Prints inspired by jewels, kanjivaram and lots of drama were the highlights of the opening show by Tarun Tahiliani. Shilpa Shetty Kundra with Harman Baweja and Ayesha Khanna added to the glam appeal Conceptual stage design, celebrity show stopper and lots of drama — the opening show of Wills lifestyle India Fashion Week Autumn/Winter was an ideal curtain raiser to the glamorous five-day event.
Tarun Tahiliani presented a grand show which was excellent in every sense. Stage design was a kitsch mix and the designer told us that the inspiration came from the melas. “If you would have been to places like Varanasi, you must have been to melas. If you will visit the place next day after the mela is over and before everything is cleaned up, you will notice the colour. There is something unique about the place and I have always been fascinated by the idea. So I wanted to create something that can be called urban kitsch. Earlier we also planned to have red flowers all over the ramp, but then I did not want the models to be tripping over due to the flowers,” said the designer.
As expected, Shilpa Shetty was the showstopper. The actress was joined by Harman Baweja and Ayesha Khanna, the lead pair of Shilpa’s forthcoming film Dhishkiyaoon. “I had decided that whenever I will make a comeback to the ramp after giving birth to my baby, it will be for Tarun, so here I am. Fortunately, it is also the time when my film is ready for release and I thought fashion week will be the right platform to talk about it. So I decided to be part of the show with Harman and Ayesha,” said Shilpa, who wore a multiple drape lehenga. “It is an outfit made by three kanjivaram saris, none of them is similar. It is a modern lehenga with multiple drapes and is paired with medieval style corset. The corset is pre-draped in such a way that you don’t need a dupatta to complete the look of the lehenga,” explained Tarun.
Tops with mukaish work, belle skirts, kurtas and tunics with medallions and doubloons painted them were part of his collection.
“I have taken a lot of inspiration from Rana Dasgupta’s book on Delhi. It is called Capital-A Portrait of Twenty-First Century Delhi. The idea is to present India in a modern way, through its jewels and colours. Tapestry, velvet, net and zardozi have been used with different Indian textiles. The delicate kalidar kurta in floating sheer silk lends elfin qualities and the Art Nouveau influence to the designs. I have redefined drapes and used them on salwar kameez in an interesting way to teach Indian women the modern way of draping,” said Tarun.
There was also an emphasis on prints — multiscarf patterns where various squares form a singular print and create an optical illusion. Kaftans, unconventional saris and dhoti skirts, black and white kaleidoscope based patterns in jackets with slits, short crop jackets and long asymmetric kurtas were presented on the ramp.