WLIFW SS 2012: Day 1 highlights

WLIFW SS 2012: Day 1 highlights

Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2012 kicked off on October 8, 2011 in New Delhi. Here’s what happened on Day 1 (Saturday):

There were colours… lots of them!

True to the upcoming season, India’s designers showed us colours to brighten the summer of 2012. There were plenty of colours all around, ranging from bright to soft—we spotted orange, hot pink, blue and red.

Below: Gauri & Nainika; Nachiket Barve; Rajesh Pratap Singh

Gauri & Nainika at WLIFW SS 2012 Nachiket Barve at WLIFW SS 2012

Rajesh Pratap Singh at WLIFW SS 2012

Meanwhile, there was white (and pastels) too!

Who says white is not a colour? Rahul Reddy and Rimzim Dadu proved otherwise, even as some designers played with soft pastels.

Below: Rahul Reddy, My Village by Rimzim Dadu, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Nandita Basu

Rahul Reddy at WLIFW SS 2012 Rimzim Dadu at WLIFW SS 2012

Rajesh Pratap Singh at WLIFW SS 2012 Nandita Basu at WLIFW SS 2012

Meanwhile, Indian styles dominated

Rajesh Pratap Singh showcase ikat tunics, dresses and kurtas. Meanwhile, Aneeth Arora brought out the famous Madras checks and floral prints on dresses, coats and trousers. Nandita Basu combined kantha work with details like pleats and cowls.

Below: Rajesh Pratap Singh, Pero by Aneeth Arora, Nandita Basu

Rajesh Pratap Singh at WLIFW SS 2012 Pero by Aneeth Arora at WLIFW SS 2012 Nandita Basu at WLIFW SS 2012

Silhouettes were more structured than fluid

While most of us tend to associate summer with loose silhouettes, flowy garments and easy-going outfits, the designers surprised us with silhouettes that were had cleaner lines, robust shapes and a complexity-in-detail approach. But are they summer-ready? Yep!

Below: Rahul Reddy, My Village by Rimzim Dadu, Nandita Basu

Rahul Reddy at WLIFW SS 2012 Rimzim Dadu at WLIFW SS 2012

Nandita Basu at WLIFW SS 2012

Embellishments were subtle

Malini Ramani used her favourite little mirrors to embellish, while Nachiket Barve used his favourite floral appliqué along with silvery leaves.

Below: Malini Ramani, Nachiket Barve

Malini Ramani at WLIFW SS 2012 Nachiket Barve at WLIFW SS 2012

Look of the day

The cheeky girls wearing uniform-like garments and headgear at Gauri & Nainika.

Gauri & Nainika at WLIFW SS 2012

Accessory of the day

The applique envelope clutch at Nachiket Barve… fabulous! (Close contender: Fluorescent belts and chappals at Rahul Reddy.)

Below: Nachiket Barve, Rahul Reddy

Nachiket Barve at WLIFW SS 2012 Rahul Reddy at WLIFW SS 2012

Celeb appearance  of the day

The customary Bollywood appearance on Day 1 at Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week SS 2012 was by the cast of upcoming movie My Friend Pinto, Prateik and Kalki Koechlin for Rina Dhaka. Do they look good? Sure. As for the clothes—best left unsaid. 😉

Rina Dhaka 1

What are your favourites from Day 1 of Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week SS 2012?

WIFW: 141 fashion designers? We explain!

Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Autumn/ Winter 2011 kicks off on April 6, and the designer list has been announced. A whopping 141 designers will showcase their collections at the Delhi event.

image001Now 141 designers is an amazing number, right? So we poked around a bit and discovered some interesting nuggets, that explain the numbers better:

Out of a total of 141 designers, 77 will have ramp shows. Fifteen of them are Hi 5 designers  (upcoming designers making their runway debut).

The remaining (that means 64 designers) will only display their collections in the stalls. That’s an area like an exhibition hall where you can check out the clothes and accessories, and even meet the designers. You can usually find buyers and journalists and other general visitors in this area during fashion week.

What we find most interesting is the list of designers who only have stalls. These include big names by Rohit Bal, Malini Ramani, Gauri & Nainika, Amit GT, Nachiket Barve, Prashant Verma, Ranna Gill, Rina Dhaka, Vineet Bahl and Wendell Rodricks. Wendell Rodricks WIFW

We wondered what such big names are doing off the ramp. It’s possible these well-established designers feel they don’t need ramp shows to get attention. Perhaps they’d rather focus on getting their clothes right, rather than dealing with the chaos and costs of a ramp show. Or maybe they feel ramp shows are just not worth the expense?

What do you think?

PS: Some of the recognisable names showcasing their collections on the ramp: Abraham & Thakore, am:pm by Ankur & Priyanka Modi, Gaurav Gupta, Geisha Designs by Paras & Shalini, James Ferreira, Label – Ritu Kumar, My Village by Rimzim Dadu, Namrata Joshipura, Neeru Kumar, Niki Mahajan, Pero by Aneeth Arora, Rahul Mishra, Rahul Reddy, Tarun Tahiliani, Sabyasachi Mukherjee.

WIFW: 141 fashion designers? We explain!

Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Autumn/ Winter 2011 kicks off on April 6, and the designer list has been announced. A whopping 141 designers will showcase their collections at the Delhi event.

image001Now 141 designers is an amazing number, right? So we poked around a bit and discovered some interesting nuggets, that explain the numbers better:

Out of a total of 141 designers, 77 will have ramp shows. Fifteen of them are Hi 5 designers  (upcoming designers making their runway debut).

The remaining (that means 64 designers) will only display their collections in the stalls. That’s an area like an exhibition hall where you can check out the clothes and accessories, and even meet the designers. You can usually find buyers and journalists and other general visitors in this area during fashion week.

What we find most interesting is the list of designers who only have stalls. These include big names by Rohit Bal, Malini Ramani, Gauri & Nainika, Amit GT, Nachiket Barve, Prashant Verma, Ranna Gill, Rina Dhaka, Vineet Bahl and Wendell Rodricks. Wendell Rodricks WIFW

We wondered what such big names are doing off the ramp. It’s possible these well-established designers feel they don’t need ramp shows to get attention. Perhaps they’d rather focus on getting their clothes right, rather than dealing with the chaos and costs of a ramp show. Or maybe they feel ramp shows are just not worth the expense?

What do you think?

PS: Some of the recognisable names showcasing their collections on the ramp: Abraham & Thakore, am:pm by Ankur & Priyanka Modi, Gaurav Gupta, Geisha Designs by Paras & Shalini, James Ferreira, Label – Ritu Kumar, My Village by Rimzim Dadu, Namrata Joshipura, Neeru Kumar, Niki Mahajan, Pero by Aneeth Arora, Rahul Mishra, Rahul Reddy, Tarun Tahiliani, Sabyasachi Mukherjee.

LFW: Fashion lessons from Day 5

One would expect some exciting stuff happening on the last day of Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2011. Though the day began well, there were not too many “Wow” moments that day. Here are some fashion lessons we learnt on Day 5 of LFW.

Nude colours are still around

Harangad Singh and VJ Balhara used beige, sand and similar colours in good doses in their collections. While VJ Balhara sought rustic inspiration, Harangad Singh had aristocratic influences, and showed us an interesting way to wear beige this summer without looking dull—with soft colours like lemonade and pink.

(Below left to right: VJ Balhara, Harangad Singh)

VJ Balhara at LFW S/R 2011 Harangad Singh at LFW S/R 2011

Markets rule over fashion

At Satya Paul that evening there was marine inspiration and we saw enoughsequins, twinkles and other shiny things that made us blink more than needed. And at Abdul Halder, we felt the designer was trying too hard to be as wearable as possible that it almost bored us. The common thread? We suspect they’re both tailored (pun intended) for very specific markets (though different ones, of course).

(Below left to right: Satya Paul, Abdul Halder)

Satya Paul at LFW S/R 2011 Abdul Halder at LFW S/R 2011

Feminine fashion is always in style

From Pallavi Mohan’s A Pocketful of Posies to Gauri-Nainika’s grand finale, we loved the soft feminine silhouettes, fabrics and details. At Pallavi Mohan’s Not So Serious show, there were cascades of ruffles, lace on sleeves and tiers, peasant tops and sexy baby doll blouses. At the finale Fantasy Collection, Gauri and Nainika showed us cocktail dresses with spiraling drapes and textures in pastel shades of white, blue, green, pink and yellow. And there was plenty of lace, frill details, tulle and soft satin. No better way to make you feel all girly and ladylike.

(Below left to right: Pallavi Mohan’s Not So Serious, Gauri-Nainika’s Fantasy collection)

Pallavi Mohan at LFW S/R 2011 Gauri Nainika at LFW S/R 2011

We love quirky chic

We enjoyed some of the accessory designers who kicked off the final day of Lame Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2011. Prabhat Kumar showed us how accessories can be kinda crazy—with a reptile-like texture on bags… not for the light-hearted! Meanwhile, Rohan Arora showed us a riches-to-rags story, for the inflation-struck Indian fashionistas. From the colourful embellished heels to the flats with basic prints, they were all worth a look. Meanwhile, we also liked Rachana Reddy’s  fan, rectangular, oval and pill box shaped clutches and sling bags.

(Below: Prabhat Kumar, Rohan Arora, Rachana Reddy)

Prabhat Kumar accessories at LFW S/R 2011 Rohan Arora accessories at LFW S/R 2011 Rachana Reddy accessories at LFW S/R 2011

Lakmé Fashion Week: Gauri & Nainika are grand finale designers

Feminine, glamourous, wearable, Bollywood favourites… Gauri & Nainika will be the grand finale designer for Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/ Resort 2011.

The designer duo’s eponymous label will draw inspiration from Lakmé’s upcoming Fantasy Collection. Gauri & Nainika are hoping to tap into the rich colour palette and the other-worldly dimension to create their upcoming collection.

“[The Fantasy Collection] is an exploration into the feminine and almost dreamy influences that drive the many moods of all women. With its fresh, vibrant colors of nature, Lakmé’s summer palette provides that element of richness and a touch of idyllic that every woman craves for. We hope that our collection will unfurl a whole new world of sparkling fantasies for women,” they said.

Going by the wonderful, yet wearable creations of Gauri & Nainika, we’re looking forward to the Lakmé Fashion Week already.

Below: Gauri & Nainika with Lakmé models.

Gauri & Nainika Lakmé Fashion Week finale

Party dresses: Let’s paint the town red, white and green!

Red dresses are this winter’s LBDs, or so they say. But red isn’t the only colour popping up all over town. Other rocking colours for party dresses I’ve been spotting are green and white. Check out our top trendy party dress picks in these colours.

Party colour: Red
Red is an instant attention-grabber. If you’re bold, love being the cynosure at a party, then red is your colour for 2011.

Dress from Chemistry.

Chemistry red party dress

(Picture from Chemistry Facebook page)

Party colour: Green
After seeing some fabulous green evening dresses, I’ve begun to believe that green is the most underrated colour in fashion. What say?

Gown from Gauri & Nainika, available at Ensemble.

Gauri & Nainika green gown

Party colour: White
The colour of snow and winter, and can make you stand out among a sea of dressed-in-black partygoers. Add pop-coloured accessories and makeup to avoid looking too pale.

Dress from Prashant Verma, available at Ensemble.

 

Prashant Verma white dress

Which is your favourite colour to party in? Red, white or green?