Couture Week, 2010

With two shows a day, Grand Hyatt, New Delhi was the venue for Couture Week. It began with the magic of Sabyasachi. The clothes consisted of saris, salwar kameezes and the usual.

What was new was the overcoat for women and the angrakha for men. He used a lot of fabrics from all across the country, which spells great news for the weavers.

Rajasthan's block printing, Andhra Pradesh's Kalamkari and Murshidabad's Khadi were seen generously on the runway.

The other end of the ramp had this edited movie which just like Sabya was soulful!
One of the guests at his show was Rani Mukherjee. We asked her about her current fashion addiction and the answer was 'Jumpsuits'.

Manish Malhotra's show was delicious with sorbet colours and subtle work.
His set found inspiration in Spain. His menswear was rather appealing with the Jodhpurs-meet-the-trousers bottom worth with a bandgala! Divine!

Manav Gangwani had stars on this front row from Sophie Choudhary to Jacqueline Fernandes to Ritesh Deshmukh to Soha Ali Khan.

Like always his blouses with Swarovski crystals
were stunning

The grey collection which was a mix of net and bling looked rather delectable.

Gaurav Gupta turned to the marine life for inspiration and that's why the lehenga resembles the mermaid lehenga that was in a few seasons ago.

The headgear was as remarkable as the dresses!

It was stunning. I think, head gear is something which will increasingly be seen in the Indian Closet.

J J Valaya's show was all about ivory, blue and gold.
It has to be said that his whites were timeless with some exquisite workmanship. The latest introduction in the Kingdom of Valaya was Alika.

Now just like Hermes is famous for Birkin or LV is synonymous with the monogram or Burberry that's famous for its checks and the trench coat, the House of Valaya hopes that a piece of clothing that is a mix between a shirt and a jacket called 'Alika' becomes its signature.

Anamika Khanna’s show was stunning. She actually makes Indian clothes for the modern day, strong and opinionated Indian woman.

She added a dash of luxury to the clothes with the tassels

While the shoulder pads gave the dresses a touch of futurity.

Varun Bahl turned to Russia for inspiration as he created a tribute to the enigmatic Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia.

His Indian clothes had a generous use of the Fabergé egg. It was like the Ambi Motif was replaced by the Fabergé egg. For the uninitiated these jewelled eggs were made by the House of Fabergé from 1885 through 1917.

Grecian dresses and draped saris with a generous helping of bling was what Rakesh Agarwal's show was all about. If you worship your body then you deserve his clothes, because they will worship your body and enhance your curves like never before.

Suneet Varma's clothes are impeccable.

What was of great interest to
a fashion observer was the way he styled
the show

The Sari had some of its best moments on his runway!

Rina Dhaka’s collection was all about elaborate skirt and draped bias saris. Her inspiration was the: Cobweb.

Rohit Bal's show was at the Aman Hotel in New Delhi. This label's logo is the lotus and the show started with images of multiple lotus being projected on the wall.
The light play heightened the magic that Rohit Bal's shows are synonymous with.

The clothes were beautifully finished. The runway had a cocktail of fabrics, from velvets to bespoke materials. It ended with a few models in muslin kurtas in the water, looking like lotuses themselves.

To extend the drama tangent Rohit Bal joined them in the pool. The perfect charade added the balance to the perfect end.

Designer Pallavi Jaikishan loves everything that's French. It’s where she loves vacationing and it’s where she found her antique dupatta.
And it was no surprise that her show was all about a high tea in England, en route to Paris, where the dress code was 'Strictly Indian'!

The finale was grand as it should be. The clothes and the front row had a Mumbai zip code.

Little surprise it was Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla's show

The ramp had dancers in bright gold sequenced hot pants. The walls on the side were projecting shots of the dancers at their creative best and the models had the task of walking through them.

The Indian Clothes with high collars had a clear message: We are futuristic and cater to one and all.
The designers gave the Parsi Border a new lease of life, by creating a larger magnification of it using sequence.

It ended with the splendid Shweta Bachchan Nanda walking the runway. We asked her about her style statement and her answer was prompt, “Functional. Anything easy to get into when you are running behind two kids.”

Their front row was star-studded with Suzanne Roshan, Shobha De and Dimple Kapadia. It has to be said that Dimple Kapadia looks so stunning and timeless, that one will not be sinning by envying her genetic make up!

The Pearls Couture Week is over...it was all about high fashion and high energy. Having experienced so much beauty in a week, I wonder will life ever be the same again. Maybe next year, at the next Couture Week in 2011!