Dev r Nil

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).

Here’s what I learnt on Day 3 of Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2012.

The standard Indian inspirations were still on the ramp

Gujarat and Rajasthan have inspired designers across the world, and continue to do so. Abraham & Thakore harked back to their NID, Ahmedabad days with hand-woven and hand-printed textiles. (Below: Abraham & Thakore)

Meanwhile, at Pallavi Jaipur the designer combined Rajasthan’s colour, kitsch and patchwork with an urban flair. The key accessories were hair pieces.

Europe’s varied culture made for interesting fashion elements

Rajdeep Ranawat’s A Bohemian Legend was influenced by the gypsy way of life with rich fabrics and bohemian influences such as paint splatters, and contoured and colour blocked vines with Chantilly motifs. He used embellishments by Swarovski Elements, chains and leather tassels with pearls and filigree. (Below: Rajdeep Ranawat)

At Pankaj & Nidhi, the 200-year-old Polish folk art of Wycinanki (vih-chee-nan-kee) came to life with hand-cut felt fabrics appliquéd on to fabrics. Note the peacock and floral motifs.

I remembered by school days

Dev r Nil’s interpretation of Alice in Wonderland was a bit different from what I imagined when I read it in school, but the play with optics, butterflies, floating gold fishes and surreal flights was just as enchanting. (I now want to read the book again).

If there’s one thing I didn’t mind about “needlework” in school, it was the cross stitch. It was fun, easy, and I could use lots of colours! So I especially liked Pankaj & Nidhi’s cross stitch on leather, using wool yarn and silk tapes. And the cross stitch was done by punching holes in the leather to form a grid. Mesmerising stuff!

Surface textures excite me

Think splashes of blood red, orange and rust on black and grey texturised fabrics with surface ornamentation. Floral art work compliments sexy cut-outs in modern silhouettes—this happened at Bhanuni by Jyoti Sharma and I enjoyed almost every outfit I saw.

And Anand Bhushan created junkyard fashion by reinterpreting industrial steel, copper and other material through texture, form and colour. For instance, the dresses seemed like moulds or casts. The colours came from the effects of industrial methods like rusting, oxidation and tarnishing. Worth a look!

We all enjoy old wine in a new bottle

Manish Malhotra’s been working with Kashmiri embroidery over the last few seasons (even in movies like Bodyguard), and this season was no different. The intricate thread and zari work from Kashmir featured on borders of churidars, pants and saris, along with matching belts and sleeves. Some of the stuff did look familiar, but his fans would love it.

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