Drama quotient , colours at WIFW

The second day of Wills Lifestyle Indian Fashion Week - Spring Summer 2013 had Bollywood glamour with Manoj Bajpayee walking the ramp for Samant Chauhan, Diana Penty modelling for Tanya Khanuja and Parineeti Chopra who was the show-stopper for Manish Malhotra. The day was dedicated to ancient designs, traditional embroideries and heavy metallic work on contemporary and structured dresses.

The day started with Surabhi Chawla’s Indian Gypsy theme. Contemporary interpretation of traditional Indian silhouettes such as angarakha and kanchali top had ancient patterns and embroideries. Phulkari, zardozi and mirror work were extensively used on white fabrics.

Known for her use of metallic colours on her garments, designer Anaikka-Kanika Saluja Chaudhary remained stuck to her trademark. Flowy dresses in powdery yellow, pink, blue and emerald had metals on the neckline and miniature fabric balls.

Designer Samant Chauhan presented his creations inspired by the ‘Rajputana Poshak’, in which he extensively used the Bhagalpur silk to craft kurtas, lehangas and jackets.

Talking to Metrolife later Samant said: “The show was inspired from Rajputana rulers. We have remained true to our brand’s philosophy to use fabric in its raw form. Therefore, we have pastel shades in Bhagalpur silk outfits with original zari work from Banaras.”

Ankur Modi and Priyanka Modi kept their creations simple in monochromatic tones. Inspired by ancient civilizations, the off-shoulder dress which ended in a flare had images of bird’s feathers. Honeycomb maze and graphic rose prints were part of Dev r Nil collection.

The most awaited show of the day however, was undoubtedly ‘Mijwan’ by Manish Malhotra. The collection had exquisite chikankari on silks. Manish Malhotra says, “This collection displays chic chikankari work by women of Mijwan, exclusively for us.”

The third day saw the presence of Anupama Dayal, Nachiket Barve, Alpana and Neeraj, Arjun Saluja , Rahul Mishra, Gaurav Gupta and Namrata Joshipura. It started with the ‘Bhanini’ collection designed by Jyoti Sharma. Trying to create a story of princess , Jyoti used intricate embroideries on clean silhouettes.

Divyam Mehta presented the ‘Spring Creek’ collection. Anupamaa by Anupama Dayal had designs inspired from Egyptian history and played well with vibrant shades of orange, red and cobalt blue. “I have designed the dresses in a way that women of all sizes can feel free, easy and comfortable wearing these outfits. The designs have been inspired by Egyptian history and have  been used on light fabrics, ” mentions Dayal.

Nachiket Barv’s collection was inspired by the colours of the exotic houses in South America while Alpana and Neeraj presented dimensional figures of ice and shadowy prints of landscapes. “Interpretations have been enlarged to give a detailed view. Fabrics like silk and crotchet are used to give a soothing look,” says Alpana. 

Ace designer Namrata Joshipura worked on fiction and fashion, while printed play suits, peplum tops and sharp structured dresses added the much need drama to the show.