chauhan
Samant Chauhan attempted to create masterpieces worth royalty with Bhagalpuri silks, “assi kalis” and zardozi embroidery. Are all the garments worth royalty? Are they all masterpieces? The answer to both questions is “No”, though some of them are certainly arisotocratic, if not regal.

Surbhi Chawla
Lots of “influences” in the collection (nomadic, tribal, gypsy), but the common thread to bind them all together was missing.

Accessories of the Day
Nathnis (nose accessories) at Sakshee Pradhan.

Quirky statement earrings at Surbhi Chawla.

Customary Bollywood Appearances of the Day
Parineeti Chopra for Manish Malhotra. Maybe she could have tried to carry the outfit a bit more gracefully?

Diana Penty for Sakshee Pradhan- drab, just like her look in Cocktail.

Manoj Bajpai for Samant Chauhan. Can’t miss the royal weapon there!

WTFashion Outfit of the Day
Is it a bird? Is it a garbage can? No, it’s WTFashion! (Spotted at Khushiz).

Atsu Sekhose
With crisp whites and vivid prints, Atsu’s collection had immensely wearable separates.

Geisha Designs
The “Edwardian” theme was a tad confusing- the mini capsules ended up being a mixed bag of looks. Though there some gorgeous rich pieces in gold, the theatricality of some gowns tended to be jarring.

Anand Kabra
Lime green with gold is a wonderful summer combination, and the mosaic prints would look great on skirts, pants and kurtas. The Indian wear is ot too festive, but can be a good summer wear for elegant ladies who wear saris casually.

Kiran Uttam Ghosh
Playing with sheer and opaque is not new, but Kiran Uttam Ghosh’s approach to this “trend” is fresh. She used asymmetricality, neat embellishments, layering and multi-cultural influences to create wearable artful garments (plenty of geometric shapes). I spotted a couple of outfits I’d like to own!

Payal Pratap
Payal Pratap’s collection has the usual Indo fusion elements, though it makes up for the theme with the detailing- like cross stitch and minute geometric embroidery. The gypsy gilets are quirky wardrobe updates!

Surily
Aztec prints have been on the international ramps since the past few seasons, so Surily’s Aztec and geometric patterns did not seem edgy or fresh though they are quite wearable. Fringes and flirty elements are part of the Surily brand, along with the pop colour palette (fluorescent yellows, tangerine and pinks).

Wendell Rodricks
I got a feeling of deja vu on seeing Wendell Rodricks’ SS13 collection. Despite the repetitive moments, there were several pieces that made the collection worth a peek- especially from the Malacca-inspired part of the collection. The lungis, long tunics, colours and texture mix (linen + sequins + satin silk) make for very cool summer pieces.

Dutch Fashion Here & Now India
The show was a cross-culture, cross-country fashion collaboration between Indian and Dutch fashion designers (Suneet Varma with couturier Jan Taminiau and Rohit Gandhi & Rahul Khanna of CUE with *DIED* ), along with several fashion and cultural reps from the two countries (for makeup, music, photography) The show was theatrical, dramatic and almost couture-like. I especially loved the “darkness” of *DIED* (by iederik Verbakel and Marieke Holthuis).

Accessories of the day
Jalli bangles at Payal Pratap, hair accessories at Geisha Designs, block heels at Anand Kabra (AKA Bespoke for Anand Kabra).

WTFashion Outfit of the Day:
Geisha Designs– lace strands hang down from certain body parts- not sure if this is a curtain, lamp shade or an outfit. Let’s call it the Mystery of the Hanging Lace?

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