Engineered clothing, ten years and some gravity-defying shapes by Amit Aggarwal made couture fantastical!
By Asmita Aggarwal
Amit Aggarwal engineered couture is a play of shapes and structures, breaking norms, whether it is getting Sushant Divgikar for a fleeting appearance or flipping the seating at the JLN Stadium, the designer knows how to pepper the showcasing with theatrics for his ICW 2022 line.
As he completes ten years building a niche clientele, who are ardent followers of his fabric manipulations and sinuous ensembles, created out of ingenious materials, he wanted to show his mastery over structure. Thus, the unexpected surprises when you wear his form-elevating ensembles, and for a generation that likes to push the envelope in modern and social media dressing, you know that AA will take you to the next level.
Adventure-seeking unconventional ideas, you move along with the fabric and it alone conjures enough drama for you to be the show-stopper at your own party. The tangerine, lemon, neon, sheer details along with fit and flare, sequinned lapels, lehengas with built-in arm holes in the new-age duppattas are the seasons additions. The art of contouring may come from his genes, with his engineer father, making construction his forte, translating impossible ideas into a cohesive form.
There is a distinctness to the collection, it has a quality of originality that few can achieve in ten years of creating pieces that satiate a trend-savvy young audience, who is always hopping on to the next best thing. Greek-inspired drapes coiling around the female form with menswear boasting of jackets with a wave effect, each piece has an interesting twist to it.
Bodycon is his language this year and pleating his favourite as Amit is not looking at functionality, but making sure you are ready for theatrics in his sometimes, bold flowers and even bolder oval neck pieces. It is the unpredictability that makes each of Amits gowns a talking point and how he effortlessly combines techniques and processes.
The live music was by Kavya Trehan, added to the expanse of the stadium, which gave the designer enough ground to create a mood, with the empty seating serving as an artistic background. Amit had styled me for a tour, and I became a fan since then, says Kavya, who has been a performing and recording artist since she was 14. As it was a momentous year, the setting was cinematic, with a sense of future, the warping of time.
The music began with a glittery abrupt beginning and moved on to metal, playing with opposites, breaking tempo, and adding to this war-like percussion. Vocals were by me mixed with a looper, and just like the garments, there was also attention to detail in the music, she concludes.