March 10, 2013 Asmita Aggarwal

Going Organic

Urvashi Kaur keeps it au naturale, while Annaikka plays with bold colours; Nida expresses her love for the weave tant; Malini exudes oomph; Gauri & Nainika display cascading beauties while Paras and Shalini add a pop of colour through their bright pumps and earrings.

The yummy Brett Lee, dimpled wonder Alia Bhatt and the hunky Irfan Pathan lit up the WIFW SS 14 on day 1. Opening designer Anupamaa Dayal’s ode to pink turned peachy as her relaxed silhouettes offered ease, with the introduction of sexy tie-backs and nifty pockets in her bohemian dresses. The interesting twist to chanderi by crinkling it added a new dimension to her saris, though it was heartening to see the use of textiles, from Bengal cotton to chanderi.

Playing with transparency, which revealed her vivacious bikini tops, sheer was a recurrent theme, on the first day. Printed, silk scarves which were fastened at the waist, floral headbands and barefoot models conveyed Anupamaa’s gypsy spirit and the love for all things iconoclastic.

Neena Gupta’s talented daughter Masaba was unafraid to show her love for pink, and neither was she fearful of body hugging dresses. Bubble hems, sporty jumpsuits, sheer pleated skirts, accessorized with white canvas sports shoes and a schoolgirl’s thermos converted into a sling bag that was given a gilt-edge. The squares and dots on her ankle length pants and structured dresses along with the velvet embroidered and encrusted ties attached to bodysuits displayed a playful vibe.

Kanika Saluja loves spikes, studs, chains and this time she didn’t shy away from flaunting her love for gold. Jewelled backs, collars and necklines were boldly added to the floor kissing gowns in eye-popping hues of parrot green, electric blue and sparkly purples. Metal studded jumpsuits zipped at the ankles, shiny bustiers, quilted lehengas made spring-summer 2014 intrepid. Like the jumpsuit sharara she invented, strappy and edgy.

Former Amy Chief’s daughter Urvashi Kaur was brave enough not to fall into the glittering trap of embellishments, Swarovski and embroidery; she opted for textiles from Kutch and Andhra. Malkha and Khamir were crafted into her fave silhouette dhoti pants and Parsi pajymas, as she used the fine art of tie and dye Bandhej to execute kurtas; she stuck to keeping 70 per cent of her line organic. “Pleats are my signature, I just love them, but the key is to do them neatly so that they look effortless,” says Urvashi.

Juxtaposing the hard with the soft, structure with fluidity, Urvashi let the roughness of cotton merge with the transparency of chanderi and kota. “I wanted to go natural, it is the best way to be,” she smiles.

Lover of 70s cinema, exaggerated love stories, Amitabh Bachchan the angry young man, and kitsch, the sari with jeans combo inventor Nida Mahmood always likes a bit of masala to make it a potboiler. Even though Nida wasn’t born in the 70s, she does feel a connection with it… through New India Bioscope Co, her tribute to 100 years of cinema proved to be homage to iconic movies Zanjeer, Sholay (with Gabbar’s wicked laugh booming in the background), Don, Mera Naam Joker and Mughal-e-Azam. “I extensively used tant, a fabric from West Bengal because of its lightness and the beauty of this is that you get it for from Rs 150 to Rs 20,000 depending on the intensity of the weaving. This simple fabric is worn by both labourers and rich women, so it caters to a diverse section,” says Nida.

Hoping to keep it breezy and billowing, Nida played with the mullet silhouette, and introduced closed collar and flap back tops in mercerized cotton, weightless georgettes and mul-mul. “Prints were big for me, so I kept the theme futuristic as I wanted to explore the timelessness of cinema,” she smiles.

Dressing girls with oomph, sensuality and ebullient firepower, Malini Ramani’s ‘Wanderlust’ revealed her love for kaftans, shine and mischievous side slit dresses. Shimmer is Malini’s hallmark so the shorts, gowns and dresses came with a generous dose; the cutout swimsuits were interesting and the asymmetrical wrap dresses schmick.

Amy Winehouse’s jazzy voice brought alive Gauri and Nainika’s cascading, draped, red carpet-y dresses. Backless, one shoulder, short shorts and high slits exuded a lascivious appeal as the beachy prints, green and red stripes, ruffles and frills set the mood for a hip destination.

With the shapes of the sea as their motif, Paras and Shalini wanted to address femininity while dressing a younger woman who would like a bit of fun with sheer. So their ballerina skirts, gowns, boleros and layering got a layer of delicateness with Chantilly lace. “If you look at the sea two ends of a colour story co-exist from pastels to neons, which got reflected in our line,” says Paras.

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Fashion Design Council of India