The happy Goan designer's spring/summer 2011 collection was a tribute to the near extinct Kunbi tribal art and weaving technique, and which Wendell Rodricks painstakingly researched and developed for seven long years, to create a contemporary collection with the various interpretations of the fabric. Fittingly, the show was introduced by Jasleen Dhameeja who has contributed several decades towards development of folk art and crafts like phulkari. This was followed by a video clip of Nandita Das adding to what Dhameeja said, and pictures of the beauteous Lisa Ray wearing the Kunbi sari were provided in the press kit too. Since the show was to highlight the Kunbi sari, it becomes relevant to inform that celebrity ethnic dressers like President Pratibha Patil, Sonia Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi are some of the patrons.

The first of the apparel that glided down was an ivory cotton crinkle, backless asymmetric tunic that was teamed with a dark grey silk overlapped skirt. A total of 33 looks appeared on the runway, sporting handwoven circle cut dressed with manjista dyed straps and sleeves, dhoti trousers, sarong draped in Kunbi style worn over ivory jersey leggings, a pleated one shoulder tunic, slim pants, a jacquard jacket, minis, tunics with camisoles and leggings, kaftan, kurtas with slim trousers. There were the multi layered skirts, one shoulder tube dresses, a halter dress with an asymmetric hemline. A very smartly styles Kunbi tribe inspired sari was teamed with a unbleached cotton and lycra strapless choli. The typical Kunbi 'dentil' knot made its appearance. Men's wear too made its appearance in the form of kurtas, jacquard weave silk Nehru jacket over double grey trousers.

Summery relaxed silhouettes lent well to the summery fabrics. The collection was made up of fabrics like crinkled cotton, cotton-lycra, dupion silks, cotton -jerseys, heavy silks, satin, silk, jacquards, lycra in some places, and jerseys, an occasional georgette for a stole, satin.

Anupama Dayal sought inspiration for her spring summer 2011 line from the mythical Himalayan tribe of the Kinnaris, whom she describes as 'a lover, and celestial musician who is half woman and half songbird,' and her 'Kinnaris' glided on the ramp in cheerful colours of an Indian spring, and a delightful collection that spelt summer bliss.

The first of the 25 outfits that she presented was a floral pink tunic with beaded match box print yoke worn with azure gota embroidered shorts, and followed it up with a new look pink brocade georgette long v neck dress that was jeweled in the back and front. An assortment of drop waist dress with cropped trousers, kaftans, saree skirt with bustier, sheer chanderi dress teamed with a contrast coloured underskirt, shararas, short shalwar, shalwar pants, severely gathered tulle underskirts. The collection remained reminiscent of previous looks, yet had a newness and international appeal. Scarves in pashmina and silk were used imaginatively and an essential accessory.

Relaxed silhouettes, easy flowing with all the layering and draping in a fabric range of Chanderi, silk twill, georgette, cre-de-chine, pashmina for scarves. A vibrant band of neon colours from turquoise, orange, fluoro pink, heliotrope, raven black, gold, metallic, malachite, burgundy – sunshine and the band of a rainbow, with all the colours in a spring flower bouquet. Eclectic prints, a mish mash of match box prints, geometrical prints meshed with florals, gold prints; detailing with beads, gota embroidery, brocade, flower appliqué, paneling, mirror works. Fabric flower necklaces in vibrant neon colours as accessory. Dayal is a bright designer who knows the pulse of her buyer base.

Rehane loves creating dresses which are short, cute and feminine and she knows her market, which loves her creations. Her spring/summer 2011 line had glitzy minis with net, gauze and chiffon as the focused fabric, with bronze, gold glitter in assorted lines on the sleeves and garments. The colours were sombre and ideal for

After-dark occasions with brown, deep blue, grey, shot silk, wine, deep green, khaki, rust, and jade coming together in different combinations.

Opening the show with a brown sequinned draped sleeve dress in translucent net, rehane moved to a blue net skirt with a gold bronze blouse, a shot silk grey belted dress with a grey gold bodice and then added a peach net layered long sleeve dress, a brown net tunic over a wine silk pencil skirt, the grey gauzd dress over a printed slip and the gold mesh smock over bronze satin palazoes, which were all aimed at the after-8 events during the summer season.

Rigid side tassels appeared on the front panels of shimmering minis or on embroidered skirts. A striking deep v- neckline in the front and back for a green ribbed tunic was a sexy addition. The print with glitter embroidery for the deep green dress was a pretty offering from the designer while the rust geometric ribbed dress will have many takers. What rehane could have avoided were the shaded sequin sheathed waistcoat over a deep peach dress and the silver sequinned jackets.

It was a collection of pretty dresses that will appeal to the loyal clients of rehane who applauded her as she took her bow.

If the audience wondered why the collection by Vineet Bahl was called 'Postcards from the edge' it was because the postcard prints were the focal point of the collection. While the actual stamped version was a little too cute the bold prints of the different monuments with touches of glitter looked quite interesting on the formal wear section.

Using black pleather for flower cut outs detailed on organza, Vineet worked with a pastel colour palette of ivory, salmon and aqua for fabrics that were pred ominantly cotton, silk, linen, organza, and georgette. Using laser outwork lavishly but combining it with the garments in a subtle manner, Vineet stuck to the western look for the outfits. The first line of ensembles had the laser flower cut work detailing on shoulder, yoke, tunic, skirt and shirt dress. It then moved to the pleather laser cut work for kurta over a silk shirt dress, then on to georgette shift dress, a trench coat over a ivory silk dress with attached bolero, appeared on shoulders and cuffs of a cotton cord jacket and went on to a dupion dress with laser cut pleather insets. Washed linen was used for the postage print tunic, over peddle pushers in beige, an embroidered shift, an unstructured car coat and for a fitted dress with a black pvc laser cut-work bustier jacket. The postcard print brought in the evening wear line with a loop dress with black shimmering detail, the sari drape shift with a one sided bat wing sleeve, and the black jacket with a print dress.

On to the sepia print on georgette, Vineet had an embellished kimono with baggy pants, an asymmetric degrade dress, a bias twist silk gown and an asymmetric one to end the show.

It was a well conceived collection with interesting detailing that could work well for Vineet Bahl during the coming season.

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For spring summer 2011 Manish, evidently inspired by 'Sunshine' set the ramp aglow with radiant chrome yellow hues.

A fairly large collection of sheath dresses in 60's style silhouette was beautiful but looked monotonous after a while with similar textures and shapes appearing endlessly.

A closer look at the collection revealed exquisite craftsmanship using layers of fabrics, twisting of laces and tapes, molding of velvet yarns and jersey appliqués in tonal shades and tints.

A young and vibrant look marked with Identical shapes, simple necklines and short sleeves in solid shades and soft fabrics became an ideal canvas to explore surface textures and embroideries.

The emphasis was mainly on basic geometric motifs and simple forms neatly spread across the entire surface with subtle grace.

The colour palette of orange, yellow peaches, custard geranium, sand and ivories was delicious.

Fabrics like flat chiffon, jersey and georgettes provided a perfect base for lightweight garments with such intense workmanship.

Although very high on commercial viability the collection should have been carefully edited for greater impact on the ramp.

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Calm, elegance and beauty marked the spring summer 2011 collection presented by Ankur and Priyanka Modi. Soft fluid lines and shapes resonated with springtime freshness of floral patterns and the cool colours coupled with easy sensibility.

The collection was titled 'ilhami' meaning inspiration in Turkish.
Little wonder the artwork reflected impressions of the famous Iznik pottery of Turkey.

Primarily blue and ivory palette was handled rather well to create a beautiful range of diverse options. Highlights and accents of gold added luxurious feel to this Pret line without adding the omnipresent bling for once.

In this collection the designers seemed to have discovered the potential of laser cutting technology to create amazing textures at a fraction of the cost and commercially viable.

Surfaces included intricate patch-work using silk fabrics and muted gold lame.

Laser-cut diaphanous fabrics were layered to create some unbelievable print effects.

The laser cut appliqués were beautifully crafted and the mini sequence embroidery was delicate. The screen printed single outline prints in arabesque style were refreshing.

The ready to wear range of classic contemporary silhouettes was put together with immaculate finishes.

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