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Couture crunch

Photos: PTI, Ap

Walking tall Mandira Wirk’s collection was inspired by medieval architecture while Deepika Govind looked to free-floating kites. Raghavendra Rathore took the simple route, keeping the recession in mind

Raghavendra Rathore believes in calling a spade a spade. The designer, who was in Bangalore last week for the Chivas in Fashion tour, described his collection as “an amalgamation of everything that has worked through the year. We work close to the market and have to factor in the prevailing dullness in the market. We are not going after drama, but rather we are going for functionality and building self confidence. People do not have a penny to spare now and we should design keeping that in mind not go for showmanship.”

And true to his word, the gentleman designer’s collection was all understated elegance from every seam. Rathore’s trademark Jodhpur cut was very much present as were perfectly-cut bandgalas and dhotis. The accessories were to die for. Simple clean lines and accented colours came together in a classic, wearable collection.

While Rathore’s collection was the last, local lass Deepika Govind kick-started the show with her line, A Loose Kite on A Gentle Wind.

The collection had two parts — a free-flowing silhouette inspired by the breakaway kite and a motif of knots to remind us of the chains that tether and prevent us from following our dreams. The line featured two-toned dresses, jackets, berets and funky stockings in a range of colours.

The red evening dress and the saris were outstanding.

Kiran Uttam Ghosh followed with her Autumn Winter 08 collection. With the emphasis on a wearable style, the line was all about jewel colours in a variety of drapes. As Kiran explained, the collection looks to the jazz era for inspiration. “It is for the woman who works hard and parties harder. It is for the zippy girl. I have gone in for the layered, knitted look with detailing in embroidery and texture. There is a lot of velvet and silhouettes encompass everything from wide to skinny pants, the empire waists, corsets and lots of pleats. Contrast linings, square necklines and puff sleeves highlight the sense of fun.” And that was precisely what the collection was with its jerseys, cardigans, scarves, limey yellow and jazz music.

Mandira Wirk’s collection immediately brought to mind stained-glass windows of medieval churches. And not without reason, as Mandira explains the collection was inspired by a trip to Barcelona. The feverish array of hats, bags, gold capes and long dresses, was eye-catching. “The collection is all about combinations — art and architecture, technology and fashion,” Mandira said.

“It is a chromatic line, celebrating the interplay of light and shadow. I have used colours like antique gold, mustard, fuchsia and red on fabrics like taffeta, dupion, silk, antique jacquard, georgettes and chiffon.”

Anamika Khanna also celebrates contrasts in her collection. “It is edgy and eclectic. The line puts together different elements symmetrically. So you have dresses, long coats and jackets where structure is contrasted with drape, black with white, silver and gold.”

The collection had a great deal of smocking and distressed tights. The most striking was the safety pin detailing where millions of pins were bunched together to create fascinating elements.

When Ashish Soni said his Spring Summer 09 collection is inspired by flowers, he admitted he was quite nervous about it. “Flowers are the ultimate cliché right? But I created some rules — like only unusual interpretations and applications and no clichés. I got a book of photographs of flowers. The pictures were unusual and that was the source of my inspiration.”

Ashish is also aware of the downturn and he describes his collection as “Easy to wear and easy to sell. There are no ensembles, mainly separates.The silhouette is airy and comfortable.” The line was all that Ashish promised with a petal motif and contrasting textures of matte and shiny or rough and smooth.

Though the show was muted and there was a marked lack of the extravagance that usually characterise the ramp, the collections all proved that it was possible to look like a million bucks without spending as much money.

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