From Manish Malhotra to Abraham & Thakore and Payal Singhal, here is what to expect...
Plum pickings
Lisa Haydon can make anything look fabulous, but we suspect that her striking appearance at Amit Aggarwal’s show, was entirely the designer’s doing. Amit sold the deep purple hue with his interesting take on the sari. Crafted from recycled fabric, Lisa’s runway look comprised a sari gown with an intricate micro plissé pallu and thigh-high slit.
Make the plunge
Necklines are set to be a lot more daring this season, with Saksha & Kinni, Nachiket Barve and Manish Malhotra showing an affinity for it in their collections. Saksha and Kinni incorporated the trend into their easy breezy maxi dresses, while Manish and Nachiket presented a line-up of elaborate ball gowns and blouses with decolletage-baring cuts.
Take a tassel
Payal Singhal too celebrated a landmark at the fashion week — 20 years of her label. Her collection titled #PS20 took inspiration from all things Bohemian. Tassels and fringes were a prominent feature. But we were particularly drawn to an ink blue co-ordinated crop top and trouser set with contrasting pale pink tassels.
Sleeve your mark
This season, it seems as if designers decided to have a bit more fun with sleeves. Manish Malhotra who celebrated 30 years of being in the fashion industry, opened the fashion week with a line-up of ultra glamourous ensembles that included voluminous skirts paired with fitted blouses with sleeves designed to resemble wings. Also taking to the trend were Diya Rajvir, who dressed showstopper Malaika Arora in a daring statement-making blouse with cascading sleeves, and Ujjawal Dubey of Antar Agni who took a more minimalistic approach with plain, extended and layered designs.
Stand in line
Stripes never really go out of fashion, but the runways this time around, saw stripes taking centre stage and being rendered in unique ways. For instance, Tahweave’s Morocco-inspired collection saw candy stripes being paired with jamdani weaves and tie-dye, while Abraham & Thakore created a ruffle-edged sari with large black and white stripes (worn by showstopper Athiya Shetty). But what really impressed was Abhishek Sharma’s watercolour- like rendition of stripes on fluid chiffon.
Folk lift
Folksy and pastoral elements were the highlights of Jajaabor’s and Ritu Kumar’s collections. Jajaabor by Kanika Sachdev and Neelanjan Ghosh, took inspiration from their childhood and featured folk-inspired motifs and bright hues such as yellow. Ritu’s garments were a study in pastoral dressing with leather harnesses and belts paired with floral-printed skirts, silk trousers and pinafore dresses.
Pallu play
Amit Aggarwal, Payal Singhal, and Abraham & Thakore presented fun and experimental pallus. Amit sent down models with micro-pleated pallus, while Abraham & Thakore incorporated ruffles and Payal edged hers with long fringes that had a dramatic effect as the models walked down the ramp.
Thigh high
As necklines went low, side slits soared to new heights making for chic, glamorous and sophisticated silhouettes. Leading from the front was the label Rohit Gandhi & Rahul Khanna. Titled Interstellar, the collection was heavy on angular cuts and sleek lines. Boasting a shade card that rarely moved from metallic black, grey, silver, platinum and gunmetal, the dresses, embellished with sequins, crystals and fringe detailing were captivating.
Garden party
Gauri & Nainika, Rajdeep Ranawat and Kanika Goyal found new ways to champion flowers. The former, known for its 3D flowers, took a different route with oversized 2D sequinned blooms. Rajdeep went traditional with Mughal-style botanical prints and Kanika’s rendition was a lot more current with large graphic prints.
Vintage view
Retro glamour was key in the collections of Nachiket Barve and Gauri & Nainika. The latter’s sequined floral dresses were reminiscent of the style of stars like Mia Farrow. Nachiket’s collection was a modern take on ’70s fashion with plunging wrap blouses, floor-grazing column dresses with side slits and dressy kaftans.