Quirky with a burst of vivid colours — that’s how the collection at MaalGaadi is best defined. At The Yellow Submarine pop up, displayed are collections by 12 designers who showcased at the Lakme Fashion Week this year. Sayantan Roy, Karishma Shahani Khan, Valliyan, Quirk Box, Archana Rao, Kanika Goyal, Vasundhara Mantri, Square Loop, Reboot by Anuj Bhutani, Karleo, Love Birds and Shruti Sancheti, they are all there.
Here’s what got our attention:
Quirk Box:
The name gives it away. This is the first time the label by designers Rixi Bhatia and Jayesh Sachdev is showcasing here. The collection is titled Wanderlust and no wonder prints depicting aeroplanes, the Big Ben, The Gateway of India, soldiers in red and a whole lot of popular monuments and sights find themselves on skirts, crop tops, tops, capes, pants, jackets and dresses. It’s a resort wear line and hence the relaxed fits. A collage of happy colours make their presence felt along with subtle pastel shades…almost perfect to brighten up those grey days.
[Ka] [Sha]
Indigo plays the lead hero in Karishma Shahani Khan’s collection that’s appropriately titled ‘Neel.’ One of the earliest dyes to be used, this colour is the inspiration for the collection. So there are lots of indigos with a smattering of bold vermillion.
The inspiration also has a religious angle to it. The blue and red pairing according to the designer is similar to the blue gods we worship with the red depicting the flowers we offer them.
Hand woven silks, cottons and denims transformed into jackets, tiered and voluminous dresses, shirts and kurtas are part of this line.
A transparent wispy skirt with chunky floral motifs in vermillion is an absolute favourite. Step into it and it feels like walking about draped in a cloud. Also a lot of these anti fit garments can come in handy to cover that holiday weight.
Valliyan
Does Star Wars remind you of a bunch of geeks obsessing over Darth Vader, Skywalker, jedis and lightsabers? Nitya Arora’s accessory label Valliyan’s collection Iridescent Space changes all of that. Inspired by the sci-fi series her jewellery includes chunky ear rings, neck pieces, head pieces in silver, crystals, gold and gun metal with semi precious stones.
A pair of clove leaf-shaped earrings with a marble patterned green stone catches our eye as does the dramatic blue neckpiece that’s the centre piece on the shelf displaying this collection. The futuristic designs are trendy and anything but subtle.
Frou Frou by Archana Rao
It’s very retro, very French. Titled The Apartment, the inspiration for this collection came when the designer stumbled upon a piece of news about an apartment in Paris that was locked and untouched for nearly seven decades. This and the memorabilia that was found in there (love letters, paintings, photographs…) forms the base of the idea behind this line. It’s all very romantic, dreamy and subtle. Soft peaches and nudes with a dash of olive, blue and yellow form the colour palette. Lace cut patterns, beaded detailing in gowns, dresses, saris, blouses, cutwork jackets, tops, skirts...
