Fashion recall

Fashion fades, only style remains eternal. So, what changed, what clicked and made news this year in the fashion world? Surekha Kadapa-Bose looks back on some of the fashion trends of the year that was.

Fashion is for everybody. Whether you are curvy, boyish, petite or full-figured, there is always something the fashion designers have for you. Trends rapidly change, so staying “in” requires that you wear something, which besides being functional, is aesthetically pleasing, too.

While what constitutes good fashion is debatable, understanding the elements of style can lead to more time in the limelight. Fashion designers, for example, design clothes considering who is likely to wear a garment and the situations in which it will be worn. Some of their creations hit the bull’s eye and go on to become all the rage, whereas some fail miserably.

Many a times, even the most popular designers fail. Remember designer Manish Malhotra, Sabyasachi Mukherjee or Masaba Gupta when they dressed Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Vidya Balan and Sonam Kapoor, respectively, for their stint on the red carpet at Cannes Film Festival? They were disasters. Whereas Deepika Padukone in a Rohit Bal sari looked stunning.

Like the previous years, we have had some stunning trends and failures this time, too. Lets take a look:

Comfort is prime

The mantra today is comfort, which translates to easy wear. The youth wants to dress traditionally, but find it difficult to handle the drapes involved. Thus, structured draping really appeals to them.

Designer Tarun Tahiliani says, “The modern Indian women are aware of traditions, yet remain strong in their individual style statement. Consequently, we introduced interesting new drapes in saris like the dhoti sari, concept sari and cocktail sari, which suit the tastes of the modern Indian woman
perfectly.”

Musing on the trends of the year,

Mumbai-based designer Ritu Pande opines, “The modern Indian women want to retain their girlie appeal even in western attires. Helping this was the reaffirmation of lace as a major part of the fashion landscape. The timeless beauty of the fabric was revisited for some serious chic. Whether used as a subtle feminine accent or an overall look, lace upped the elegance quotient. Lacy trench coat was one of the coolest looks of 2014. I enjoyed lace especially in the Wills Fashion Week in my collection titled ‘Lady in Lace.’’’

One thing this decade has highlighted is that though women are more comfortable in jeans and t-shirts and prefer them for all kinds of outings, they look for a dash of feminity in their look. Women also look for a complete feminine look minus the heavy ethnic wear. In fact, skirts of all length – knee length, flowy floor length or full volume balloon skirts - were a rage this year.

Known for his edgy, quirky designs, Mumbai-based designer Swapnil Shinde says, “In terms of silhouettes, the year heralded the return of the body con dresses, whether they were bandage dresses or fitted monochrome or colour-blocked short dresses.’’

Adding further, Delhi-based designer Priyanka Batra says, “The trend of the year was showing off your midriff, and the crop top turned out to be the best way to do that. Crop top has staying power, for casual events and formal functions, be it Indian or Western.” Further she advises, “Team it up with pencil skirts, jeans, pants or even Indian skirts – it goes perfectly with all kinds of looks.”

To flaunt crop tops, one needs to have a narrow waist line and no muffin tops popping out from the top of skirts and jeans. Lean and tall actors like Anushka Sharma, Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif have flaunted this attire in several films such as PK, Finding Fanny and Dhoom 3, to name a few.

The year also saw a changing trend in legwear. “Pants now have more flares. High-waist attire came back in a huge way. Adding to this trend were the palazzo pants. These pants, both in floor-length and ankle-length options, suit every body type and were quite the rage,’’ adds Delhi-based Anjalee of Anjalee and Arjun Kapoor duo.  Even the varied prints have got the young women hooked. Mumbai’s bespoke designer Jeline George explains, “Designers injecting art into prints made it to the ramps and stores. Paint splashed pieces creating bold effect with bright hues to sleek graphics in subtle shades seemed to be the absolute must.”  The best way to flaunt prints was to wear it bold – from jackets to totes and heels. For the faint-hearted, subtle yet strong slogan prints made news. ‘It doesn’t matter much what you say as long as you’re saying it loud and clear’ seemed to be the underlined fashion statement of the year.

The goofs-ups

By far, the worst fashion trend was the blanket coat followed by ugly sandals craze, which dominated 2014. The former is guaranteed to make you look like a homeless person or somebody who just rolled out of bed and the latter unfortunately, seems to be carrying on strong. Worst nightmare of dressing is teaming sneakers or sports shoes with couture attire, concur Ritu, Anjalee and Jeline, on some of the eyesores of 2014.

Designers advise to opt for comfort footwear in the form of platforms, flatforms or sandals. Another eyesore was the trend of sporting leggings by every body shape. You need to follow some ground rules for wearing leggings. Wear it with tops no less in length than mid-thigh, no matter how skinny your legs are. Plus the colour has to be dark to balance the look without any ice cream or Christmas prints!

The designers also give a thumbs-down to overly distressed denims. No, greater number of rips doesn’t translate to a good look. The designers concur, “Denims with huge holes from thigh to shin was the worst trend. They don’t make any practical sense and your legs just won’t look flattering in them.’’

Looking forward to the coming year, Swapnil predicts, “A big trend for 2015 is prints – floral, geometrics or abstract.The dominating colours will be amethyst, purple, royal blue and topaz.’’

Philosophising on the new year trends, Tarun concludes, “It’s not just about the trends, it’s about where Indian fashion is headed. Indians who live here are on the cusp of a new way, which is a wonderful fusion of the two worlds our mind space inhabits. And this for me is the next big thing – where a true confluence in ideas results in a contemporary Indian style that is not ‘ethnic’ or ‘western’ but is a true synthesis and has a global identity and relevance.’’