Haute designs on men

It was a day dedicated to men's fashion at CIFW, and designers came up with interesting formals and casuals

TRACKING TRENDS: Some of the Indian Terrain creation on show. Photos: S.R. Raghunathan

It was raining men or, rather, raining men in white on Day Three of the Gitanjali Lifestyle Chennai International Fashion Week. The menswear day at the fashion week saw six designers showcasing their Autumn-Winter collection for 2010. International, was the flavour of the day with ace designers such as Lecoanet Hemant, Aslam Khan and Middle Finger from countries such as France, Dubai and Sri Lanka debuting in the city.

The day began with Shringaar — Delhi-based designer Sunil Mehra's line of formal, fusion and ethnic wear. The two sequences, The White Collection and the Anand Collection were deeply inspired by Radha-Krishna and their spiritual purity. The colour white in the first line of his collection was symbolic of Lord Krishna's untainted love for Radha, while the second line celebrated it with colours such as peacock blue, turquoise and beige. With decoration of the soul on his mind, he has tailored his line of kurtas, linen trousers, pyjamas and dhoties in light fabrics such as linen and matka silk. “Everyone looks at fashion as a means to decorate the body. I wanted to show through this theme that the shringaar of the soul is more important,” he said.

After touching a spiritual high, it was now the hour of the urban chic party-hopper. And that's exactly what designer, Fahad Sheriff brought to the menswear day with his label

Middlefinger . Party wear and semi-formals seemed to be his forte. Keeping his colour palette limited to whites, greys and blacks, his clothes could easily find their way into anybody's closet.

Designer Shahid Amir brought to Chennai some Bollywood and some green consciousness. For the most parts he made linen his base, which seemed to be the day's fabric. His first collection,

Elements brought the metro-sexual man on to the runway with models sporting shirts with polka dots and floral prints which they coupled with jewellery on the neck. His Noir Line had classic suits in black with a dash of bright oranges and reds. And in Ethnicity , he featured sherwanis with intricately embroidered overcoats, with neck scarves and traditional jootis. Speaking about the market for menswear in Chennai, he said, “Retail in menswear is going to catapult in the city in a big way.” If he could dress stars in Kollywood, his first choice would be Rajnikanth, (who is his absolute favourite) and Priyamani.

Dubai-based designer Aslam Khan's Inspiration was a line up of understated elegance. “I did not want to use any embroidery or flashy colours,” he said. What set his collection apart from the others on display was the pre-washed fabrics he had used.

Aslam Khan is one of the first designers to make actors walk for his clothes, and in CIFW, his showstopper was actor Bharath, who was a natural on the ramp. Talking about his experience, he said that being a professional dancer, the field of modelling was not new to him. However, this is the first time he has walked the ramp.

Promising to make Bharath his first choice, when he gets the chance to design clothes for south Indian films, Khan said, “I want everyone in Chennai to know me and love me!”

With their Best Of selection, world-renowned designers Lecoanet Hemant brought the curtains down on the menswear day at the CIFW. Apart from being treated to a selection of the menswear collection that they introduced a few seasons back, the crowd also got a glimpse of their much-acclaimed Love Revolution Collection .

On this occasion, Indian Terrain launched its Autumn-Winter Daywear Collection for 2010.