Rina Dhaka gets inspired by the 90s for her knitwear collection at the ongoing Amazon India Fashion Week Autumn-Winter 2016. By Devi Singh
Models sashayed down to the onomatopoeic tick-tock of stilettos in sheer shades of nude to grey and then black. The arduously knitted off-shoulder dresses started making way soon, which seemed to be a sure pick for the winter wardrobe. The runway was full of nostalgia with bygone techniques of knitting.
The bottom plaids with printed breezy tops, to sleek cut-outs settled on shoulders, with a dash of sparkle going on, Dhaka had a rather novel take on autumnal bits. The body hugging knitted dress with ruffles and fringes made a statement with enough doses of boho drama with choker necklace. The boat necks and the off shoulders accentuated with scarf highlighted that peculiar practical yet stylish look.
The intricate stitch structures added surface dimension and texture like ikat, chinar, knitted with lurex in various blends to create dresses. “I used circles with minimal colours. What’s special is that I knitted everything. I went back to the 90s to create this collection along with some inspiration from the lanes of Varanasi. The pain was more about the development of textile and texture. I brought in the fringes and ruffles to create a boho look but essentially it was a knitwear line with pieces of woven garments,” said Dhaka.
The colour palette consisted of beige, black, black and green, maroon, gold with a splattering of nudes which is prevalent this season. On the incorporation of ‘Make in India’ theme, she shared, “Some of the things like a few jackets had a hint of Banaras. Few of the motifs were very modern but essentially it’s a very simple line.” Dhaka set out some trends for the fall season with a refreshed take on the existing ones like, sweater dresses, off shoulder outfits and boat necks with stoles and scarves in tartan. It was complemented with sheer printed tops.
The collection had some interesting pieces, which included nude gold shell sweater with pleated lace skirt, off shoulder knitted popcorn jacquard dress, black wool sheath dress, tribal sheath with green beetel leaf embroidery, off shoulder babydoll with green lurex knitted dress, black and gold bagru booti on skirt with a chiffon top.
ASHISH & VIKRANT
Designers are known to play around with fabrics, weaves and traditional crafts and Ashish & Vikrant are no different. For their Autumn/Winter collection at the ongoing India Fashion Week they chose not one, but two indigenous crafts from Gujarat — the Patan Patola and the Mashru. Patola is also known as double ikat and this technique, also called partial dying, originated for the Indonesian countries. Owing to the fact that their technique involved a lot of dyeing, the garments displayed were, needless to say, bright and vibrant. The designers though made it a point to accessorise their models with apt pieces of jewellery which were not blingy but that look antique and rustic — seamlessly complementing the designs.
The reason why they took up this craft was because it needs the motivation for maintaining the heritage of the country. At present only two families are working with the pure silk and natural dyes for weaving Patola. Duplication in the market has also affected this craft.
SAMANT CHAUHAN
Samant Chauhan’s Rajputana collection The Silk Route was nothing less than a royal tale. This is the seventh time that the designer has worked with this theme. This season the Rajputanas are travelling in search of the Silk Route. So, in the collection, they will cross China, Tibet and Nepal, and will reach Mongolia amidst heavy winter.
The ramp was as grand as the collection that he presented. It took us back to the Middle Ages where travellers along the Silk Route were not only attracted by the trade but also by the art and cultural exchange. “The challenge for me was that I use Bhagalpuri silk, colours and embroidery. To do something different while being restricted within these boundaries is a difficult task because if I repeat, no one will buy my clothes,” he said.
photos Pankaj Kumar