JOIN USBuyers at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week have a lot of ‘Indianness’ to taste this season.
Designers are choosing quirky desi names like Raat Ki Rani, Ishq-e-Dilli and Rajputana Bikers for their collections to not just lure interest but also to maintain their Indian connect.
For some, the titles of their collections are a vital part of the showcase, while others believe that in the end, it is just the final product that matters.
Whatever it may be, the latest edition of WIFW has seen a string of designers who have dared to give Indian names to their collections — irrespective of whether international buyers from the US, the UK, Hong Kong, the Middle East and Bangladesh connect with the titles or not.
Take, for example, Nida Mahmood, whose latest line is called ‘The Adventures of Capt Must Qalandar’. “India has always been my muse,” she says. “Indian streets and Indian culture is where I am drawn from. Westerners have been exposed a lot to India in the recent past. Hence they are very intrigued by everything Indian. The concept and name of my collection has interested many so far,” says Mahmood.
“People are waking up to the cool factor that India can lend. It (the name of the collection) is only a matter of bringing about that change in perspective,” adds the designer, some of whose past offerings were called Machis, High on Chai and Sadak Chhaap.
Designer Puja Arya believes the trend only indicates that people are comfortable in what they are doing as Indians, while Nikasha Tawadey, who showcased Raat Ki Rani, is of the opinion that clothes have to speak the language of the country.
Ishq-e-Dilli, a show by Anupamaa Dayal, was a step towards appreciating the heritage and traditions of the country, said the designer.