LFW SR 2013: The best jewellery of the week

LFW SR 2013: The best jewellery of the week

While I enjoy watching clothes at the fashion shows, sometimes the best part of the shows are the accessories—whether it’s the bags, shoes or jewellery. At Lakme Fashion Week Summer Resort 2013, there were plenty of accessories on the ramp, and some were as exquisite as the clothes. Here’s a closer look at the best jewellery at LFW SR 2013. (More accessories to come in future posts).

Best Jewellery

Pallavi Foley’s designs focus on “movement”, customisation and unusual shapes, but are still wearable at all sorts of occasions.

Pallavi Foley jewellery

Pallavi Foley jewellery

This was my first chance to see Pallavi Foley’s creations up close and I liked what I saw, especially the way she moulds the metal into shapes with white spaces. I took a fancy to these earrings. 🙂

Pallavi Foley jewellery

Suhani Pittie’s tribal-inspired work was a tad disappointing this time, because the tribal-inspired pieces almost seemed kitschy and repetitive. Some of the pieces were ordinary  (like the kadas), though she’s still with complex neckpieces.

Suhani Pittie jewellery LFW SR 2013

Suhani Pittie jewellery LFW SR 2013

Amrapali, as usual, was great (as seen in Vikram Phadnis’s show for Swades Foundation).

neha dhupia in Amrapali- LFW SR 2013

Five reasons I’m excited about Lakme Fashion Week Summer Resort 2013

Lakme Fashion Week Summer/ Resort 2013 kicks off today and I’m super excited! Here’s why.

Naeem Khan

The man who’s dressed FLOTUS Michelle Obama a number of times will be showcasing his work Saturday night. And he will participate in a workshop on Friday, talking about his style and creations. Meeting or seeing this man is reason enough to attend Lakme Fashion Week.

Menswear

The best menswear designers in the country will be on the ramp after a long gap. The list includes veterans like Narendra Kumar and Arjun Khanna, along with young designer Kunal Rawal (he did the men’s costumes for Aisha). Narendra Kumar’s shows are always worth a watch, and this time he’s expected to make a strong statement on the country’s socio-political situation. Hmmm….!

Narendra Kumar SR 2012

One more platform for GenNext designers

Lakme Fashion Week has been supporting new designers for several years now, but this  time they get an additional benefit with support from Zovi.com. The online shopping site will manufacture and retail one garment from each of the debuting designers. So get ready to shop already!

Live webcast

Lakme Fashion Week shows will be broadcast live on YouTube, which means instant fashion! So we can all watch the shows in our PJs over the weekend. They’ve already got a preview of the season online, so check it out:

Jewellery

Very few fashion weeks have accessory designers participating. It’s good to see Suhani Pittie back at LFW, and I’ve always wanted to see Pallavi Foley’s creations up close. This is my chance! 🙂Suhani Pittie LFW

Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2013 is from March 22 to 26, 2013 in Mumbai.

LFW S/R 2012 Day 2: Shows to watch today

LFW S/R 2012 Day 2: Shows to watch today

Day 2 of Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2012 is going to be super fun, because the shows and themes have me intrigued!

Suhani Pittie

I always enjoy her jewellery, because she works with a range of materials from metal to stones, and her treatment and textures are unique.

Below: From Suhani Pittie at LFW S/R 2011

Suhani Pittie LFW S/R 2011

Bhairavi Jaikishan

Bhairavi is among the handful of Indian wear designers who usually tends to not go OTT. All the more reason to catch her show.

Disney Couture with Nitin Bal Chauhan and Little Shilpa

Disney, anarchistic Nitin Bal Chauhan, offbeat Little Shilpa. This will be one very powerful fashion combination!

Bibhu Mohapatra

It’s his first collection being presented in India, and he’s been received rave reviews overseas. Enough said!

LFW: Trends seen on Day 3

Day 3 of Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2011 was it kicked off with the accessory show, and ended with a rock glam show by Shantanu-Nikhil. We pick our top fashion and accessories trends of the day:

The gleam of metal

From Siddharth Tytler’s Metalosophy show to metallic accessories, there was enough metal on the ramps to send security officers into a tizzy. 😉 Siddharth Tytler’s collection had gold and silver embellishments (or strong metallic hints) on dresses, blouses and even shorts. At Malaga there were gold and silver sequinned bags shining on the ramp, while Suhani Pittie used real metal  to create some interesting neckpieces and cuffs.

(Below left to right: Siddharth Tytler, Malaga, Suhani Pittie)

Siddarth Tytler at LFW S/R 2011 Malaga at LFW S/R 2011 Suhani Pittie at LFW S/R 2011

Debarun’s gold applique glittered on the ramp, giving a rich look to his outfits, while Anita Dongre used gold and silver ribbon borders (though there was nothing unusual or luxurious about them).

(Below left to right: Debarun, two pictures from Timeless by Anita Dongre)

Debarun at LFW S/R 2011 Timeless by Anita Dongre at LFW S/R 2011 Timeless by Anita Dongre at LFW S/R 2011

Fashionable nomads

Babita Malkani sought inspiration from Baul singers from Bengal and the fluid, feminine silhouettes were nomadic, bohemian and chic. The prints included those of Baul singers, Bengali scriptures and abstract designs of musical instruments like the Iktara.

Meanwhile at Aparna and Norden Wangdi’s aptly-titled “New Tower of Babel” the softly draped and asymmetrical dresses had symbols in Japanese, Chinese, English and Sanskrit  in resham, prints or sequins. While the look was anything but sloppy, the outfits reflected new-age nomads.

(Below left to right: Babita Malkani, Aparna and Norden Wangdi)

Babita Malkani at LFW S/R 2011 Aparna & Nordan Wangdi at LFW S/R 2011

Art meets fashion

Rajat Tangri’s Bella Donna sought inspiration from Italian Renaissance painter Fra’ Filippo Lippi, using his painting of Virgin Mary and infant Jesus on his jackets and dresses. Meanwhile Rimi Nayak took a step toward being a mixed media artist by inserting buttons into plastic tag string and attached these on to fabric.  She also used origami on her dresses and skirts.

(Below left to right: Rajat Tangri, Rimi Nayak)

Rajat Tangri jacket at LFW S/R 2011 Rimi Nayak dress LFW S/R 2011

Women get daring

Projecting personalities on the ramp is always tricky, and is usually done with the clothes, hair and makeup. But once in a while, it’s nice to see accessories speaking up for the battered wife as seen at Eina Ahluwalia. Models wore gold pendants shaped like daggers, knives, trishuls, bows and arrows, sickles and even a skull with semi precious stones.

Euna Ahluwalia at LFW S/R 2011 Eina Ahluwalia accessories at LFW S/R 2011

Shantanu-Nikhil introduced their bridge brand S&N Drape with evening wear meant for a glam rock diva. With thick orange eyeliner and big crimped hair, the models walked with attitude and some flipped their hair and flirted with the cameras. Corsets replaced sari blouses, and petticoats were absent. Boleros were worn over slinky bodysuits and bronzed brocade was used for sheath dresses. And the divas ended the show with some fun dancing with the designer duo.

Shantanu Nikhil dress at LFW S/R 2011 Shantanu & Nikhil at LFW S/R 2011

Hotties on the ramp

Pictures below, enough said!

(Aditya Roy Kapoor for Debarun and Randeep Hooda for Rajat Tangri)

Aditya Roy Kapoor

Randeep Hooda for Rajat Tangri

LFW Summer/Resort 2011: Top 5 things we’re excited about

  1. A taste of Japan: Established Japanese designers will showcase their collections at Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2011. These are Somarta by Tamae Hirokawa, Motonari Ono and Araisara by Sara Arai.LFW S/R 2011
  2. Exciting designer line-up: Some of India’s leading designers (absent last season) will make an appearance. We’re excited about Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Shantanu-Nikhil, Anamika Khanna, Raakesh Agarvwal and Pria Kataria Puri.
  3. Accessories galore!: This season at LFW will see a whopping 15 accessory designers on the ramp. We’re looking forward to Suhani Pittie and Rina Shah of Rinaldi, and would love to get a dose of the other designers’ accessories. (Below: Picture from Suhani Pittie’s LFW Winter/Festive 2010 collection)Suhani Pittie LFW W/F 2010
  4. Watching LFW LIVE!: It’s not possible to go to every show. So in the middle of a working day, fashionistas can just log on to LFWTV.in and get the latest from fashion week!
  5. Great fashion, of course!: Fashion week is about fashion, and that’s what we’re looking forward to. Would love to see some fabulous trends for the summer!

Fashion News: Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2011 designers announced

Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2011’s advisory board recently announced Gen Next, Emerging, and Accessory Show Designers for the upcoming LFW Summer/Resort 2011.

Here’s the complete list:

Gen Next Designers:

  • Anna Liza Ganguly &  Anita Walia
  • Deepti Purthi
  • Manas Dash
  • Miriam Strehlau
  • Shivaji Dutta
  • Timsy Kamboj

Emerging Designers:

  • Abhishek Byas
  • Jelin George
  • Pamela Phlaphongphant  & Archana Banchongrati
  • Sabah Khan
  • Sabbah Sharma
  • Vaishali Shadangule
  • Atithi Gupta

Below: An outfit from Jelin George’s Lakme Fashion Week Winter/ Festive 2010 collection.

    Jelin George LFW 2010

Accessory Designers:

  • Eina Ahluwalia
  • Malini Agarwalla
  • Prabhat Kumar
  • Rachana Reddy
  • Rina Shah
  • Rohan Arora
  • Suhani Pittie

Below (from left to right): Picks from the Lakme Fashion Week Winter/ Festive 2010 collection of (Row 1) Eina Ahluwalia and Malini Agarwalla; Row 2: Rohan Arora and Suhani Pittie.

Eina Ahluwalia LFW 2010 Malini Agarwalla LFW 2010 Rohan Arora shoes LFW 2010 Suhani Pittie jewellery LFW 2010

More LFW News

This season renowned stylist and designer Aki Narula will mentor and guide the Gen Next applicants. I say they’re a lucky bunch!

Also, veteran designer Rohit Bal is now a member of the LFW Advisory Board.

Which designer are you looking forward to this season?

LFW: Jewellery tells a global story

Jewellery designer Suhani Pittie broke out of her oxidised silver mold with her recent Lakme Fashion Week collection, called Free Religion. Suhani’s jewellery was a mix of two worlds—though “very Indian in my DNA”, she made the most of several nomadic influences in this collection.

Expertly rolling several eras and cultures into a cohesive gypsy-inspired collection, the jewellery had both rustic and contemporary touches. For instance, necklaces or individual pieces in antique gold finish were combined with turquoise stones, coloured enamelled pieces, or coloured fabric. Suhani made ample use of beads, stones and studs and symbols open to multiple interpretations. The oft-used crescent could symbolise Islam, Shiva’s hair adornment or the Chinese Yin.

Suhani Pittie neckpiece with crescent Model wearing Suhani Pittie jewellery at LFW

My favourite piece from the collection was a neckpiece that started as a temple necklace, added a foldable steel plate (it really was foldable, I checked), with a small metal Ganesha and coral and turquoise pieces.

Model in Suhani Pittie's jewellery

Speaking Chic says: Very artistic, but the retail collection may be a card swipe or two.