Anand Kabra

In 2012, Fashion, WIFW SS 2013

WIFW S/S 2013: Day 1 Recap

Speaking ChicOctober 17, 2012October 17, 2012Leave a comment

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?

In 2012, Fashion, WIFW AW 2012

WIFW A/W 2012: Day 1 highlights

Speaking ChicFebruary 16, 2012February 16, 2012Leave a comment

Here’s a look at what happened on Day 1 of Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Autumn/ Winter 2012.

All kinds of cocktail dresses

There were gorgeous metallic finish dresses at S&N Drape by Shantanu-Nikhil, while slinky satins with drapes and lower doses of bling made up James Ferreira’s collection.

Below: S&N Drape by Shantanu-Nikhil, James Ferreira

Prints of the day

I enjoyed the rippled reed, lotus and lotus leaf print on moss and leaf greens at Anand Kabra, while Anupama Dayal did not surprise with her choice of florals and geometrics (among her faves going by earlier collections).

Below: Anand Kabra, Anupama Dayal

The best prints of the day were the tie-and-dye (Indian and geometric) dresses at James Ferreira.

Below: James Ferreira

White, black and shades of nude

It’s amazing how white, black and nude appear different to each designer. For Vineet Bahl, a black canvas was the starting point, later moving on to earthier hues. (Below: Vineet Bahl)

At S&N Drape by Shantanu-Nikhil, the final set of garments were nude dresses with white embroidery, and they were gorgeous. And Anju Modi began with ivory and cream, and ended with black.

(Below: S&N Drape by Shantanu-Nikhil, Anju Modi)

International influences

Sixteenth century Spanish toreros (matadors) provided inspiration to Preeti Chandra. The toreros wore elaborately decorated ‘Traje de Luces’ or ‘suits of light’. She transformed the toreros’ Trajes de Luces (suits of light) into feminine forms with dabka and intricate embroideries on silks. (Below: Preeti Chandra)

Meanwhile, Vineet Bahl used vintage Romanian shawls and antique Sardinian embroideries on 1960s silhouettes for the world traveller. The Indian touch came with neon accents with kantha work and stone work on brocade. (Below: Vineet Bahl)

Anju Modi explored the diversity of cultures and their similarity with inspiration from Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan touching the Kutch border. The free flowing silhouettes were the hallmark of the collection, with ‘sarabara’ or loose trousers worn by Scythians transformed into cowl trousers. Hand-woven fabrics (raw silk melding with textured cotton) brought an earthy edge to the collection. (Below: Anju Modi)

Accessories of the day

Footwear grabbed the spotlight with sexy stilettos for the glam party girl at S&N by Shantanu-Nikhil and summery, girly shoes at Anupama Dayal. Meanwhile, the dangling earrings at Preeti Chandra reminded me of the 1980s and Spanish country women.

(Below: S&N by Shantanu-Nikhil, Anupama Dayal, Preeti Chandra)

Makeup of the day

There were rosy pink cheeks at Anju Modi and painted lower lashes on Vineet Bahl and Preeti Chandra.

(Below: Anju Modi, Preeti Chandra)

Customary Bollywood appearance of the day:

Dia Mirza and Sameera Reddy at S&N Drape by Shantanu-Nikhil.

In 2011, Fashion, LFW S/R 2011, trends

LFW: 5 things we liked on Day 2

Speaking ChicMarch 18, 2011Leave a comment

On Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2011’s second day (March 12), the ramp was on fire (well, almost). The clothes sizzled, and so did the models. Our roundup of Day 2:

Designers went bold and sexy

If it’s summer, there’s got to be swimwear. And if it’s swimwear, the ramp’s gonna heat up. At Shivan-Narresh, models strode out confidently in sexy swimsuits. And Anand Kabra played peek-a-boo with sheer coverups over bikinis at the Sleek: The New Mystique show.

Also at Anand Kabra was the sensuous look with red, black and wine silk draped tunics. And on the boldness front, spunky designer Masaba Gupta led the way with giant-sized dots and rolled-up fabric as headgear.

Below left to right: Shivan-Narresh, Anand Kabra, Masaba Gupta

Mesmerising atmosphere, stunning collection

At Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2011, Little Shilpa presented a fashion film along with her collection Fleurs du Mal (both her creations). With dim lighting, smudged eyes, hints of tears and seven intricate headpieces and neckpieces, Shilpa’s show was spellbinding to say the least.

Meanwhile Manish Malhotra created a magical, royal and rustic atmosphere with coloured lamps and royalty-inspired decor. Take a look at the set:

Something nice for the guys

The Energie show was all-male, with some great clothes for the guys: trendy, preppy sportswear, casual chic and relaxed day wear. At Manish Malhotra later that evening, the ace Bollywood designer presented some amazing chikankari and Kashmiri embroidery sherwanis for men. As an added bonus, this also meant that two back-to-back shows had super-hot male models walking the ramp, including Kunal Kapoor. WOOt!

Below: Energie and Manish Malhotra

Fun with hair!

Anand Kabra’s show was about clothes and hair, of course. Anand Kabra’s Magnetic was accompanied by a unique hair style: an asymmetrical side sweep frontal fringe, with a half inverted French braid. Earlier in the day, we spotted wonderful and wearable hair accessories at Pam & Arch London worn on the side. The accessories were shaped like flowers, birds and fans.

(Below: Anand Kabra’s Magnetic look from the front and the back, Pam & Arch London.)

Colours we want to see in a waffle cone

Yummmm… ice cream on the the ramp! Jatin Varma’s collection was titled Gelato which was enough to make our mouths water. His designs were marked by sorbet colours (melon pink, blue, white and dollops of yellow), light fabrics and delightful drapes on minis and gowns. Barely couple of hours later, Shivan-Narresh’s collection sought inspiration from Vanilla— so lots of white blocked cleverly with splashes of blue, orange and even black. I’m tempted to break my diet already.

(Below left to right: Jatin Varma, Shivan-Narresh)

In Fashion, LFW, LFW S/R 2011

LFW: Anand Kabra to create ‘Mystique’

Speaking ChicMarch 11, 2011Leave a comment

Fashion designer Anand Kabra will present his latest collection Sleek: The New Mystique this weekend at Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2011. Anand will present his interpretation of the previously-defined four hair looks (free spirited, creative, urban cool, sensuous), along with the yet-unseen fifth look— magnetic. The Hyderabad-based designer collaborated with the Lakmé Studio team to create the looks that will be showcased during the show.

Speaking Chic spoke to Anand Kabra about Mystique—the concept and the collection.

How do you relate to the concept of mystique as a designer?

Mystique is commonly associated with a woman. No matter how much you know of a woman, there is always an element of mystery with her. Interpreting the various facets of a woman was quite a challenge for me.

In your earlier collections, you had fun with colours like reds, yellows and whites. But mystique is usually associated with darker colours like greys and black. How did you combine these drastically different colour palettes?

You’re right—I love playing around with yellows and reds. While Lakmé Studio wanted an Anand Kabra chhap [stamp/ trademark] on this collection, there are strong doses of black in the collection, these colours are also there though in varying proportions. That gives a different interpretation without being too contrived and going off-theme.

How does traditional Indian wear represent mystique?

Indian costumes are yarded—so just the way they are draped or worn is very exciting. The sari palla, the drape, the pleat and the ghunghat create a mystery around the woman wearing it.

What were the challenges you faced in designing this collection?

As a designer, I was collaborating with a team from Lakmé Studio—but I didn’t want the collaboration to be unfair for either of us. My collections are usually about clothing and a manifestation of my vision. But in a partnership, one can’t overshadow the other. We needed to present a lifestyle, rather than just clothes or hair. Usually, I capture just one mood in my garments, but this time I needed to capture five moods. And the five moods couldn’t be jumpy, they needed to be seamless, and work well with each other.

How will your clothes appeal to women around the world while staying focussed on Indian women?

I design for Indian women. Ultimately, we are all talking the same language of fashion—the boundaries have merged. For me, Indian fashion is a wealth of colours and fabrics. It’s ultimately global fashion with a regional (Indian) flavour.