The Season of Non-specifics – Shruti Sancheti

Shruti Sancheti’s collection

Tell us about en vogue summer trends…

This summer the focus is on non-season specifics, norm core, Bohemian-inspired, and retro looks. The look is minimalistic yet trendy, tribal yet au courant and 1970’s with a contemporary twist. Midis, jumpsuits, long skirts, spliced skirts, maxis, crop tops, throws and jackets in summer fabrics like linen, khadi, cotton, summer silk ,neoprene are popular. Detailing like zippers, pockets, fringes along with tribal embroidery, tie n dye, and ombre dyeing are extremely popular. Accessories like metallic sunglasses, interesting neckpieces, belts, and sneakers and brogues are trending this summer.

What fabrics, colour palette, prints and silhouettes in Indian couture will do the rounds this season?

Fabrics which allow you to breathe like linen, organic cotton, summer silkier silk and all natural fabrics will be popular to beat the sultry balmy weather. Colours from pretty pastels like blush, custard, peach, mint green, to warm hues like marsala, olive, indigo, and watermelon red all will be popular. Block print, tie n dye, screen print, and digital prints will be extremely popular too; lastly, silhouettes like wide-legged pants, spliced skirts, long flowy skirts, maxis, midis and jumpsuits will be trending high.

Shruti Sancheti’s collection

What went behind making of your latest collection?

My collection ‘Nomadistaan’ is about the global woman living out of suitcases but feels trapped in urban confines of the modern world. Her soul is nomadic but her outlook is totally global; she wants to flaunt a bit of her legacy and culture down her sleeves. The styling of the collection is contemporary but the look is Bohemian.

Tell us about a usual day in your life…

I start the day with going to the gym to undo the damages of the previous day. Then it is working till 2pm after which I have lunch and again at about 3.30 pm its work time till 6.30 pm. After that my evenings are devoted to my family and friends. However, I live out of suitcases so this stability is always a temporary phenomenon and when I travel, which is very often, routine takes a back seat.

Shruti Sancheti’s collection

What would Shruti Sancheti’s woman look like?

My woman is an old-school one trapped in this au courant world. She believes in the unsurpassed legacy of weaves, textiles and crafts and wears timeless clothes, which have understated luxury and restrained opulence. She is astute, ferociously proud of her heritage and yet expresses her femininity and elegance through her distinct yet restrained dressing.

What inspired you to make this collection?

My love for travel, love for rich crafts, love for colours and most of all love for Bohemian and tribal fashion…

Creatively, Sensually and Visually Satisfying

Rajesh Pratap Singh for Amazon India Fashion Week, Autumn/Winter 2015

Veteran fashion designer and my favourite, Rajesh Pratap Singh commenced the Amazon India Fashion Week, Autumn/Winter 2015 on a rather unpredictable yet jaw-dropping note. The ramp saw a whole bunch of creative mélange—hospital-like setup, wherein beds with crisp white sheets were lined up neatly, along with saline stands on each side. As the lights dimmed, the saline bottles sparkled with small bulbs and Indi-rock music with hints of grunge genre played aloud as models walked flaunting theatrical gestures in black and white outfits.

Rajesh Pratap Singh for Amazon India Fashion Week, Autumn/Winter 2015

Structured and clinical, Rajesh Pratap Singh’s Autumn/Winter 2015 collection celebrates life’s true stage and its characters.   In this space, life is black and white with some indigo thrown in. Life is graphic here and it has its own beauty.

Rajesh Pratap Singh for Amazon India Fashion Week, Autumn/Winter 2015

Dissected and reconstructed surfaces using the brand’s signature hand-seam detailing have been extensively used in the collection. Hand-sewn garments in leather and wool using suture seam and its derivatives are utilised for the first time in garmenting.

Rajesh Pratap Singh for Amazon India Fashion Week, Autumn/Winter 2015

Stark surface textures and colour blocking are coordinated with footwear, where architecture is not your Achilles heel. Fabric experimentation takes the form of structured wool weaves in natural indigo and not so natural black. The romance with Ikkat still continues. This collection can be perceived as a bitter sweet pill—as we all know, the best medicine is laughter.

Dorothy Perkins presents Spring/Summer 2015

Dorothy Perkins

UK’s most famous high street brand Dorothy Perkins announces the launch of its Spring/Summer 2015 collection, available exclusively on India’s leading fashion destination, Jabong.com. The spring summer collection of Dorothy Perkins embraces the key trends for the coming season with a return to the seventies and Sports Luxe.

Dorothy Perkins

The collection will be available on Jabong.com for its discerning customers from March. Jabong.com believes in bringing the latest and best trends forward for the customers. The latest summer collection from Dorothy Perkins is inspired by the 1970’s.

Dorothy Perkins

The dresses are longer, the skirts are A-lined and the trousers are cropped. Materials are a mixture of textures with knits and crochet, leather and suede – the chocolate brown suede shorts and jacket are key drifts. These rich textures are combined with denim – one of the star fabrics for spring summer.

Dorothy Perkins

Colours are a combination of muted pastel shades with pops of coral and indigo. Soft ruffle detailing and feminine prints, which take inspiration from the orient, create a seventies romantic bohemian look. Oversized peasant blouses are teamed with button front denim skirts and bell bottom jeans, matched with high platforms and felt hats creating a classic seventies silhouette.

Dorothy Perkins

For SS15 culottes are in pink leather and trousers are loose and wide – creating a new elegant shape. A fresh and modern feel updates this season’s Sports Luxe trend. Clean, simple lines create the look for the utility nineties inspired collection. Minimal boxy, cropped jackets in a variety of fabrics and textures – from neoprene to sheer and mesh – mixed with the cigarette trouser creates a sleek look.

Dorothy Perkins

Asymmetric tops and tunics add to the new season silhouette. Colour for this collection is exciting with poster paint shades of blue and green. Colour blocking leads the way – whilst the all-over whites we’ve seen in past seasons have returned. Florals are big and bold and are on full looks – on dresses and across short suits.

Wedding Fashion Guide by Monika Pal Sood, Co-founder, Youshine

White and Gold Look by Youshine

Look #1: White and Gold Look

Pearl Paradise Head Band: The girl of today is sporting femininity like the bygone Grecian and Indian mythological era. Back to the roots, this gold head chain is made of faux pearls joint to each other with gold links to cover the entire head in three strings.

Bunch Of Bling Ring: A multi-chain dual ring to let you strike bling at its par! A unique jewel adornment is meant for your fingers to give them optimum fullness and fancy. Two engraved rings in gold finish are connected with a bunch of chain strings to make you stand out in the crowd.

Textures and Trinkets Gold Envelope Clutch: Sport it, hang it around your wrist and be the trendsetter. This textured finish peach envelope clutch is made of finely embossed faux leather and is further enhanced with gold frame edging and trinket enhancements.

Traditional Red and Gold Look by Youshine

Look #2: Traditional Red n Gold Look

Wishful Wine Drop Earrings: The deadly charm of oxblood red is here to drag you in its pool of fantasy. These drop earrings in high-gloss gold finish are encrusted with bold wine emerald cut stones stung over delicate gold shackles studded with clear diamante.

Strings Of Surprise Peach Chain Necklace: Revive classic trends with new twists! This multi-string long necklace with peach and gold metallic chains adds subtle charm to your vibrant winter wardrobe.

Blue Wedding Tales by Youshine

Look #3: Blue Wedding Tales

Linked To Pride Blue Dangler Earrings: Opaque stones are ruling this accessory season and when added with a hint of bling, they spell sheer charm. These dangler earrings in junk finish are studded with stones in various cuts, shade and finishes of blue along with marquise shape prominent indigo beads.

Black and Gold Look by Youshine

Look #4: Black n Gold Look

Angelic Aura Black Drop Earrings: Play drop-dead-gorgeous with these drop earrings in the shape of textured fairy wings with high-gloss gold finish and black enameling.

Sheer Nostalgia Black Box Clutch: Let your prized possession whisper through this see-through gold frame box clutch in mocha brown made of translucent brown PVC and a gold snap fastener closure. With an added gold sling chain, you can either clutch it or sling it but surely going to flaunt it.

Lord Of Rings Gold Cuff: Lead the style fiesta with this broad cuff in glossy gold finish made up of rings and stripes pattern.

For the love of denim conformist— Rajesh Pratap Singh

Rajesh Pratap Singh for Wills India Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2015

Designer Rajesh Pratap Singh presented a renaissance of denims at Wills India Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2015. He brought back the fabric in its purest avatar. Indeed, the magic of indigo paid tribute to the denim industry.

Rajesh Pratap Singh for Wills India Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2015

Edgy hand and machine churned embroideries, chikan work sprinkled together with pin-tucks, and patchwork jackets redefined the core of individuality. His collection was called ‘Blue Blood’ and rightly so!

Rajesh Pratap Singh for Wills India Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2015

The silhouettes flaunted clean, well-structured shapes and the outfits were styled impeccably by Gautam Kalra (celebrity stylist). Rajesh proved through his collection, denims are not fashion items, rather they are a necessity.

Rajesh Pratap Singh for Wills India Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2015

Both, the menswear and women’s wear outfits were at power with each other. Rajesh Pratap Singh is one of the most valued names in Indian fashion industry and his collections demands admiration.

Creating magic with basic ingredients—Urvashi Kaur

Urvashi Kaur for Wills India Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2015

Urvashi Kaur’s Spring/Summer 2015 collection ‘Ziran’ digs deep into ethnic communities, wanderlust and incongruent cultural interests and journeys. Inspired by the nomadic folk of Xining, China, the collection focused on reusing classy fabrics like, malkha, khamir, linen with frayed edges, chanderi and matka, with the insertion of denims this season.

Urvashi Kaur for Wills India Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2015

The base colour palette remained indigo with occasional outbursts of ecru, black, orange, yellow, pink and turquoise. Subtle accents like, tassels, pom-poms, tapes and ribbons added to the eccentricity of the line of clothes. Also, for the forthcoming Spring/Summer season, Kaur introduced bags, shoes and accessories.

Urvashi Kaur for Wills India Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2015

Calculated placements of shibori and block prints ruled the dais. While the tie-and-dye technique spilled over from her previous collections, the silhouettes this time were easy and baggy in nature; slightly asymmetrical with a mix of kimono sleeves, culottes and palazzos.

Addressing social issues through Fashion—Gauri and Nainika

Gauri and Nainika for Wills India Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2015

From dazzling wild flowers and leaves to the impersonations of earth and the continents, designer duo Gauri and Nainika brought forth an assortment of nature-inspired motifs in their outfits at the Wills India Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2015.

Gauri and Nainika for Wills India Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2015

The line of clothes comprised of dresses, flowy maxi gowns and mermaid gowns. Smart tailoring showed hints of European-styled clothing. Clean, romantic silhouettes, coupled with innovative, chic prints made the ensembles stand out. The empire-waist dresses, sheath gowns and peplum dresses are to be lusted for.

Gauri and Nainika for Wills India Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2015

The played with a lot of colours, but white stood out well—they used this shade as a backdrop to many bright tones. Also,  radiant red and indigo blue flower motifs, placed intelligently on dresses, wooed me over completely.

Gauri and Nainika for Wills India Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2015

The designer duo  sent out a very powerful message through their design sensibilities. In spite of being high on glamour, the clothes raised awareness about serious grass root level problems—melting glaciers, carbon-di-oxide gas emissions, car dumps, droughts and other catastrophic contributors of global warming.

Miniature-styled paintings translated on clothes—Tarun Tahiliani

Tarun Tahiliani at Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2015

Master couturier Tarun Tahiliani showcased his latest collection at Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2015. For the first time ever, his show didn’t have a show stopper; nonetheless, the pomp and glory of the sets and his outfits left the audience spellbound.

Tarun Tahiliani at Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2015

The collection was unveiled at DLF Emporio Mall, instead of the customary Pragati Maidan venue. The set was bright, colourful and magnificent with the London-based Singh Twins’ paintings, neatly hung around to create a magical ambience. In fact, Tahiliani’s collection was inspired by the Twin’s paintings.

Tarun Tahiliani at Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2015

“I went into a trance when I first saw their work. In a way, I suppose I responded in entirety to their Past Modern work—a series of vivacious, detailed paintings with Asian and Western influence and global iconography using traditional techniques from Indian miniature paintings. It was a breathtaking, fresh, and scholarly take on patterns and layering; with such wit and flair, I could not wait to put together a ready-to-wear collection,” avers Tahiliani.

Tarun Tahiliani at Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2015

The collection portrayed Tahiliani’s signature drapes and cuts—easy, flowy and very chic. Silhouettes like tunics, shirts, saris and draped lehengas were reinterpreted in a sudden outburst of colours that ranged from peaches to bright limes and indigo blues to orange ocher.

 

The Alchemy of Handloom by ‘MOAVI’ : An ode to India’s heritage weaves

Maovi

Moavi draws its roots from old Indian textiles in an attempt to reinvigorate traditional weaves and give them their much-deserved limelight in today’s world of fashion.​ The brand is working towards re-introducing weaves that are on the verge of extinction—they are incorporating Muga silk, Pat silk, Eri-silk, Tusser silk, Linen, Mercerized-cotton and real Zari, creating pure magic beyond boundaries.

Maovi

To start with, Moavi has introduced clusters from, Assam, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and they plan to cover all states eventually to create designs, which will procure holistic aesthetics of our traditional and contemporary eccentricities.

Maovi

Having great passion for both fashion and sustainability, Kavita and Anmol ​Badsra, ​each with years of experience in design and consulting, lead Moavi. Moavi wants to be known as an organisation that uses design as a means to address the most important issues of our times by providing sustainability in life of our weavers​ and artisans.

Maovi

Textile industry, despite being the second largest employment generator segment in our country has not been able to provide sustainable livelihood to our highly skilled handloom weavers in almost all states. We believe, the industries of fashion, textile and design offers unique effective opportunities for designers, craftsmen and consumers alike to contribute to the alleviation of poverty by being ethical about one’s fashion choices without sacrificing style.

Maovi

About the Collection: Ekam—Ekam is literally Moavi’s first step towards envisioned future of Indian handloom sector. This collection draws inspiration from Indian mythology, ‘Ramayana’ depicting each khand/stage of the tale in every product through hand-weaving, hand-embroidery or intricate block printing techniques.

Maovi

The color palette brings forth bright Indian hues like, haldi yellow to sindoori red, deep indigo to metal tones of gold and silver, each shade narrating a different story. We have started with hand-woven saris and dupattas and are working towards expanding the collection further to constructed blouses, jackets and kurtas, wherein planned silhouettes are simple yet feminine and perfectly suitable for work-wear, as well as light occasion wear.

Krishna Mehta for Lakmé Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2014

Krishna Mehta’s love affair with the textiles of India has been an ongoing process for decades. The designer has presented the most fabulous collections season after season working with various Indian state handlooms. For Lakmé Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2014 Krishna once again brought to centre stage the glory and beauty of Indian handlooms from Benaras, Maheshwar, Bhagalpur and Manipur.

Krishna Mehta

Mixing flattering happy colours with easy comfortable silhouettes, Krishna’s woven textiles were a visual delight on the runway. Going for ample surface texturing, Krishna added her exclusive unique touches to the collection to unveil a festive couture look.

Krishna Mehta

Dividing the collection in four distinct colour stories – indigo, orange, white and shocking hot pink, the soft silhouettes were the basis of the various mix of prints and the tonal embroidery.While the kurtas, tunics, sheer covers were cut away from the body to allow for ease and comfort, the tiny shrugs almost embraced the curves of the models. An occasional pair of churidar was overpowered by the constant wide palazzos, pyjamas and flared pants, in assorted prints that signaled relaxed attire.

Krishna Mehta

Angarkha style gowns, bias cut kurtas, or slim ones, mul covers with extended sleeves and lacy flared pants were perfect for lounging or just making a fashionable impression. Saris came with kedia style blouses to add a rustic touch to the collection. Shimmer came in the form of a column maxi, fuchsia embroidered blouse and a multicoloured embellished swirling lehenga, which was the only entry that slightly moved away from the colour quartet.

Krishna Mehta

Men’s wear had an assorted line of engineered printed shirts, sherwanis, and Jodhpuri jackets— all worn with wide pyjamas. For timeless couture, which pays homage to India’s rich textile heritage, Krishna Mehta’s relaxed laid back collection was the perfect offering for a variety of occasions.