The bold & the beautiful

When spring arrives, nature bares her best colours…with summer, she spans the whole universe. A riot of rainbow shades, every shade a thrilling discovery, spring-summer announce the ascent of adventure. And with fashion at its fullest fetish, the look is decidedly delightful.

The spring-summer fashion scene of 2007 points to being big on saturated colours, extroverted, oversized floral prints, flash of primary streaks like vermillion red, turquoise blue, meadow green and daffodil yellow. Then you can pick from polka dots and stripes in bold expressions, maybe paired with neutral colours like khaki, beige, ivory and white. Dresses are really blooming this season – retro minis, A-line frocks, trendy sailor shorts line up your choice of fresh, fearless dressing.

Designer Falguni Peacock is upbeat about her new presentation this season. “We have used pure fabrics like satin, georgettes and chiffons in floral prints, stripes and our trademark leopard prints. We have concentrated on loungewear a lot this summer – a very formal look yet it’s very summery. We have also done some wraps, short tops, tunics and light cotton dresses,” she says.

Fashion designer Nikasha has a riot of colours lined up – fuchsia, purple, orange and green with metallic elements of silver, gold and bronze. “I have created tunics, yoke skirts, box-pleated skirts, wraps with flirty tops with raglan sleeves. I have a jersey line which is very Victorian, a mull line with Jaipur prints and a very romantic lace cutwork feel in my Broderie Anglaise line which has summer jackets, tops, salwar pants in white,” explains Nikasha.

The trend is further endorsed by Falguni Jhaveri of Fuel. “Bold prints on cottons and chiffons are in. Rohit Bal’s linen collection in beige, pink and green tops, tunics and crop jackets and Niki Mahajan’s mull collection with foil printing on it are the new spring-summer look. Also, Anshita Asnani’s collection of short dresses in lycra cotton stretch has eye-catching appeal.”

Dresses are really making a big comeback. Women who are not into short dresses can team them up with cigarette pants, lycra tights or even denims. Western wear has an edge over predictably ethnic Indian ensembles, while crisp white cotton shirts on a pair of denims still define the eternal allure.

Designer Anita Dongre spells out her take on the trend. “Chikankari work on georgettes, long tunics, summery blouses, linen trousers, short skirts in bright colours with frilly tops and very formal and flowy Empire-lined kurtas in mull paired with churidars with a shading effect, embroidery and a combination of dull gold and silver zari work are my repertoire. The colours I have used this season are white, flesh tones, pastels and an old rose colour that’s a beautiful shade of pink.” So, there you have it – now go bloom with cheer!