Leisurely pace... a different mood

Fashion Week Special Day 1

Quite a different mood prevailed at the Bhabha Theatre in Mumbai on Tuesday where the Lakme Fashion Week sets base every year. No rushing around, short, brisk shows, and a leisurely pace with an hour and more between shows to let the designers make the most of the spurt in interest their shows create. The trends thrown up were also a little different.

Black and white and tribal prints were favoured by Nikasha as well as Sonam Dubal. While the former found her inspiration in Bastar figurines, Sonam turned to the North East and Tibet and then moved on to Uzbekistan and recreated their mosaics, pomegranates, tulips and teamed them with his black and white stripes and with a dash of red. Silk slit wrap pyjamas, wrap tops, the obi belt and hand painted saris walked the ramp in his collection. Sonam takes elements from earlier collections and keeps his continuity even as he creates new forms of expression. His dull sequin pants should also find many takers. 

Nikasha had gold on white and a series of black tribal printed garments. Liked her silver and gold jackets; very trendy. Mini hand rickshaws, tigers and stamps were part of her vocabulary, and her fabrics ranged from lycra and lurex to velvet, organza, bhagapuri silk and hand-woven fabrics.

Shyamal & Bhumika had gold in the shoulder straps, as belted waists, and effectively used puff sleeves to soften the bold geometric designs that embellished many of their ensembles. A black velvet cape over knee-high fitted skirt in herringbone silk wool was effective too, and there was a sari with a leg revealing skirt held together by clasps which was surprisingly graceful.

Four different collections ranging from the seductive and naughty to the nice were offered by Sisley for this season. Sexy Puritan, with black fishnet, low cut necklines and figure huggers, was in sharp contrast to French Open which had a tennis feel, with the men wearing diamond patterns on their sweaters, and the women in floral pants and knitted dresses. City Blue, which might be very popular among the younger set, had jeans, trench coats, cocktail dresses, and tiny jackets. Also some wrap blouses a la Japan. Ethnic Chic drew inspiration from Africa, and the embellishment on the skirts, necklines and trousers made that evident.

The juice...

Looking splendid in white, Suchitra Krishnamurty was the cynosure of all camera eyes, and they finally managed to get her to stand and pose on the ramp. Not that she minded the attention..."I’m doing fine,” she replied when asked if she needed rescuing.