With Tarun Tahiliani and Anita Dongre making their debut at the fashion extravaganza, a lot of buzz is in the fashion circle for what new the two veterans would bring to the ramp. Both would be showcasing their sartorial rendition on the same day. While one derives inspiration from Charbagh, Persian-style garden layout, the other from courtesans, who regaled royals with their enchanting dance steps. Both epitomise a culture which is still alive for the discerning.
Meanwhile, Rahul Mishra has taken a different flight to capture outer lines of birds and Harpreet Narula is showcasing the beauty of Samarkand on outfits.
Anita Dongre: Gypsy princess
“Our muse – the young gypsy princess is free-spirited, yet embraces tradition in her own special way,” is how Anita likes to describe her muse. The epic story follows the princess, who wanders into Mughal garden where she finds love. Called “Epic Love”, the bohemian collection is meant for the new-age spirited bride. Chintz-inspired prints bring alive a garden in full bloom. Anita, a self-confessed lover of Delhi’s iconic Humayun’s Tomb and Red Fort, has weaved in elements of architecture in her lehengas. “Motifs are traditional but silhouettes are new. My creativity comes from Jaipur where I spent a considerable amount of my childhood. The architecture, the crafts, the colours and festivals have all come through in my designs. Flower motifs have been inspired by the Mughal architecture.”
Describing gold as a classic colour for a bride, Anita says it gives a regal look to outfits.
Tarun Tahiliani: Romancing courtesans
The “Last Dance of the Courtesan” is a tribute to the poetry, dance and finesse as practised by the courtesans in Mughal court. Refined and seductive, the research into their lives has resulted in this collection for the modern diva shown in shades of pink, peach and cream with crystals providing the shine.
Explaining the rationale for giving fashion lovers a sense of déjà vu, Tarun says: “As people transit through space and time, mood and moments, cyberspace and continents, there is a need to negotiate with the culture around us. Our eyes have become conditioned to sensory overload. We need to be sensitive towards making luxury relevant in today’s context. We lean towards the traditional and the spectacular. Clothes have to have lightness and a comfort about them, because someone is going to be in it for hours. For this, the techniques needed to refine themselves to the ultimate lightness – highly sophisticated, of a modern construction and lighter to wear, so that one can dance in the mind and body.”
As always Tarun has used the western notions of cut, construct and finish and has blended them with Indian heritage and craftsmanship.
Rahul Mishra: German geometry
Inspired by German biologist-artist Ernst Haeckel’s work “Art forms of nature”, Rahul has weaved an interesting narrative. .
“This is an ode to my village Malhousie where I would be fascinated by an assortment of birds. They would be everywhere around us and that experience was so enriching that I could relate to Haeckel’s work. My Indian bridal collection symbolises collaboration between art and fashion.” The colour palette ranges from ivory and gold to marsala and blue on cloaks, jackets and robes. And in them Rahul has highlighted his strength of superior cuts and designs.
One of the few designers, who separates bridal wear from couture, Rahul says, “Couture is about art; every designer has an artist inside him and Couture Week offers us the time to unleash that creativity. Worldwide less is in, but this is the couture week; it has to be all about handwork.”
On the Indianness in his creations, Rahul says, “Western shapes would reflect in gowns. At the same time, varied indigenous embroidery techniques would be highlighted.”
Harpreet Narula: Samarkand’s beauty
A riot of motifs – the French paisley, Raj-era Manchester prints, Arabesque cartouches, graphic geometrical forms from Uzbeki Suzanis decorate the creations of Harpreet Narula’s “Hiraeth” collection. The hunting scenes from Afghan carpets and Samarkand rugs, Mughal miniatures, towering minarets, divine dancers and birds have found their way on jackets, lehengas and capes just like an artist uses his brushstrokes on canvas.
The quintessential globetrotter in Harpreet came alive once as he explored old textiles in museums and labyrinthine lanes of flea markets. “From metros of the U.S. to the flea market of Europe’s Paris and Madrid, I searched for textiles, which represent cultural heritage of these places.” Rooted in tribal elements with artworks, the collection is a mix of refined and rustic.” Harpreet says, reinvention is the key. “I derived inspiration from motifs used in carpets made in Samarkand and Afghanistan. I got hold of Manchester prints which were brought into India before Mahatma Gandhi launched Swadeshi. Eventually, it boils down to how we interpret them.”
