Malini Ramani
After long day waiting, Malini Ramani came up with very retracing show. She said, “I am not following any trend, I just follow one role — I am a designer and I wear what I feel like wearing. That’s the only role I follow.” He love for black is known but she outdid herself with interesting colours in the collection. “It was difficult for me because normally I use black but this time I have used other colours because Indian’s have beautiful skin and vibrant colours look amazing on them,” she said. The collection boasted of every silhouette a woman could wish for — sarees, drapes, track suits, yoga pants and swim wear. The fabrics used were jersey, which is stretchable, and chickankari threadwork was used in a very modern way. It gave an80s vibe. She said, “My trademark is leheriya work, mirror work and sparkle so I like put them in swim wear, too, because that’s my personality.”
Paras Shalini
love was in the air and not just the oh-can’t-live-without-you love but love for the more dear, simple and precious things in life. The collection Be-loved presented by Paras and Shalini reflected the soft, tingly feeling that you have when you’re in love.
The embroideries were neat, clean and precise, and there was a modern interpretation of classic tatting, hand-crafted laces, cutwork and applique. The colour palette was mostly dominated by what the designers called “innocent colours” — sunshine yellows, luscious pinks and cool blues.
Rohit Gandhi & Rahul Khanna
The theme of the show was a commendation to the fierce and headstrong multi-tasking city women. With New York City’s skyscrapers as a backdrop Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna displayed their Many Mazes Many Minds collection on Day 4. The cosmopolitan collection included sheer and striped high waist trousers, culottes and palazzos, jackets, sheer layered tops, tunics matched with towering high heels recreating the New York glam. Talking about their collection the designer duo said, “The collection was for the young women who have a mind of their own. They are working, multi-tasking and partying too, busy women who want to dress the way they want.” The palette of the collection started with whites to pastel blues to grey and oranges ultimately shifting to black, the defining New York staple.
Aneeth Arora
Aneeth Arora with her exisiting label Pero showcased the lounge wear called ‘lazy Pero’ with her collection Pajama Party on Day 4. The palette consisted mostly of whites, off-whites and blues. The show started with models waggishly sashaying down the ramp with Stupid Cupid playing in the background. They played their coquette best with rollers in their hair while relaxing on the beds laid across the ramp. Known for the use of Indian textiles and reconstructing them to global aesthetics in her collections, Arora this time also incorporated Indian textiles. Speaking about her collection she said, “We used khadi, indigo and crochette this time. We always work with different crafts and I picked khadi for this collection which is prevalent in most regions in India but we changed the look for the collection by adding more stripes and did embroidery and crochette on it.”
The show came to a close with Do the Hockey Pockey with a quasi pillow fight. The collection which defined ‘spring’ from every corner included block check cropped pants to white embroidered maxi gowns. Knitted layered crop tops, dungaree style floor length gown. And of course zebra-striped crop pants to even trench coats done in khadi.
Gauri and Nainika
Soft and breezy, Gauri and Nainika spring-summer 2016 floated through layers of cascading diaphanous organza with easy fits and leggy silhouettes with pearl texture. The collection was exceedingly romantic and had been designed in a rainbow of pastel colours with a pop of red. Gauri said, “The collection have drawn influences from the languid shapes of the of the Flapper era to the prim and pretty midi styles from the 50s”. Nainika added, “We put light and airy drop-waisted dresses, flirty hemlines, high collars, dramatic ruffles and a spattering of lush glossy pearls in vivid colours.”
All photos Pankaj Kumar and Sanjeev Kumar (Inputs: Fashion expert Sulagna Das)