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Designs on Prints

Designs on Prints

Dia Ajmera from the famed Amrapali jewellery family converted her love for art into a clothing line that pushes inclusivity with the philosophy one size fits all ...
Culture Trip

Culture Trip

Jenjum Gadi hopes to revive the magic of the reticent Galo tribe of Arunachal with wraps and sequins ...
A Picnic with Monet

A Picnic with Monet

IIM Ahmedabad and NIFT, Nidhi Yasha boasts of an impressive curriculum vitae, but behind the sharp mind are even sharper silhouettes and a nuanced understanding of design   ...
Fizz Control

Fizz Control

Pravav and Shyma embark on an ambitious journey creating a line for the iconic brand Pepsi giving it a Retro 80’s twist ...
Blue-Blooded

Blue-Blooded

Denim sees a nifty revival with Diksha Khanna’s chanderi twist, Huemn’s recycled ocean waste and Amita Gupta’s sassy Jodhpurs at LMIFW SS’20  ...
An Unequal Music

An Unequal Music

A victim of bullying and harsh judgments, facing rejection became a part of Tia Jamir’s life, but the 25-year-old transgender model learnt to toughen up and take life head-on ...
We should all be feminists

We should all be feminists

Two empowering women, Pratima Pandey and Rahini Ahuja, who represent the need for both practicality and reviving handlooms make the perfect opening for LMIFW SS’20 ...
Small towns, big stories

Small towns, big stories

From a village, then Gurukul to finally fulfilling her childhood dream of becoming a model, Reeta Gaur hopes to emulate her Bareilly-raised idol, Priyanka Chopra ...
The F Factor

The F Factor

Sakshi Sindwani’s journey from dietland to final acceptance and body positivity serves as an example for curvy girls fighting to fit in a largely stereotypical world  ...
Sun is also a star

Sun is also a star

Evoking Herve Leger’s spirit in his offerings, debutant Sameer Madan hopes to revive the bodycon dress which has been abandoned, with his line “Entrapment” ...
Fat! So?

Fat! So?

Encouraged by FDCI’s “passion for fashion” call during model auditions, Beena Malji at 48, a plus-sized model is hoping to start a dialogue about body positivity     ...
Hide and Seek

Hide and Seek

Neha met Pranav and there was an invisible ‘cord’ that bound them to create leather accessories and easy clothing ...
Half the Sky

Half the Sky

Runa Laha is an example for those who look at age as debilitating and glamour to be a reserve of youth ...
Beyond the Sunset

Beyond the Sunset

Jakarta opens it arms to Indian ethos as Charu Parasher wows them with her unique khadi silks and batiks at a unique showcasing, organised by the FDCI in collaboration with the Indian embassy ...
A Room of One’s Own

A Room of One’s Own

Pratima Pandey celebrates “beauty with intelligence” as she completes ten years in the business of making women look powerful having returned after a successful showcasing in Jakarta recently ...
Beauty is a Verb

Beauty is a Verb

The Tamana show was a tribute to the undying human spirit, how it preserves even in moments of despondency and dependency, yet rises like the proverbial phoenix ...
Weaving Conversions

Weaving Conversions

How to make a neoprene-loving generation admire and appreciate the beauty and purity of handspun is the challenge the handloom industry faces today. Making it “cool” seems to be the answer both metaphorically and literally! ...
Wizards of Design

Wizards of Design

Live piano, six style gurus, fame, awards and a whole lot of mingling made the first historic Couture Hall of Fame awards, by FDCI, a runaway success  ...
The Admiral’s Son

The Admiral’s Son

Weightless is the new language of instruction, as couture swings in the direction of opulence minus cult musings, power posing, flurry of feathers or inventive iterations, just mixing craftsmanship with a Tarun Tahiliani brand of realism   ...
Sea Change

Sea Change

Gaurav Gupta has studied the “Undercurrent” like no one else and decided not to swim against the tide. His couture is lighter, subtler and unfussy, armed with his new offering of shiny baubles and sharp tailoring to create an awakening for those who possess an undeniable mystique ...
Goodwill Hunting

Goodwill Hunting

A precious jewellery line, stores in Delhi and Mumbai, and a Peacock Foundation that will give scholarships to the poor, Shane and Falguni are ready to ace the game! ...
Runaway Bride

Runaway Bride

Shirt-like lehengas, meet handwoven chanderi displaying a shift to new vicissitudes as Reynu traverses to the other side with veils and net  with “Savannah Saga” ...
Forever starts tonight

Forever starts tonight

Florals, Florence, and flounce, these aptly describe what the duo from Ahmedabad, Shyamal and Bhumika bring to the wedding table ...
City of Light

City of Light

Banaras, the sacred city, alive with the world’s within, serves as the leitmotif for Sulakshana Monga as the ICW line is redolent with cultural landscapes ...
Living Light

Living Light

From studying folds to becoming obsessed with Origami, Ankon Mitra’s 400 kg installation art, mirroring astute paper sculptures danced with unabashed abandon at ICW 2019 ...
Grace of Monaco

Grace of Monaco

The love for genda phool and pure nature gets a new canvas; abandoning geometry after three years Rahul Mishra pays homage to Monaco, not the elitist grand prix or Grimaldis, but humble unforgettables ...
House of Worth

House of Worth

Debutants Pankaj and Nidhi go back in time to Christian-Greek period of Rome to dig out treasures creating splendour with Trapunto quilting and hand-cut appliqués, their two signatures which have found a place of pride in their first couture offering ...
Art Spirit

Art Spirit

Being a trained artist thinking visually comes naturally to Suneet Varma. This ICW 2019 he introduces icy hues to capture hearts and craft a wonder book filled with spiritual literacy ...
Gray’s Anatomy

Gray’s Anatomy

3D, inner recesses of the subconscious Carl Jung mind, invisible relationships and Banarasi weaves were all interwoven with the warp and weft of engineered modernity in Amit Aggarwal’s iridescent flavours at ICW 2019 By Asmita Aggarwal ...
Theory of Harmony

Theory of Harmony

 Bindu and Surya, mother-son duo combine music, engineering and physics to create a line that celebrates tradition, minus the jazz By Asmita Aggarwal You could call him the prodigal son, the one who stumbled into fashion, seeing the silent, but evocative efforts of his mother. Mother-son make the best pair, ...
Backstreet Boys

Backstreet Boys

Finally men strutting on nothing less than late Prince’s everlasting number Cream....a break from a sea of dresses, came some abs and toned muscles, as stripes and checks played truant with a generous dollop of Bollywood By Asmita Aggarwal It was the perfect song to play in the background----- Rolling Stones’ ...
Day 3 : Hair and Make up

Day 3 : Hair and Make up

From Pallavi Mohans ‘70s sparkle to Namrata Joshipura’s futuristic vision, day 3 of fashion week witnessed hair and make up looks that pushed the boundaries and were an experimental departure from the norm. Pankaj and Nidhi The designer duos love for art transcended their showcase which was inspired by Dutch ...
Let’s go Dutch

Let’s go Dutch

Dutch architecture has remained etched in the memory of Pankaj and Nidhi, as they revisit past classics and romance the present with new surface techniques By Asmita Aggarwal Sometimes you have to let go of the past to enable a better future and that’s just what Pankaj and Nidhi did ...
Mind Gym

Mind Gym

 Soul surfer Namrata Joshipura lights up the ramp with her shine and offers youthful classics that will withstand the time and tide By Asmita Aggarwal In the skyline, parks, flyovers, nightlife to the streets, each element of New York, has found an interesting representation in Namrata Joshipura’s catwalk renditions. The ...
Going the whole 6 yards

Going the whole 6 yards

The sari is one of the few pieces of ancient art, which withstood the turbulent Indian history and the western influences that came with it. In conversation with the industries leading designers, about this infallible traditional creation and its relevance in a modern context. By Asmita Aggarwal The simple sari, ...
Imprinted

Imprinted

Organic café, interiors, menswear, there are many plans in the floral printed life of Charu Parasher By Asmita Aggarwal For 25 years Mohini Kakkar, a buying manager, wore woven saris to work at Central Cottage Industries, with a large red bindi. Closely observing her was her young daughter Charu Parasher, ...
Sound of Music

Sound of Music

Amrich ideates around their signature Shibori, to create comfortable clothing inspired by African textile, circular shapes and the rock and roll era When two NID graduates, Amit Vijaya and Richard Pandav came together to launch ‘Amrich’, they set a motto for their brand. It was, ‘elegance of simplicity, beauty of ...
Threads of identity

Threads of identity

Using khaadi, block prints and artisanal force, Vineet Bahl creates patterns depicting the paradox of human choice By Asmita Aggarwal For a boy who grew up in Kolkata, to a father who was into steel, Vineet Bahl has come a long way. From turning an absolute “no”, when he mentioned ...
Beautiful fall

Beautiful fall

30 years and counting, bustiers and 3D embroideries, Suneet Varma has now turned his lens to photography and is paying an homage to new entrants with an exhibition By Asmita Aggarwal He worked with the inimitable Yves Saint Laurent, the only living designer, besides Rei Kawakubo, who was celebrated by ...
Day 2: Hair and Make-Up

Day 2: Hair and Make-Up

Day two of LMIFWAW19 was witness to some of the most experimental looks. Whether it was the colour pink breaking the myth of its dainty stereotype, or Huemn and Nitin Bal Chauhan’s monochrome looks, breaking the mould seemed to be the trend this season. Gauri and Kunal – Emerging from ...
Imaginative Realism

Imaginative Realism

On Einstein’s birthday, it is best to quote him: “Life is like riding a cycle, to find balance, you must keep moving”. Prashant Varma encapsulates this agony and ecstasy of what we all ‘indulge’ in everyday---- Life! By Asmita Aggarwal His brother Siddhant, supported Prashant Verma’s dream by becoming “the ...
The dot that went for a walk

The dot that went for a walk

Pooja Shroff connects the dots by reviving Batik from Java, Indonesia and preserving its originality and candour By Asmita Aggarwal There are many firsts for Pooja Shroff this year, her debut show at LMIFW’19 and her new store opening at MG Road which she calls a small, quiet retreat. Four ...
The Man who knew infinity

The Man who knew infinity

Edgy, funky, colourful and multifunctional---Manoviraj Khosla, dresses a man of many seasons By Asmita Aggarwal His father who worked in Tata Tea, was a simple man, but Manoviraj Khosla, growing up was greatly influenced by his mother, a woman of fine taste. From Hermes, Balmain to Kenzo, she wore everything ...
Fresh from the Runway

Fresh from the Runway

From a mysterious smoky eye and graceful braids at Vaishali’s showcase, to Rahul Mishra’s eclectic burst of colour and glittering tear ducts, each look at LMIFWAW19 was paired with stand out hair and make up looks, that added to the magic of the show. LivaEco Show – Four leading designers ...
Laws of Simplicity

Laws of Simplicity

Rahul Mishra talks about his three obsessions - Maheshwari, monochromes and tailoring  By Asmita Aggarwal A regular at Paris Fashion Week, completing ten seasons and five years this year, Rahul Mishra is not one of those who will rest on his laurels, rather he looks at what’s next? For any ...
On a beam of light

On a beam of light

Candid, irreverent, funny and unadulterated fun, brilliance is not defined by concepts, but by absorbing what we see around us, everyday from memories to upheavals, and translating it into intelligent design, just what Suket Dhir does! By Asmita Aggarwal Once going home in 2008, for a ‘Jatera’ at his village, ...
The Ground Beneath Her Feet

The Ground Beneath Her Feet

“When you know what you're against you have taken the first step to discovering what you're for,” Salman Rushdie had wisely commented. Similar was the case of Vaishali Shadangule, who left home in act of rebellion against societal pressures that dictated she live an ordinary life. Today, she is anything but ...
Arabian Nights

Arabian Nights

Diksha Khanna uses sharp contrasts and bold choices to bring to life ‘Hadith- A Desert Storm,’ her Autumn Winter 2019 collection, inspired by the bustling bazaars and quiet deserts of the East Amongst the greatest of Diksha Khanna’s creations, the coveted denim sari holds a special standing. The bright blue ...
Harvesting Hues

Harvesting Hues

Preparing to dye her fabrics in natural colours minus any chemicals, Shalini James displays her botanical prowess, while Sahil Kochhar pays homage to appliqué, sewing many moods of grandeur By Asmita Aggarwal The beauty about speaking to Shalini James, a Chennai-based style aficionado is her commitment to the craft and ...
Walk Like An Egyptian

Walk Like An Egyptian

Light yet strong, the Liva fabric gets heady renditions on Day one of the LMIFW’19, with Samant Chauhan going the Pharaoh way, and Rina Dhaka invoking the spirit of Rajasthan By Asmita Aggarwal Sustainability is the keyword in fashion today as designers strive to work towards a greener planet and ...
Gully Boy

Gully Boy

Inspired by hip-hop and its honesty of lyrics, from the heartland of Punjab Paras Chawla brings Naka, a label that combines two opposing ideologies --- suiting materials for street wear By Asmita Aggarwal Small towns are producing some rare talent whether it is Tiso Ghari’s Badal Kumar from Buxar, or ...
Paths to the absolute

Paths to the absolute

Abstract musings meet innovative falls and constructed cuts in Disha’s label, Done and Dusted By Asmita Aggarwal Being a businessman’s daughter Disha Sharma grew up in a joint family where she always had a mixed reaction to every move anyone took. She got used to sharing joys, sorrows, astonishment, adulation ...
Triptych Theme

Triptych Theme

A farmer’s son, Badal Kumar undertakes a heroic trek from Buxar to the arch lights of the wilderness called Delhi and creates a line that must be lauded one stitch at a time. By Asmita Aggarwal He would walk seven kilometres everyday to reach his open air school where he ...
Without Compromise

Without Compromise

Juhi Melwani is certainly not Doh Tak Keh like her mom thought her clothes would be, rather they look at fashion with some sarcasm by combining androgyny with distaste for popularity By Asmita Aggarwal Her mother would often admonish her for the “weird” outfit choices, and say, “Your clothes look ...
Fittings Day 2 – A glimpse

Fittings Day 2 – A glimpse

All hands are on deck at Eros Hotel on day two of fittings, as LMIFW is just around the corner. Whether it is Samant Chauhan’s vision of the future in white, or Diksha Khanna’s homage to the Middle East, eclectic concepts emerge in full force. A glimpse into what to expect from leading designers at Lotus Makeup India ...
The unDutchables

The unDutchables

From the land of canals, Anne Frank, tulips, comes Hannah, who would like to see the world, with a catwalk saga By Asmita Aggarwal Away from the city life, Hannah came from quieter spaces, The Netherlands, and was thrown into the madness of Delhi. At 15, she was spotted and ...
Sanctum sanctorum

Sanctum sanctorum

Serendipity got her to fashion, sustainable became her mantra, antiques her lexicon, Divya Sheth lets the past and future collide in her ensembles By Asmita Aggarwal With a family known to be loyal devotees constructing temples from Gujarat to Bihar, Divya Sheth never thought fashion would be her soul calling ...
There is a nice ‘ring’ to it

There is a nice ‘ring’ to it

Sushma Shah handcrafts jewellery from waste and manages to lure even the most unconventional buyer to try her experimental pieces! By Asmita Aggarwal Sometimes we aspire to do the exact opposite of what we see around us, maybe it is because we already know what it entails, the perils and ...
Norwegian Wood

Norwegian Wood

Priyanka Baid is shining the light on wood as an alternative to metal, as she handcrafts whimsical clutches armed with eclectic energy By Asmita Aggarwal Three daughters and a businessman father, who wanted an heir to run the family business in Kolkata made it hard for Priyanka Baid to choose, ...
Colour me red

Colour me red

Ambika Pillai has earned and held onto the reputation of being one of the country’s best make-up artists for almost three decades. Her understanding of beauty goes beyond current fads and instead, explores the context of the beauty world and its evolution. Crowned “Best Make Up Artist” by Vogue, and awardee of ...