New Delhi, March 18, 2013-Day 3 at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week remained action packed with back to back shows and many more buyers at the stalls. Day one and two saw an abundance of sheer and some Pashminas, but day three witnessed an actual Autumn-Winter line with woolen overcoats, trench dresses, stockings, leather jackets, silks and brocades. The colour palette saw a change too and warmer colours like grey, blue, olive green, red and maroon were seen across the board. Joy Mitra’s collection Abhinay, which is a tribute to 100 years of Indian Cinema didn’t let kitsch or neon colours vanish on the third day and Gauhar Khan was seen dancing her way through the runway during his show. This marked start to the star studded day which further saw Isha Gupta, Jacqueline Fernandez and Sidharth Malhotra walk the ramp for Bollywood’s favourite designer Manish Malhotra. Seen in the front were Rohit Bal who cheered for Rajesh Pratap Singh’s collection, and Hard Kaur who was sporting a phulkari jacket from Manish’s Autumn-Winter collection.
Concept of the day: With ruffled yellow leaves scattered on the runway, and leafless trees placed artistically around the stage, Rajesh Pratap Singh’s show really did recreate the feeling of autumn. Models walked the ramp in tweed coats, woolen jerseys, knee length dresses, straight pants, Nehru jackets and leather accessories among others. Blues, greys, browns and red dominated the collection, and there was a strong international feel to Rajesh’s collection-maybe because he’s recently become the first Indian wool ambassador for Woolmark. His collection was a tribute to rural Indian culture and for this Rajesh used traditional tailoring methods from felting to knitting, to weaving on basic handlooms by skilled weavers for Ikat weaves.
Show stealer of the day: Bollywood’s favourite designer Manish Malhotra was in town with his Autumn-winter collection Threads of Emotion. It was obvious that his show would be house full and people would struggle to find space to sit. The show began with a small audiovisual on Amritsar and the traditional crafts work Phulkari work was shown on the screens located on both sides of MSA 2. His collection was a quirky combination of minimal with a little bit of kitsch. The models walked to the tunes of B-town music and a lovely ensemble of sarees, kurtas, pants, jackets and tunics were seen. The colours of phulkari had been changed and we could see a lot of pop colour weaves. White kurtas with phulkari work done on their sleeves, and beautiful net sarees with phulkari work on the pallu were much appreciated by the audience. Show stoppers Isha Gupta, Jacqueline Fernandez and Sidharth Malhotra walked the ramp with Manish and brought an end to day 3.
Mature look of the day: The Development Commissioner Handloom, Ministry of Textiles presented the much anticipated show by Abraham and Thakore. Their Autumn-Winter collection saw rich brocades, silk, and zari cutwork. Elegant and interestingly styled sarees, suits, pants and jackets in tones of red, gold, orange, and creme; the collection Shaadi Redux is their take on modern Indian wedding attire. Sleek cuts, not too much work, hardly any embellishments, their line was all about the richness of cloth and they’ve definitely created this with their hand woven brocades and silks from Benaras. The dramatic red bindis on the models forehead was to represent the modern bride of today.
