The denim man
Veteran couturier Ashish Soni’s collection “Inner Child” demonstrated what all he could do with denim. From bandhgalas to skirts, denim took myriad shapes during his show. “I deployed diverse techniques and the end result was that a new innovative denim came on the ramp.”
He used the washing technique in which the denim is washed with different kinds of chemicals like soda ash along with bleaching powder, soap and pebbles. “The idea is to make the denim softer as it wears off from the edges. This is an advanced version of acid wash, which was used in the eighties.”
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Ashish says it has now dawned on his contemporaries that less is in. “Since 1996 I have been emphasising the need to make garments which have understatement written all over them. But less also means that whatever work is done has to be well researched and the end product has to be unique and breathtaking.”
Ashish demonstrated that embroidery could be done on denim in an aesthetic manner. “The message was that you should not get bogged down by pressure and retain your child-like qualities. Whatever our age may be, we can still be young at heart. That is why I used pleats resembling fish scales. Kids are fascinated by scales. I am happy with the response to our laser-cut denims.” Going with the mood , he also paraded a bunch of giggling children on the rostrum.
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Deriving inspiration from the good old eighties, Rahul Khanna and Rohit Gandhi weaved a collection where the duo emphasised that happiness and security is a constant factor. “We grew up in the 1980s and it was the period when pop culture was increasingly gaining in popularity. This was the MTV generation. Loose pants, short pants and pleats of 1980s inspired us. Dresses in checks, stripes and polka dots were created with that period in mind. One must also remember that eighties was the season of the ramp,” says Rahul Khanna. “The hems are uneven. The urban grid that define modern metropolises, the criss-cross and intersections of roads and paths are represented through back and white stripes. There are tone on tone embellishments and maze like motifs.” The mood reflects in fabrics as well which include lightweight solutions, silk organzas and mesh that again is a web. “The imagery of this web is also interpreted through a spectrum of tones that include sky hues, whites, mint, coral, frost.
The big bloom
The duo of Hemant and Nandita did research of 1960s to come up with an eclectic collection around flowers. Taking a sharp turn, the designers gave glimpses of the garden in their designs. The hemlines are on the shorter side, motifs are bigger and in acid colours they reflect the onset of youth culture. The colour palette is inspired by pop art, swirls and spatter embroideries of the sixties, taking the audience back in time.
Noting that a designer needs inspiration, Nandita says, “It was instant decision; nothing planned. Since this was our take on the 1960s it was based on flowers. I am sure many designers will revisit that period and give their version. Loose silhouettes, big buttons and flowers motifs were reminiscent of that era.” But the young generation is usually gung-ho about body hugging garments? “It is not that every person wants that kind of clothing. We have customers who want loose clothes and then there are those who want body hugging outfits. We are setting a trend here,” counters Nandita.
Colours of freedom
Breaking free from her regional space to come into the mainstream, Kerala’s Shalini James was the surprise element Her travel to get a first-hand-experience of the camel market at Pushkar aroused curiosity in the colour palette of that region. Her decision to use colours obtained through vegetable dyes made her score over first timers. “I worked with locals at Barmer, Sanghaner to develop prints and use natural colours like kamal, gulabi and phirozi. These colours obtained from vegetable dyes have not been explored before. So this distinguished my collection from others,” says Shalini, an alumnus of NIFT, Chennai. Titled “Indian by choice”, the collection was inspired by the Civil Disobedience Movement and made a comment on Western imperialism .For her anarkalis and angrakha, she drew inspiration from folklore. “So if Krishna is blue, then Rama is green. We also borrowed from flora-fauna, culture, myth and legend alike.” Kumkum, mehendi and haldi – the resplendent marks of bridal splendour matched bejewelled potlis, tradition and hope.