Textile twist to Lakme Fashion Week

Textile twist to Lakme Fashion Week

For the modern bride: Revivalist designer Gaurang Shah combined the glory of kanjeevarams with kalamkari and subtle zardozi to put together an array of bridal saris, lehengas, anarkalis and ghagra-cholis in his collection named 'Ardhangini'. The South Indian saris featured an intricate weaving technique called Korvai. The collection, which brought in focus India's rich heritage in textiles and prints, saw veteran actress Kirron Kher close the show for the designer in an elegant cream coloured sari.

Craft-y designs: A collection replete with many inspirations, Krishna Mehta's 'Encore' highlighted several Indian techniques like shibori and multi-coloured dyeing. The designer's clothes were high on feminine hues as well as embroidery techniques. Using various kinds of woven fabric, Mehta started the show with creations in white and the palette gradually deepened into shades of red and aubergine. Saris and gowns with obi belts, floral motifs and embroidered jackets dominated her presentation.

Pop-up talent: Inspired by Janvi, a Gujarati woman who comes back to India from the US, Deepika Govind used the Gujarati art of double ikat weaving (called Patan Patola) and pop art prints including motifs from everyday life like cars, flowers, bus, TV, etc. Highlights included peplum blouses and texture blocking. The foot-tapping music, coloured foreheads inspired by an Indian artist's works and knotted pallus grabbed our attention. A moved Deepika took the final bow on the ramp to the sound of a much-deserved thunderous applause!

Gangs of textilepur: Designer Debarun Mukherjee's show 'Omnipresent' started with Manipuri dancer Rinku Dutt (also his business partner) and ended with actress Richa Chadha sashaying in a rather non-glamourous outfit. The designer used Bhagalpur silk, tussar as well as katan, combining it with the iznik tile pattern from Turkey. Blue was the mainstay of the collection, more so because the inspiration of the show was Lord Krishna. Some of the separates and maxis from the show seemed very wearable.

Desi tadka: Perfectly synchronising her collection with the theme of the day, Vaishali Shadangule used chanderi and khand to create an innovative yet wearable collection 'Reverb'. Sticking to her signature techniques, she put together a collection which was heavy on asymmetric cuts, layering, crushed fabric as well as coloured tassels. Festive colours like gold, red, cream and blue dominated her palette, while the silhouettes included saris, lehengas, pants and dresses. The unique styling made this one of the most talked about shows of the day.

Using 2116 colours: TV couple Mayank Anand (Dr Rahul from Dill Mill Gayye and Shraddha Nigam from Choodiyan) debuted their label Kapurthala. It's been two years since the self-taught designers entered the business of fashion, but that isn't stopping them from dreaming big. For their show 'Technicolor', they sent model Alesia Raut down the ramp in a specially woven ensemble that had 2,116 colours! "Television is just a job; but the passion runs out in a couple of months, but fashion design is forever," the couple told us.

Thar style: Nagpur-based designer Shruti Sancheti presented a nomadic line inspired by the region of Thar, which went by the same name too. The designer made creative use of shibori patterns, and her clothes also included a unique stitch resistant technique from the Nebsarai village. The Sindhi tanka or Kutch stitch, a trademark of the region, dominated the saris, worn with Jodhpuri pants, as well as cowl trousers, ijjars (churidars), angarkhas, ghaghris, chogas, quilted jackets, kedia cholis and asymmetric maxis.

Keeping to the winter theme of the season, her styling was high on layering too. Social activist Shaina NC walked the ramp for her.