Rajesh Pratap Singh morphed the ramp into a hospital dormitory and gave an impressive opening to the fashion week. By K Bhardwaj
Generally, he keeps away from drama and hullaballoo. Clothes do all the talking in Rajesh Pratap Singh’s shows. But the ace designer broke his rules this time as he opened the Amazon India Fashion Week in quite a dramatic manner. The ramp was transformed into a hospital dormitory where beds were laid in a row attached with drips. Models enacted patients and nurses. They even performed emotional outbursts of people that hospitals generally witness. “I was born in a family where everybody was practising medicine. It is a kind of tribute to healthcare professionals, what all goes in their heads. I have spent a lot of my time in hospitals as well,” the designer told us.
The collection had ten prints starting from the classic uniforms from the 1950s. Black and white checks ruled the roost with woven strips of ikat. “A lot of clothes were stitched with ‘suture seams’ which is basically used to stitch up bodies in surgeries and post surgeries. We trained our people with surgeons and practitioners who actually stitch bodies,” he said.
The silhouettes varied from maxis to long skirts, leather jackets to wool dresses. The bespectacled look of the models complimented the neatly tied buns and the minimal makeup get up. The music was played by Grain, Karsh Kale and Ankur Tiwari, “who are like brothers” to the designer and have played for 15 years for him.