So while we had a lot of time at hand we decided to meet Narendra before the show, to be briefed on the unique selling points of his new collection, which we usually miss on the ramp, and we were in for a pleasant surprise! Inspired by the Japanese aesthetics of the dark Samurai costumes on his recent visit to Japan, the collection was a symbiotic blend of western and Japanese sensibility. The product was a neo- classic look, rather smart and elegant for men (also great for women) achieved by combining body hugging western silhouettes with Japanese origamic drapes.

He displayed his pattern making and draping skills by replacing classic collars and lapels with fluid drapes around the neck and torso without losing his focus to deliver chic menswear jackets and suits for a normal contemporary urban male customer. Interspersed with wide samurai pants, kimono shirts and wrap overs for effect, we saw clean cut jackets melting into soft folds in the front, almost like wearing discreet matching mufflers.

He offered long kimono inspired jackets as an interesting alternative to the done to death ‘achkan’ for formal occasions. Bottoms were essentially close fit and tapered.

Simple yet clever details like the built up neck, overstitched concealed pockets, cuffs and buttons added a sporty feel to the sartorial elegance. A closer look further revealed subtle embroideries in tonal shades.

Natural fabrics like soft fluid silks, mercerized cotton, washed linen were coordinated with manmade terry-rayon, polyester and wool lends in dark shades of black. From matt surfaces to metallic sheen, there was something for everyone.

Linen jackets with hand embroidery and Nehru collar, with painted effect, dyed, washed, with knit detailing, raw-edged jute jacket; draped linen jacket teamed with dyed linen trousers; a raw-edged Scottish checked jacket teamed with linen jodhpuris, half sleeved jacket worn over a long skirt, a long jacket with hood – over all an immensely wearable array of jackets, some of them with unisex appeal and could well be worn by women. Cotton knits made an appearance as knitted trousers, sweaters, a printed knitted t-shirt. Linen shirts worn under the jackets or otherwise, were hand embroidered or dyed. Bottoms comprised knitted trousers, linen trousers with hand-embroidery or dyed or bleached; washed canvas and denim trousers, jodhpuris, leather pants and pajamis. Pleated skirts replaced trousers occasionally. Colour palette stayed in the confines of natural tones of beige, off-whites, creams and brown.

The highlight of the collection that could only be understood on viewing the garments up close, was the imaginative fabric treatment. The rugged looking rust marks were got by keeping the garment over rusted iron for days. Tea leaves were used directly over the garment pieces, as well as oil and grease. The designer kept in mind the organic and sustainability issues for all dyeing techniques as well as the leather bags that were made using minimum chemical processing. It was a refreshing men’s wear line that kept away from the stereotypes and provided for more options in casual wear for the warm Indian seasons.

The brothers Shantanu & Nikhil Mehra quoted the last stanza of Robert Frost’s famous poem, ‘The Woods are lovely dark and deep’, and dedicated their men’s wear collection to the cause of the vanishing flora and Mother Nature, to showcase their creativity with the underlying theme ‘Death of a Tree’.

The collection they showed this season was a U-turn from the Greco-Roman, Macedonian inspired opulent line seen in the last Menswear Fashion Week. Keeping the concept of deforestation at the soul, the emphasis was on jackets and upper wear. The designers continued to use the drape and silhouettes remained lose and easy. The traditional achkans and bandhgala jackets were given a new twist by replacing the bandhgala collar with a draped muffler fabric detail or adding the drape to the traditional form. The collection was organic and high on surface embellishments. Streaks of fabric patchwork strips gave the look of shredded tassels, probably had something to do with the ‘Tree’ inspiration. The show started with a grey silky hip-high jacket with a heavily textured detail and hand embroidery and a collar that was a twist to the cowl but stayed upright close to the chin; a long straight cut bandhgala jacket in knit with asymmetric hem and embroidery down the front; v-neck jacket with a shawl drape and print; a thigh-high jacket using knit and fabric held together with black tapes, and embellished with embroidery; a jacket with the Roman style drape attached, a unstructured knitted top. Bottoms were close fitted tights that effectively did not distract from the upper wear. The deconstructed look was blended with the regular cuts. The interplay of fabrics saw a blend of cable knits, handloom tussars, jacquards, cottons and silk weaves. The color palette ranged from steel grey, slate, black, chocolate, brick reds, an occasional cream. Towards the end appeared a draped gown that had immense appeal for the women. The show was wrapped up by an impressive unisex layered skirt in red. Overall the designers stayed true to their ethos and the collection presented could have immense appeal for both the genders, particularly the silk draped gown.

Like a breath of fresh air his summer collection in light weight cottons made an immediate connect with the audience. Minimalism and modernity were deftly reconciled with bold & graphic Madras checks and British plaids. Italian cut silhouettes short, skimpy and slim, were re-defined by anatomically-shaped suits.

While pristine white suit was teamed with check shirt, plain jackets were coordinated with Madras check Bermudas and ankle length slim pants. The full check suits washed and over dyed offered heady mix and match options for stylish young men. Engineered prints, tie dye effects and neutral shades softened the grid format.

Fabrics were light weight, matte and smooth. Gabardine, denim, poplin and voile staged a strong comeback in this collection. It was indeed a huge a relief to see a clean unpretentious, no fuss and no frills styles refusing to be intellectualized by fussy accessories and props.

Designer David Abraham, a minimalist himself, loved the collection and casually expressed his wish to actually acquire something from the collection for himself. I thought that was a great compliment to Ashish.