Rina Dhaka courts knitwear with monochromes, as Kiran Uttam Ghosh inveigles with Dhakai dhoti pants and Shantanu and Nikhil keep up the glam factor up diaphanous drapes
By Asmita Aggarwal
Monochromes, capes and drapes seem to be the flavour of the season, as designers at the AIFW16 have welcomed autumn-winter with brights, specially Hemant and Nandita, as beautiful scarlet jackets won hearts on the first day.
If Shantanu and Nikhil went back to their roots with drapes and Goddess gowns in carmine, they added a bit of dazzle to red carpet dressing as nifty touches of wool in the capes were endearing and so were the leather tights worn with deep cowl evening gowns.
Ruffles, cascading lace, off shoulders and trails were the brothers way of introducing opulence through the palette of smooth butter colours, flute sleeves, empire waists cinched with belts and a play of fit and flare.
On the other hand, Kolkatas firecracker Kiran Uttam Ghosh was undoubtedly the woman of the day with her kaftan saris in champagne colours, sassy gotta hems, choice of colours (royal blues and marsala) as emerald green angrakhas came with dashes of asymmetry and loads of style, and Kirans ingenious way of presenting of dhoti pants was profoundly technical and visually elegant.
Her resort-y kaftans came with Ikkat prints, and what really was the show stealer remains her fresh and impactful look at textiles and converting them into something every modern girl would like to wear—-a super modern dhoti pant in ox blood red executed in Dhakai handloom, which was what the catwalk needed, a wow factor. She kept the mood uplifted with fun fringes, Mandarin collars and of course, the enigmatic jacquards.
A veteran who is also immortalised in fashion books due to her contribution to fashion with the introduction of the transparent churidar pants in the early 90s, Rina Dhaka this year, flirted with knitwear. Rough textures met shimmer in dropped shoulders, body hugging dresses as the subtle hint of gold renewed the spirit of the ensembles. Ikat remained the motivating factor and it came in prints, jacquards as well as motifs, and infinitely popular dresses in stretch, as they efficaciously rubbed shoulders with side slit minis worn with gypsy tops and silver sheaths. And not to forget hints of lurex, which certainly brightened up the whole landscape!
Click here to watch #Shantanu&Nikhil at #AIFWAW16