Summer's here & so are the much-awaited design collections from industry’s ace designers. The coming of a fresh season brings us the trends, leading us to the fashion weeks- a week-long event where models exhibit creations from top notch fashion stylists.
Having said that, the recently concluded Lakme fashion week (30 March- 03 April 2016) saw trade's top designers manifesting some of the promising collections for the upcoming Spring-Summer season.
Eminent names from the industry rocked the ramp walk. Designers adhered to the basics, and their collection drew inspiration from the traditional acronyms. Also, the able company of elegant showstoppers enabled them to unveil their work comprehensively.
The Fashion Week!
Lakme Fashion Week has left us with multiple options of interesting designs, thus enabling us to choose from a myriad of different & refined collections. The beginning of fashion week saw shades of silver and white gaining the confidence of celebrities. On the other hand industry’s ace designers came up with fascinating creations for the fashion aficionados.
The stage was all prepared at the Mehboob Studio for the likes of Manish Malhotra, Masaba, Rohit Bal, Anita Dongre & Monisha Jaisingh.
Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2016 started with Manish Malhotra showcasing his collection titled "Elements". Manish's designer ensembles were inspired by four elements – Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire. Shades of blue and white were prominent on the ramp. Jacqueline walked the ramp for him & looked drop dead gorgeous in a shimmery silver evening gown that she wore under a slight pink cape while Arjun looked handsome in a dark blue sherwani with a plain silver jacket accompanied by a dupatta.
Delhi designers Shivan and Narresh seemed immersed in the traveling character as they presented luxury swimwear and destination wedding essentials - a segment they have taken the lead in. This time around, they experimented with many textures including brocade, while retaining their signature prints in some of the resort wear.
For luxe evening styles, Mumbai-based designer Monisha Jaising brought onto the runway the dripping-in-gold-70s-vibe, something she is synonymous with. Her collection moved from daywear to night, and while the first section of embroidered jeans and crisp cotton shirts made for a smart look, the gold, copper and metallic grey gowns came as a surprise. Jaising also made use of traditional south Indian weaves in the dresses, and the white gowns with nude coloured stars looked chic on the catwalk.
Well, to make things more tempting, Jaising had not one, but two showstoppers as former Victoria's Secret model, Karolina Kurkova attend the show.
Having said all that, of all the days, the show generated maximum vibes on Friday, which happened to be Anita Dongre's show. It was nothing less than a party ably complemented by all the basics in its place. A beautiful setup, foot tapping music, star-studded front row and high-spirited showstopper Sonakshi Sinha, one couldn’t have asked for more.
Anita showcased her collection "Love Notes", inspired by her favored place Rajasthan. Renowned Bollywood names like Juhi Chawla, Swara Bhaskar, Mini Mathur, Sangeeta Bijlani, Kabir Khan, and actor Shahid Kapoor's wife Mira Rajput cheered her on. To set up the summer-spring mood, Bougainvillea was installed throughout the sides of the ramp.
Anita captured the poignant emotion of love told through the musings of a young woman, who is exploring the changes her lover is likely to bring into her life & Sonakshi turned out to be her flawless muse in a royal blue skirt teamed up with white jacket choli, featuring designer's signature gotta-patti work.
While Sonakshi Sinha walked the ramp for designer Anita Dongre, Sidharth Malhotra walked for Kunal Rawal & the Mehboob Studio lit up like never before.
Next up was Masaba Gupta’s show, which saw the inrush of an exceptional amount of energy if not less. The enthusiasm at her show oozed from every corner of the studio. Masaba’s collections were mostly centered around dresses, tops, jackets, trousers & saris holding the prints of chillies & garlic.
Shraddha Kapoor walked the ramp for the celebrity designer for the first time at the Lakme Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2016. Masaba’s was inspired by the works of Matthieu Venot (ace French photographer) & Katrin Bremermann (celebrated German artist). Over the years, Matthieu's work has captured graphics with facets of color blocking and the same was fused in the collection in various shapes and forms of print.
In her collection, Masaba has renovated contemporary Indian handloom like Ikkat patterns on fabrics, ranging from fluid natural crepes and coarse cotton. The colour palette was a mix of red, baby pink, lilac and a coffee brown. The collection aimed at bridging the gap between Indian and modern wear curated for a travel addict. For the show, Masaba collaborated with Fit Bit, a San Fransisco based company making wearable technology devices.
Finally, it was ace designer Rohit Bal along with Kareena Kapoor Khan who gave an astonishing closure to the Lakme Fashion Week 2016, with his line stunningly portraying the essence of life and existence. Rohit Bal, who is celebrating his silver jubilee in the fashion industry this year, turned the finale designer for the fashion week after 2012.
Hogging the limelight
The show left a casting spell on all the fashion pundits. Mehboob studio is no lesser-known place when it comes to the hosting glam sham events of the tinsel town. Unquestionably Lakme Fashion Week is the most awaited fashion week of the country & given the kind of designers & showstoppers it brings, there isn’t any room for speculation about its repute.
The designs exhibited during the show were a proper blend of contemporary & conventional fashion. While the models brimmed with lots of charm, they gracefully donned the ensembles that boasted of European inspiration & traditional Indian art. Right from the golden vibes of the 70s to the traditional Rajasthani designs, the show unveiled the best of the designs. Mild & soothing colors, floral & distressed pattern were widely eminent! Do I need more reasons to reaffirm the caption presented here?
The inference!
The week brought everything for an avid fashionista in us. Cropped tops, dresses, or blazers, were designed without a shoulder seam, and individually looked fanciful! Among others simple braids were also noticed at almost all the catwalk shows, making women look divine. Several designers made use of a huge variety of fascinating drapes this season. Almost all the well-formed silhouettes were elegantly draped making the look as flattering as it can! Quite contrasting to the drapes and easy flowing silhouettes, Colour blocking played a major role this season. Boxy silhouettes strong contours were teamed up with colour blocked hues in bright hues. Watch out! This is the season’s exceptional trend for sure!
Lakme Fashion Week has not only presented us with a variety of subtle designs rather has successfully managed to hold on to the artistic grandeur that India boasts of.
Time to embrace the summer-spring collection & step out in style.
