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ShareI missed Sanjana Jon's show and am regretting it thoroughly. You can't blame me for missing it though. First of all, of what I know of SANJANA, SHE IS ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING SHE WANTS TO BE, BUT DESIGNER, SHE IS NOT!
30 minutes after show start time, I overheard one FDCI person telling another at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week that the stars, who were the reason she was doing the show, were yet to leave the hotel they were at!
Outside the venue the crowd was gathering like an army in waiting for dawn, and I could almost hear the stomping of hoofs, in ill-concealed impatience. So I left.
There were enough people waiting to tell me how wise I was. The clothes were terrible, the audience ballistic in their appreciation of the stars. Salman almost got jumped on by three young things in the front row. Whatever this is, it is not fashion, not even fashionable.
And they say a plane was chartered for the 'stars' to be flown in, at FDCI's cost. If true, then the FDCI Board needs to re-check its priorities.
Another gem that must be allowed to see the light of day: This one from 'designer' Parvesh Jai. Word to word from his cue sheet: showstopper: 'Nayanika is wearing the finale with multi-colour embellishments, real coral prints, ribbons and frills. Outcome of the garment is so interesting that is look as if she is caring all underwater life in her beach lahanga....' Spellings et al, are his. The collection matched the prose.
Question to FDCI: who selected him? Question to them again: why invite Didier from Paris if this is what is on show!
Some nice details did show up on Day 3 though. Liked Vineet Bahl's pretty pastel line, flimsy, feminine, very old world in colour and charm. Liked the appliqué; and the cut work and filigree jaali effects on his sleeves, hems and necklines. Liked the way he combined black and white checks and stripes with his otherwise coloured ensembles. Would be nice to see more of his work over the coming years.
Cutwork played a major role in AM PM's collection too. Peasant clothes, nice colours...aubergine, ivory, grey and black. Nice, easy to wear silhouettes, and some really nice 'chatai' jackets. Not surprisingly, the chatai turned up in Manish Gupta's collection too, as an overlay on his beige sift dresses. His line was soothing and pretty, but surely one has seen much of this sort of thing endlessly before.
Two soul-stirring shows and three joyous collections finally made my day worthwhile.
Sonam Dubal,consistent, dependable and always zen in his creative mood, sent out a perfectly finished line -- whites and black in contrast, textures in contrast, and silhouettes that went from the form-fitting to the billowing.
His use of chanderi for bags as well as the stain printed and sequined kurtas were pure Sonam. Obi belts, Japanese Angarkha combined with Kanta worked stoles and printed dresses for a global look.
Jason Anshu of Smallshop continued the magic with clothes that were like watercolour paintings by elves. Energy and peace was the resulting mood of the collection. Shibori, splashes of colour, fun details like neon heart at the hem and bubbles as tie-ups added charm and detail. Loved the pixie shoes...everyone who loves shoes must have a pair! Or many, one for each mood!
Namrata Joshipura upped the ante with a line that was stunningly chic. Using sequins and beads, she created effects like tears in the rain. Colours ranged from black to chrome to yellow and sage green, yet held together by the unity of her styling. The finale, a long net gold dress was a sure-fire must-have.
A real high...good shows can do that, and I am glad I stayed!
