2nd Mumbai Lakme Fashion Week

FASHION FIESTA

 

The second Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai was fine blend of the modern and the traditional, the established and the upcoming, and serious business and glamour.

 

It seems Mumbai is finally getting its due. The city witnessed another fashion show in less than a year – the second Lakme Fashion week – giving designers from the megapolis a chance to showcase their creations and fashionistas a dose of the latest trends right at their doorstep.

Sixteen prominent names like Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Vikram Phadnis, Narendra Kumar exhibited their wares along with four of their international counterparts – two French and two South African designers – and 14 emerging talents and five from the generation next category. Well-known brands like Allen Solly and Stanza also unveiled their collections for the first time at the Lakme Fashion Week.

Julie Kagti , a promising designer with her origins in Assam, also showcased her creations along with the bigwigs. Julie's label Sutra Knots on Cloth gave a new meaning to Spring/Summer 2007 fashion. Her theme was the quiet musings of the designer in solitude, searching for beauty in nature; her collection was a fine mix of the western and the traditional. Julie used textile treatments to enhance her fabrics, which comprised chiffon, silk, khadi and crepe, with shibori dyeing patterns and kantha to texture them, giving a soothing effect to the wearer as well the onlooker.

Narendra Kumar opened the week, the first show of the week, with his menswear collection. The show was unique in the sense that it was an all-men's show, probably the first time in any fashion week.

Titled The Artist Inside, Narendra drew his inspirations from the abstract art of Jackson Pollack. Replete with arresting details, his apparel were more like works of art than just ordinary clothes. Flapped patch pockets, embroidery, tiny floral prints, single printed label, triangular contrast bands, puffed pockets, his designs had it all and portrayed the colourful personality of the artist.

If the opening show was all about men, Narendra's second show on the fourth day was just women, women and women. The predominantly western line of women's wear received the master's touches when linen, silk, cotton, mull, georgette and net accompanied by excellent tailoring and a very high standard of finishing resulted in silhouettes and volume of the unconventional kind.

Dev r Nil , the talented duo from Kolkata, presented Chocolate, a meticulously embroidered, feminine line of women`s wear in muted colours – skirts, tunics, blouses, camisoles, and some very unconventionally styled prestitched saris. The fabrics were predominantly jersey with a hint of crushed handloom cotton for the hemlines, tulle for edging, georgette for pleats with dramatically executed smocking for bodice and hems.

Vineet Bahl`s collection was titled Indjapink and displayed a kaleidoscope of cultures to create a rich tapestry of women`s wear. Divided into six sections, Vineet started with the pristine white Victorian segment where tone-on-tone chikan work was given a new treatment almost turning it into appliqué. The shapes were empire line and the effect `very little girl lost` in appearance.

It was a dream of a show for every male when Stanza, the Numero Uno shirt and trouser brand, in India presented its latest collection. Every colour under the sun and every pattern turned the humble shirt into a designer item as pastel stripes bright orange with muted contrasts, multi stripes, floral, paisley and abstract prints gave a limitless option to choose from.

Priyadarshini Rao's designs had everything – style, form and comfort to cool down those hot summer days and nights. Known for her command over texturing of fabrics, Priyardarshini played with pleats moving them skillfully all over the garments from yokes, to sleeves and then on to the bodice and skirt and finally on the hemline. Her creations for men and women were comfort personified, embellished some reverse appliqués, cutwork, and edged skillfully with frayed edges.

Ace Bollywood designer Vikram Phadnis made his debut appearance at the Lakme Fashion Week, adding more colours and vibrancy and a filmi touch to the show. A galaxy of Bollywood stars descended at the show, not to take part, but to cheer their favourite designer. His dazzling glittering line of evening wear, both Indian and Western, titled Blithe Panache – revolving around green, blue, red and orange with variations of the same for jersey, nets, georgettes and chiffons – had everything and much more for Indian women who nurse the ambition to dress like Bollywood divas.

Anupamaa Dayal skilfully blended Indian crafts with western silhouettes in her collection called Grace, which true to its name gave the garments a stylish edge and a feminine touch. Drawing inspirations a diverse range of themes and subjects like the Japanese Samurai, an old Afghan rug and even the dry leaves in her garments, she has carved an enviable niche for her brand, which will give the Indian as well as the foreign buyers a taste of style, culture and elegance.

Surily Goel unveiled her collection, Jewel, a range of dazzling formal western wear that has glimpses of the 1920s fashion scene. Her designs also had a touch of the Roman silhouette with seductive toga like tops and dresses all teamed with gold strappy Roman sandals. The dress was the focal point of Surily's collection and, for her, the colours that will make fashion news are red and silvery grey, which is the 'new black'. This was shown in a show-stopping cocktail dress glittering in its simplicity worn by ex-model Rhea Pillai.

Nandita Mahtani's Ananya label was plethora of colours and styles with considerable ornamentation. Nandita's styled Lycra, georgette and satin into minis, kurtis, kaftans, tube dresses, halters, jumpsuits, skirts and some comfort wear. Picking floral prints as her basic, along with solids, Nandita opened the show with a striking jersey kimono dress then moved onto a green bubble halter creation, added some cute hoodies with embroidery for short jumpsuits and then sent out a shimmering baby doll mini.

The final section was a burst of gold and silver Lurex for long slinky skirls, jumpsuits and a tiered white dress with an empire line glittering bodice.

Zimbabwe born and South Africa-bred designer Clive Rundle's collection was a psychedelic mix of fabrics, styles and detailing that presented this imagination its peak – a grand introduction African fashion in India. Asande Madyibi and Balekwa Nazo, the designers behind the Sun Goddess label, presented a fabulous collection of formal evening wear with the right touches of African craft and western chic. The Sun Goddess label, with its international collection, created a fashion stir at the Lakme Fashion Week.

Goan designer Wendell Rodricks chose black, grey, white and red, but his theme was far from summery and cool. Wendell dexterously textured his favourite fabrics – silk, crepe, charmeuse, chiffon, cotton, linen, chenille, wool, crushed silk, tulle, pleated organza, metallic Lycra and woven damask – into an amazing collection of cool and chic designs. While Wendell's theme may have been a trifle unconventional for the coming season, his collection was as earthy as ever.

Well-known brand Allen Solly presented its women's wear for Spring/Summer 2007 which it intends to launch across 100 stores all over India. Designed by the in-house team, the show opened with a pure white collection of knit blouses teamed with linen skirts, Capris or leggings. Allen Solly's elaborate trendily designed women`s wear definitely promises to create ripples in the Indian market.

Apart from the African designers who made waves at the Lakme Fashion Week, Leonard and Nathalie Garcon from France also dazzled fashion aficionados with their amazing collection of ready-to-wear women's wear. Leonard of Paris unleashed a colourful presentation with a variety of dresses revealing a distinct Parisian flavour. Nathalie Garcon's collection was a fun line of western wear with an ethnic theme that promises to well not only on the continent but even on the Indian shores.

Actor Sohail Khan's wife Seema Khan was a show-stopper in her debut show. Show-stopper not only because of her exquisite creations and but also because the entire Khan clan descended to cheer her. Icing on the cake was sister-in-law Malaika Arora Khan's ramp-scorching catwalk with a pristine white will-power mini with a luxurious trial.

The grand gala finale, the Sabyasachi Mukherjee show, was the ultimate moment of the entire fashion week. Mumbai's glitterati, Bollywood celebrities converged at the show to make it a grand success. But the show was not just about celebs, it was more about the eye-catching designs. Sabyasachi presented his Free Spirit Collection, inspired by the New Lakme colour cosmetic range of the same name that was launched at the Lakme Fashion Week.

A master at blending contrasting fabrics and embellishments, the collection had all the Sabyasachi classics like the wonderfully crafted smocks, the trapeze dress, the swing coats and the elegant saris with dramatic cholis as the creations gradually moved from day to night time glamour.

Unlike last year, there were no major controversies this time, no malfunctions, primarily because the show organizer and designers took maximum care to prevent such incidents. Besides, undercover cops were on the prowl to pounce on any such lapses. Overall, the Lakme Fashion Week was a runway success.

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