His themes have always been out of the ordinary so this time for Spring/Summer 2011, Anand Kabra called his collection 'Mandi' inspired by the film of the same name with Shabana Azmi in the lead. The soundtrack of the film played in the background as the atmosphere of the courtesan's house and the outfits was reflected in the collection.

Using colours that were striking with black, white and red being at the centre of the palette, Anand wove a story that moved from western to Indian and then a bit of fusion wear. The fabrics were a mix of the old and the new with lurex, lots of raw kora and tie-dyed taffeta coming together rather harmoniously with Pochampalli cottons and sheer beautiful Georgettes. The motifs of the Charminar were reflected in black and gold bead work and gave a rich opulent look to the garments. The ombre effect on the fabrics in tones of beige, white and black gave a soothing touch to the ensembles while the trellises of the Charminar were reflected in the sepia beaded embroidery and the burnt zardozi on the broad sari borders and on the lehengas.

The silhouettes revolved around wide palazoes shararas, kurtis, cholis and dresses, along with sherwanis and jackets and some sexy wrap lungi skirts and lehengas. The seam joints were interesting with the bird cage grill effect through the 'haath ki jali' and there was a touch of moulding for the cholis with the slanting cut out backs with feminine tie ups.

Starting the show with a tiny black bikini and shaded brown black kimono cover Anand showed a few resort pieces like the wrap shaded long robe, a tiny mini and a sheer shaded sari with black beaded border.

Each season, Rahul Mishra raises the bar by presenting beautiful and impeccably finished garments, better than last time. On the first day of the fashion week, he yet again lived up to the high expectations of his audience by presenting a lovely collection for the spring/summer of 2011. The music track stayed in the background without trying to distract, bright lights made viewing easy, make-up was minimal, hairstyling was a simple single plait over the right shoulder, single-strapped flat footwear for all – and the theme of the entire collection was – Spring/Summer 2011!!! The star on the ramp was his collection. Rahul Mishra has truly been worthy of the sundry awards that crowd his journey that began in NID.

Keeping in focus the rich heritage of Indian fabrics and crafts, the entire line of 32 garments that Rahul Mishra presented was divided into two segments, Chanderi and Bandhani. For the first half Chanderi segment, the designer has utilized well the diaphanous nature of Chanderi to play with opacity, sometimes in the weave or layering or tape. Hand woven ivory Lotus motif appeared across Chanderi jackets, overlap dress, achkan style dresses et al, strategically placed in each of the apparel, in varying sizes, sometimes large at hemline level, or small lotuses over long sleeves. The spiral panel bustier dress was teamed with a turquoise pleated jacket with great effect. A pleated top teamed with palazzo pants reminiscent of Samurai pants, a trench style dress, halter dresses, overlap angrakha styles – all the influence were played into a western appeal. The color palette moved from peppy canary yellows, fuchsia, turquoise to off-whites, ivory, white and black.

The Bandhani segment earned its tag by the use of the tie-dye knots used strategically for lotus or maple leaf or Shibory bamboo motifs, which made subtle appearances on sleeves or hems or elsewhere.

It was summer time for Rahul Reddy and his collection had the right feel, colour and style and was cool, comfortable and casual on all fronts. Sticking to a colour story of white in the beginning, Rahul moved to fuchsia, orange, purple, turquoise and then acid green for cute summer dresses, coordinates and even if the buyer wants as separates. Sticking to his unusual design sensibilities the garments were nearly all made inside out to give that typical Rahul Reddy touch.

The handkerchief skirt drop waist dress, off centre blouse opening and cut away shoulder short sleeves, tiered skirt, looped button skirts for white dresses, candy stripe shirts with pin tucks and detailing and purple pleated looped hem dress with green piping were some of the highlights of the show.

Sticking to just two fabrics, Rahul chose cotton and crumpled silk to add to the comfort level of the garments. The silk textured sheath with contrast machining, the acid green Capri pants with purple pin tucks, the orange/purple cape jacket, the crinkled orange skirt, checked textured turquoise dress with rouched back and sheer skirt, the clasped hem mini and the vertical frill dress were ideal summer options.

The crinkled sheath in purple, the rouched side pink dress and the two tone green layered side dress, the purple shift with raised machine circles and the final acid green pleated dress with pink piping completed the collection. A mention must be made of the the very quirky cut away heel boots in purple, orange and turquoise some with front and back zips and the hooded scarves that added to the charm of the garments.

Here was a sale-able collection with the right designing touches from Rahul Reddy which will fly off the racks next summer.

There is nothing ordinary about J J Valaya. From his very first show over a decade ago he has believed in presenting his collections whether they are pret, couture, bridal or casual in a flamboyant and stylish manner and his Alika 2011 Spring/Summer line was in the same mode. With his inspiration being the imaginary Alika, JJ wove a story that brought in voile, tulle, georgettes, Jacquard and silks along with velvets and brocades for three distinct groups of garments with embroidery that was eye catching but in a very restrained and refined form.

Keeping the silhouette predominantly Indian with a few dresses there were kurtas and saris in shades of grey, blue, peach, ivory mauve. The hemlines of the kurtas moved up and down the knees while leggings played an important part in teaming up with them. Pleated fabrics were used in a lean layered manner for kurtas and tube dresses with fine hand embroidery on the neck or with Swarovski Elements.

The striking georgette sari with blue embroidered buttis with a tulle neck blouse had laser burn and pleats, a Jacquard jacket with intricate work on the neck and front had a blue Georgette top while the laser burn details on an anarkali with blue stretch crepe churidars and tulle dupatta were stylish Indian options.

The mauve halter neck tunic with leggings, the saris with zari borders and the ombre pre-pleated georgette kurta set were utterly feminine. The final section devoted to embroidered jackets in varied lengths worn with tunics, saris , gowns, and tops will give the buyer several alternatives from JJ.

It was a well designed compact collection except for one little point - why were the lights at half power when full lights would have enhanced the beauty of the garments. Dear JJ your creations are so pretty let the arc lights allow us to savour every small detail on your garments.

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Aneeth Arora for her Pero label has been reviving the fabrics of India from different regions for nearly five years now and it was interesting to see what she would do for the Spring/Summer 2011 season. This time it was the printed textiles from Sanganer with the region's cottons and muls with the fine threads and the brass block printed floral motifs to give them a delicate romantic look. Bringing together the block makers and printers and using Jamdaani and mul from West Bengal, Aneeth had a fluid layered mufti-functional line of separates that would work well as solos too.

While the look and treatment of the garments was western it was the light cottons that gave the collection an international appeal. Stripes, checks and prints played a soft medley on the garments in colours that were restricted to white, black and grey. Opening the show with a striking block printed jumpsuit with striped mul cotton shirt and ikat checked scarf, the use of different patterns in a single garment but maintaining a similar colour story gave the collection a more mix and match appeal that will move successfully from season to season.

The white and grey Jamdaani and mul cotton striped short dress over a black striped dress was a good combo, while the white cotton Dogri pants with jacket and shirt topped with a gauze block printed scarf had style. Black and white checked pants, block printed striped jumpsuit, ikat yoke dress, a swirling trapeze dress with scallops, a Jamdaani dress with black woven flowerettes, a pin striped grey shirt and printed pleated pants, the swinging double layered mul cotton dress with round quilted yoke, the grey linen trouser with black stripes, the feminine printed panelled dress, the grey striped dress with checked slip, Jamdaani jacket with white floral motifs worn with a checked scarf were all very cleverly put together by Aneeth to present a comprehensive collection.

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When it comes to experimenting with shapes and detailing, Rimzim Dadu works very hard at researching on the subject and this time it was the 3D textures that inspired her into using them in broken geometric patterns but at the same time sculpted the garments to the body.

Using delicate light organza, silk voile, viscose jersey in neutral tones of grey and beige Rimzim crafted a story that brought geometry to the forefront of fashion. Her collection of 16 garments was opened with a 3D line dress in a rather boxy shape followed by a 3D broken circle dress. While the silhouettes were very basic it was the detailing which was of a very extreme nature that added to the stark beauty of the garments.

The jersey cutout jacket, the tab dress with the side diagonal drapes, the phosphene applique dress with a gauze textured shirt and micro block 3D sequinned dress, and a sequinned phosphene top and shorts along with a jaggered jacket in a maze like design were great ramp pieces.

Rimzim's embellishments have always been a little unconventional so this time it was the machine gun motif which was embroidered on dresses and even made to look like lace. Another motif that worked for the designer was the 3D matchstick textured dress and finally it was the 3D pleat dress that was a fitting end to the show.

What was amazing about the collection was the finishing of the garments and the intricate embellishments that gave a perfect look to the line. The creations were aimed at the young trendy market as the silhouettes remained short and fitted with very basic cuts.

It is interesting to view the collections of Rimzim Dadu since the designer is able to hold the interest of the audience season after season with something innovative and experimental each time.

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