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.

Chic Makeup: Lakme’s Gypsy Collection (Part 2)

You can read the previous part of our review of Lakme’s Gyspy Collection here.

Eyes: Eye Quartet

Lakme Gypsy collection Eye Quartet eye shadows

Just one sweep of the Gypsy collection’s eye shadows is enough to make your eye lids sparkle. The two eye shadow palette has the right colours for the season: pink, purples, grey and bronzes. Most of the eye shadows have a gold shimmer, which are perfect for gold embroidery we will be wearing this Diwali and throughout the wedding season. Very, very trendy! And I love the names too: Silk Route and Tanjore Rush.

The only downside: the eye shadow tends to “break” easily.

Black Satin Kajal

Lakme’s Black Satin Kajal is indeed satiny, it just glides over your eye lid, doesn’t smudge too much and is dark as night. Word of caution: Handle with care! I dropped the pencil without the lid, and my heart broke when the point broke. 🙁

Nail polish: True Wear Nail Color

I asked a friend to test the Gypsy collection’s nail polish. She headed to her neighbourhood salon for a pedicure, and asked them to apply the ruby red she was carrying. The pedicurist and the salon staff fell in love with the colour, said it was the right amount of shimmer, and they would be stocking up on the colour ASAP. 🙂

Other fab colours: Mystic indigo, henna gold, plush purple… awesome! Take a look:

Lakme Gypsy collection nail polish

Speaking Chic Verdict (entire collection): 4/5. Choose the colours to go with your wardrobe and you’re set to look gorgeous for the festivities!

Have you tried Lakme’s Gypsy collection of makeup yet? Tell us what you think!

Chic Makeup: Lakme’s Gypsy collection (Part 1)

Speaking Chic spent a few days trying out Lakme’s latest makeup range: the Gypsy collection. Here’s the first part of our review.

About the Gypsy Collection by Lakme

The idea behind Lakme’s Gypsy collection, made in collaboration with designer Malini Ramani, is to take Indian women a makeup range that will see them through the festive season: Diwali, weddings, Christmas, New Year and some more weddings (up to January).

Lakme's Gypsy collection of makeupWhat’s in the collection

Lipsticks, lip glosses, lip colours, blush, eye shadow, kajal, nail polish.

Colours

Mostly earthy undertones, with several vibrant colours. Each makeup product has a distinct colour palette.

Lips: Enrich Satin Lip Color

I started with the Enrich Satin Lip Color lipsticks and discovered, much to my delight, that they did feel like satin on my lips, as the name suggests. The colours ranged from rust to brown. I liked most of the colours (10 in all), and they’re bound to please women of all ages.

Application was easy and the colour came out well in the first coat itself. With just a couple of coats, the lipsticks stayed in place for 5-6 hours, and even after a meal. Lakme says that these lipsticks contain sunscreen, vitamins and olive extracts for soft and smooth lips. Must say that the lipsticks certainly didn’t leave my lips dry.

Sheer Satin Lip Gloss

I love lip glosses, and I can’t imagine life without them. The eight shades of Lakme’s Sheer Satin Lip Gloss were enough to satisfy my thirst for lip glosses, and I liked the slight metallic sheen some of them had. They lasted long (though not as long as the lipsticks), and smelled and tasted great. 😉 My favourite shade: No. 11.

Lip Palette

Lakme Gypsy collection lip palette

Lakme’s Lip Palette of five very earthy brown shades comes with a lip brush that will require basic skills, which you can learn in just couple of minutes. Some of the shades were similar to the Enrich Satin Lip Color lipsticks, but the difference was that these are slightly glossier. Most of the shades are suitable for women of all skin tones. (Hence makes a great Diwali gift.)

Have you tried the Lakme Gypsy collection’s lip range? Tell us what you think!

Coming soon: Part 2 of the review (Eyes and Nails)

LFW Finale: Malini goes gypsy-otic

Lakme Fashion Week’s Winter/Festive 2010 season was expected to end with a fashionable bang. A bang it was, but not very fashionable.

There was plenty of drama and theatrics: starting more than an hour late, an acrobatics act, a contortionist, a tacky AV about Malini’s “journey as a gypsy” and Diandra Soares in a horrendous one-shouldered maxi, on the verge of a wardrobe malfunction.

Diandra Soares at LFW

Divided into four parts (Mystery, Bliss, Cosmic and Nirvana), each sub-collection had a distinct mood, theme, colour palette and set of embellishments. While the Mystery collection comprised mostly sarongs, waist coats, Jodhpur pants, and even smocks, the beach-themed Bliss included some colourful dresses, gowns, tubes and minis. Batiks ruled the first two parts.

Malini Ramani outfit at LFW  Model in Malini Ramani outfit

Kaftans and feathers appeared in the Cosmic part, and plenty of mirror work marked the Nirvana stage.

We wonder why Malini stuck mostly to black in her gypsy interpretation, and why she chose to present a collection that was so predictable, and reinforced every gypsy-costume stereotype. Mirror work, check. Shells, check. No defined silhouette, check.

Model at Malini Ramani show  Malini Ramani's show at LFW- model  

The good thing is that Malini remained true to her bohemian, free-spirited self. After a break and with a more open mind, perhaps Malini can get her creative juices flowing again. Let me ask my tarot cards. 😉