Trend Spotting at the Lakmè Fashion Week S/S 2010

By M. Mistry

Do fashion weeks in India set trends for the next season? Well sort of, but not something dramatic. At Lakmé Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2010 there was an attempt to innovate with the existing trends and present a reworked look. There were a few repetitions but that must probably be because they are popular.

Silhouette Scene

Designers experimented with shapes and silhouettes, so everything from the lean and body hugging to loose and moulded, is in. The fullness in some dresses moved from the front of the garment to the rear and from the middle of the dress to the hem; very often with cowls aiding the look. The loose dhotis, Patiala, Jodhpuri styles for trousers seem to be very popular for both men and women over the past few years while wrap around kurtas and angarkhas with tie-ups made news. For men it was skinny single or double lapels with one or two rear vents for one to two button jackets while some designers preferred fuller trousers with their jackets. The dhoti dress with drapes was an interesting addition. Asymmetry played an important part in garments for collars, hemlines, plackets, sleeves and even button closures. The mini rules and so does the maxi, while the kalidar and angarkha kurtas are there for ethnic wear; the sheath, shift, smock, and sack seem to stay on.

Ethnic Emphasis

Ethnic wear was very prominent with designers cashing in on the wedding season. Lehengas, shararas, harem, and elephant pants and 48 kali kurtas were popular. The sari got attention either being pre-stitched or reduced to half its length and worn with churidars or over frilly petticoats. The choli or blouse was very short with interesting back detailing or long heavily encrusted with Swarovski crystals, sequins, zari and resham work. The Nehru coat or bundi appeared for men’s and women’s wear while the waist coat or bolero had rich embroidery which ranged from Phulkari to chikan and zardozi.

Detailing Directions

Tie ups and knots are used as detailing to accentuate a garment’s silhouette. Buttons and button holes ended up turning into detailing to create garment shapes. Conventional pin tucks, pleats and smocking were given importance for garments of both sexes.

Fabric Fantasy

The fabric story remained conventional most of the time with linen, net, velvet, georgette, chiffon, cotton for summer with bandhani, leheriya and batik as the treatments. But the eco-friendly look emerged with fabrics made from natural fibers of banana, pineapple, flax, hemp and a wellness fabric called Ayurganic by Lecoanet Hemant given treatment with herbs which will relax the wearer and have UV protection qualities. Mixing the fluid with the full bodied textures for garments and layering in several numbers gave the silhouettes a frilly frothy look. Light-as-air fabrics in earthy colours with very discreet prints, colour blocking and detailing were part of the fabric story.

Colour Cues

The colour story remained versatile with pastel, lots of white and ecru and a whole lot of rainbow hues coming into the forefront. Earthy colours like mud, dust, beige, chocolate, and of course black also proved popular with designers who had a muted summer story.

Exciting Embellishments

CRYSTALLIZED ™– Swarovski Elements were used in abundance for not only the bridal wear collections, but also to embellish the Red Carpet garments, saris and blouses. Delicate embroidery inspired by Japanese flowers and trees was finely done to almost resemble prints. Zippers were a very popular choice as embellishments as they appeared all over the garments to decorate them. Laser cutwork and floral embroidery was another option to give the fragile summer look to the garments. Heavy zardozi and zari work for ethnic bridal wear was a must. Metallic cutwork and hand burnt sequins were used to give a new slant to cover garments while broad bands often glittering held together gowns when they were backless to accentuate the body.

The Van Heusen India Men’s Week – for the fashionable male Behold! You have just witnessed history in the making- the generally staid and stuffy Indian male is in for a makeover. The first ever India Men’s Fashion Week unfolded with élan and as much fanfare as any other, accompanied with media frenzy, celebrity turn out, filmstars on ramp, vain models and upbeat designers. Ravi Bajaj, the well established men’s wear designer who has avoided fashion weeks as a rule, opened the show in style with Navin Ansal (businessman), Harley Davidson		"A dress is not a sculpture, it is a business" – Jean-Jacques Picart, a consultant and former business partner of Christian Lacroix.     Click to read more
(motorcycle) and a team of other models, who showed a very dandy style of slim fit pants, short coats and jackets etc and ended with the designer being the show stopper at his own show. Admittedly he was the best of the lot. Himmat Singh’s collection was high on royal cuts, jodhpur breeches, bandgalas etc and was followed by a light summery collection for the beach bum by the only woman designer in the show, Rajvi Mohan, who makes only men’s wear. Narendra Kumar showed a great line, Samant Chauhan was innovative with the same fabric, Gaurav Gupta showed interesting fold techniques for his pants line. Nitin Bal Chauhan’s punk and affordable apparel were a big hit. Nikhil and Shantanu disappointed with excessive velvet draped like a toga or any other way. Rajesh Pratap Singh got many celebrities to walk for him, which I thought was a great idea. The low buyer turn-out did not faze the designers as they are sure they will be back for season two. Get ready to see menswear embellished with texturing, embroidery, pin tucks, pleated, velvet shirts, bright colors, block print, jamavars, jacquards, paisley, checks, houndstooth and the entire works.

Suneet Varma’s take on the ‘Belle Epoque’

Designer Suneet Varma, along with co-host Jaeger-LeCoultre, stepped up the noise quotient at the DLF Emporio with the designer’s presentation of his couture collection for fall-winter 2009. Varma sought the inspiration of the bygone European era of luxury in the late Nineteenth century, which the French called the ‘Belle Epoque’ or the Beautiful Era, to create a line titled the same. The luxurious look was achieved by using exotic velvet trimmed with lace, sprinkled with Swarovski crystals, all colored in jeweled tones. The usual names in the Capital’s glitterati showed up in numbers to mark their presence. No news was available on who bought what, if any.

Delhi designers at the Atmosphere–Prêt-à-porter Paris show

Pravesh Kumar Sharma and Jai Prakash Singh, the Delhi based designers who have won much applaud for their eco-friendly lines, recently participated in the Prêt-à-porter Paris 2009 that was held from September 4th -7th. The show, themed ‘In the spirit’ or ‘danl l’air’, saw the participation of nearly 1500 brands from 45 countries and is dedicated to fashion professionals. This was the third time at this show for the designer duo. The collection that they showed played strongly on the Indian influence, the title of the collection being ‘Kamasutra to Superconscious’, which is said to be inspired by temple architecture of Khajuraho and Konark. The line comprised summer jackets, kaftans, shift dresses, evening gowns etc, all in bright as well as subtle tones. Handloom silk was used to make up the garments. While the prints, colours and other influences were Indian, the silhouettes were mostly kept international. They incorporated hand-paintings by artists for that extra touch. A successful show on all counts.

Van Heusen Emerging Designer of the Year-Amalraj Sengupta

At the Van Heusen India Men’s Week that just concluded, was announced the winner of the name of the Van Heusen Emerging Designer of the Year, a contest that was held in association with FDCI. The contest had opened from August 5th for all students as well as professional fashion designers. Out of nearly 70 entries, the winner selected was Amalraj Sengupta, a graduate of NIFT Kolkata. The other two who came close were Varun Arora of Pearl Academy at second place and Divyanka Bedi of Raffles Design Institute, Mumbai at third place. The competitors had to create lines based on the submitted sketches in accordance with model measurement provided to them. These designers will be visible at fashion weeks soon we hope.

LFW workshop gives lessons in fashion reporting to media

Covering a fashion show is not exactly the same as reporting the local Ramlila celebrations, however similar the two might be. Taking note of that, Lakmé Fashion Week conducted a workshop for the fashion media titled, ‘Thought leadership in Fashion Journalism’. With the ever growing number of fashion shows, it becomes imperative that those who report it, understand the growing need for information and the importance of reporting of fashion. The day long workshop was organized by LFW on August 27th, 2009 and conducted by Inter National Institute of Fashion Designing (iNIFD). Marylou Luther, Editor-in-Chief, International Fashion Syndicate and Harmeet Bajaj, Managing Director BIAN interacted with 30 top fashion media delegates across dailies, magazines, the electronic media and the internet. The first half of the day focused on providing an overview on global and Indian fashion and of contextualizing fashion through the 20th century while the second half was dedicated to the practice and included segments on fashion reporting, trend forecasting and on critiquing fashion.

European designers doing the east ward shift

This may not have become a trend as yet, but there are those who have relinquished their setups in London and Paris, choosing instead to operate from India. One such is Emma Chapman, a British jewelry designer specialising in baroque, Elizabethan and ancient inspired jewelry. She was chosen as one of the best new jewelry designers in 2006 by a panel of leading editors from The Telegraph, Vogue, Elle and the Times and showcased in Bright Young Gems at IJL. She has exhibited at London Fashion Week several times and at Premiere classe in Paris. She also retails from Ogaan Delhi. So inspired is she by India that she has set up home in Goa. Reason, she said was because, “Unfortunately, it’s dull in Europe and London … The spirit in India, however, is sparkling and positive. I decided to set up base in India. People are afraid to do colour in London.”

Alecca Carrano is a Greek-Lebanese designer who shifted to Delhi in 2006 from south France with her Italian architect husband. A veteran with 17 years in New York and a total of 20 years in the industry, she too agreed that, “…Europe was getting kind of boring, people were not open and it wasn’t easy to start one’s own business; India seemed like an exciting destination and here we can get buyers from the Middle East, Singapore and Japan.” She had participated at DFW in March and retails to 16 stores across India. Norwegian designer Julie Skarland, stopped by in 2005 but stayed on, giving up her 9th Avenue shop in Paris, she now operates from Delhi. Reem Archibald and Jo Butler Dwyer are British designers who have opted for children’s wear and launched their label ‘Khush’ last September. The competition gets hotter for our home grown designers.

Kolkata Fashion Week season-2 sans title sponsor

The second season of Kolkata Fashion week started on the wrong foot with the title sponsor Emami pulling out at the last minute. Yudhajit Dutta, MD Mindscapes Maestros, the event promoters, said, “There were some contractual things, which they wanted us to do but we could not agree.” However the event did not lack in grandeur or celebrity turnout. The theme for the event was Earth Couture, in view of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation declaring 2009 as “The International Year of Natural Fiber.” Top designers like Neeta Lulla, Ritu Kumar, Rocky S, Narendra Kumar, Zubair Kirmani, Bibi Russell, Wendell Rodricks along with Kolkata based designers, Monapali, Kiran Uttam Ghosh, Abhishek Dutta, Soumitra Mondal, Dev r Nil, put up a grand show. Zubair Kirmani managed to get the first family of Sarod, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and his sons Amaan and Ayaan, as show stoppers for his show. Other huge show stoppers were Virendra Sehwag and Bhaichung Bhutia along with a host of Bollywood actresses. Manish Malhotra’s grand finalè was befittingly lively.

Designer Anand Jon sentenced for 59 years

Anand Jon Alexander has been in the news for sexually assaulting young models and a long drawn out court case ended when the LA courts finally sentenced him to 59 years in jail. Of all the various cases filed against him, there were also allegations of juror tampering by his sister, Sanjana, juror misconduct and Alexander’s decision to represent himself. Sanjana Jon had been lobbying for his return to India with no results. He graduated from the Parsons School of Design in New York and launched a fashion line in 1999. He has also featured on the American RV show ‘America’s Next Top Model”.

Burberry Prorsum’s dazzles at London Fashion Week

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the London Fashion Week (LFW), it was only appropriate that a British icon like Burberry, founded in 1856, be chosen to close the show with its first participation ever in LFW. Held at the Rootstein Hopkins Parade Ground at the Chelsea College of Art and Design in Westminster, London, the show also celebrated the new Burberry headquarters at Horseferry House in Westminster. Designer Christopher Bailey, who joined Burberry Prorsum in 2001, has taken the label to great heights. For the first airing on the runway, he put up a highly creative collection high on draping, knotting, ruching, twisting. The fabric story incorporated washed and distressed fabrics, gabardine, chiffon, tulle, silk duchesse satin. Knotting and twisting was used to highlight shoulders of trenches and jackets and cashmere knits. Color palette comprised earth tones, sand, mud, copper for trenches, sugary pastels for the dresses. Nearly 1300 guests attended the show with the glitterati out in full force. In a first of its kind, the Burberry show was streamed live from the show space in London at live.burberry.com and the online viewers were allowed to comment on the collection.

Lanvin designer and the UNESCO

Alber Elbaz, the designer of the oldest surviving Paris fashion house Lanvin, spoke at UNESCO’s World Forum on Culture and Cultural Industries held in Italy. Among other things, the designer spoke at length about the pressures on designers to produce prolifically. He was reported to have said, "In the music industry, you can have a lifetime career with one great album but we're only as good as our next collection." He also stressed on the shortage of skilled laborers in the fashion industry and was quoted to have said, “Do you know anyone who wants to be a seamstress?” The Moroccan born designer had the audience eating out of his hands.

September 10 was Fashions Night Out

Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of American Vogue since 1988, decided to take up the cause of fashion stores reporting reduced footfalls. She was quoted to have said, “During the couture shows in February there was a lot of discussion about the lack of traffic in the stores. A lot of people were complaining, but people weren’t really doing anything about it.” The outcome was her declaring September 10th as the day/night for the Fashion’s Night Out, when stores across the globe were to open late. To gain publicity, celebrities and the rich and famous were to be invited for a shopping expedition and sip on cocktails while they shopped/chatted. The Emporio Mall in Vasant Kunj Delhi also joined the global cry set off by Wintour, who kicked off the event at Macy’s in Elmhurst and visited a few other stores. Did she shop? We don’t know.

Karl Lagerfeld immortalized as Tokidoki

The Italian figurines maker Simone Legno, who seeks inspiration from Japanese styles, has created a 10 inch tall vinyl Tokidoki in the image of the designer Karl Lagerfeld. The image of the designer is dressed in a shiny, skinny black suit, a rhinestone studded tie and belt and sun glasses; all part of his K Karl Lagerfeld Collection. Simon Legno had created the first Tokidoki in 2005. Currently only 1000 figurines will be made and sold for $190 at Tokidoki flagships in New York, Milan and Los Angeles. The launch is planned at Colette. The T-shirts in the next spring’s K collection will sport the image of Mini Karl.

The first ever men’s week, the Van Heusen India Men’s Week, set off a new trend this month at The Grand in New Delhi. That men are taking fashion seriously was obvious by the amazing response to the event. Men’s wear is metamorphosing rapidly to keep pace with the new trendier Indian male, who spends a lot more time before his wardrobe. Some of the significant shifts and trends noticed were the presence of color. Peach, mauve, reds – they are all in. The slim silhouette is back – short well fitted jackets worn over narrow ankle high slim pants was the look. Drop crotch pants in matching prints, shirt and jacket worn over kurtas, chappals or sandals with suits and everything; in fact chappals really ruled the runway. Ties are a no no, unless obscured with a tone on tone look or matching print. Short shorts and regular shorts worn under regular jackets; Kurtas were teamed with slim pants; black still rules as also do the pastels and khakhis. Velvet is the fabric of the season. It was big at the Paris Men's Week too.

Abhishek Gupta & Nandita Basu	Ravi Bajaj	Rajesh Pratap Singh	Narendra Kumar	Meera Muzaffar Ali
Gaurav Gupta	Narendra Kumar	Gaurav Gupta	Rajvi Mohan	Rohit Bal

In the age of rapid mechanization and high tech advancements it is the artisan who holds the thread of a tradition of ancient skills. Cut away from the mainstream these artisan groups struggle to hold on to what they have inherited and many social groups have come forward to support them. Newsvision introduces its readers to various artisan groups and their crafts in this column.

Commonwealth Games platform to boost handloom products

The Union Minister of State for Textiles, Panabaka Lakshmi is using her clout to make life rosier for artisans in the handloom sector. Speaking at a Buyer-seller’ meet organised by National Handloom Development Corporation Ltd and the Andhra Pradesh Department of Handlooms and Textiles in Hyderabad, revealed the plans of the government to put our weavers and artisans in the view of the world and make their products available to all across the globe. While encouraging the artisan to put their best creative foot forward, she said that the Ministry will support the initiative so that their products will be available to an international buyer anywhere in the world in 15 days. A web site to showcase this has already been set up recently. Funds have been set up to help organize more exhibitions locally to help market the products. In response to the problem of non-availability of yarn at cheaper prices, plans have been formulated to procure even imported silk yarn at lowered prices, such as Chinese Silk that was bought under the Mill Gate Price Scheme (MGPS).

Weavers not charmed by Health Insurance program

The National Health Insurance program launched by the government last year to provide an annual coverage of $700 per person for the 6.5 million handloom weavers earning less than Rs35,000 per year. The initiative did not realize its target by virtue of the high rate of illiteracy and thereby the ignorance of the target sector. The complex registration process is also a deterrent, wherein the health card holder has to first register in their home state, making it impossible to the largely migrant population. The health card costs Rs35 for the free benefit but the weaver find it a strain and drain on his meager daily household income. There are 6.5 million handloom weavers in the country, and 60% of these are women. This Handloom Weavers Health Insurance Program has the backing of ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd, as a joint venture of India’s ICICI Bank Ltd and Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd of Canada. The reality check revealed that serious ailments were not covered and workers were turned away. Most of the weavers work in cloistered and poorly ventilated conditions and suffer from many chronic ailments. Although, as per the insurance agency claims, the program has been in effect across 26 States and cover 1.9 million weavers and their families, how much of it is really trickling down is a question that remains unanswered.

Finally, GI rights to the Banarasi sari too

On 4th September,2009, after a wait of two years, the historically renowned ‘Banarasi brocades and Sarees’ secured the Geographical Indication (GI) rights making them exclusive to the region of Banaras, restricting others from marketing or processing the product in the same name. As per the GI certificate issued by the registrar of GI, the Banaras Brocades and Sarees fall in four classes (13-26) that include silk brocades, textile goods, silk saree, dress material and silk embroidery. In the 14th century, the region already well known for its rich cotton weaves, started making brocades using gold and silver threads to make sarees like Jangla, Tanchoi, Vaskat, Cutwork, Tissu and Butidar. Although the registration is only for 10 years as yet, it will be renewed again. Organisations like the UK based Find Your Feet, Department for International Development and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) assisted India in securing the GI status.

Earlier in April this year, the Malihabadi mango from the Lucknow region also acquired the GI status.

Joy to the weaver

India’s rich legacy of arts and crafts of each region, already visible in the global arena is now taking a step forward as each of these is lining up for GI Status. Latest to join in is the Banarasi Sari. Finally, 12 lakh artisans and weavers in Easter UP can heave a sigh of relief. The allocation of GI status helps preserve the ethnicity of the product and goes a long way towards helping the artisan involved in this craft for centuries and preserves the tradition handed down from generation to generation. However closely replicated, the uniqueness of a craft tradition that has evolved over centuries thrives only in its own region. Surely there would be nothing original about a Made In China Kashmiri Shawl.