Gaurav Gupta understands what new-age women want, slinky, draped dresses in eye-popping colours. Neon was the flavour of the day, as GG, tempted all fashionistas with his kaftan style, floor length numbers with oddly placed zippers to create an irreverent mood. Unlike popular perception that Indian women cant wear neons, I think they actually do quite well in the domestic market. I stayed away from any kind of embellishment as the focus remained draping, he added.
Asymmetry teamed up with delicate stripes, as shocking hues like watermelon teamed up with sunshine yellow and hot pink made a grand entry. With just a touch of pleats on the shoulders Gaurav ingeniously used abstract sketches on his body hugging dresses in white to create a contrast.
Much like his cousin brother Puneet Nanda formerly of the label Satya Paul, Divyam Mehta is a lover of minimalism was Divyam Mehta. Ive always liked simplicity, and that I feel is the toughest to do, said Divyam. This addiction to draping and understated elegance could be seen in his well-cut linen dresses in pure white with just a little crochet flower at the shoulder. I like to fold and the Japanese style of wraps and draping has fascinated me, he adds. So you saw loose pants, kurta-style blouses in browns and pinks, which were balanced with his French chiffons.
Flowers were the obvious favourites as Manish Guptas floral fantasy in organza and cutwork made a heady combo, as his knee length dresses came armed with sequins and beads. Quite the opposite was Anupamaa Dayal who displayed her bohemian spirit with her love for everything lounge-y, dropped waistlines, kaftan dresses caressing the ramp, multicoloured threadwork, tassles were added to the ends of sari and dresses with roomy sleeves, stripes and sea blue scarves cascaded down the catwalk. The idea was to make it entirely wearable and give women the option to be comfortable yet chic, she says.
The day started with the label Bhanuni by Jyoti Sharma who used the royal combo of black and gold to highlight sequinned, paneled backs of dresses. Velvet cholis and full flared lehengas merged with dhoti pants and glittering even dresses with jaali work and Mughal-inspired motifs.
Kartikeya and Isha of the label Dozakh which means hell in Urdu, didnt show a line that was anything even close to it. Their two-toned dresses with sequined uppers and draped lowers were effortlessly glam, in some the lace trimmings added delicateness while in others it was the minty colours of bottle green and shading of blues that stood out.
The shy Nalandaa Bhandari likes to court red carpet glam, so her lime greens and cobalt blues with thigh revealing cuts would be a favourite with divas, but the clincher was the off shoulder embroidered bodice dress with a drape skirt in wine that Diandra wore with a little butterfly tattoo placed strategically in the middle of her cleavage!
Gaurav and Ritika used transparent draping in the front of dresses to give them an innovative twist and added pleats to give them an edge much like Nachiket Barve. Playing with ombre and appliqué, Barve paneled his skirts and belted his wrap dress. Cowl dresses, peplum tops, palazzos and halters created a stir in a colour palette that was visually appealing with avocado greens, lilacs and lotus pink dominating the spectrum.
The closing designer of the day Namrata Joshipuras monochromatic line was executed with help from tulle, as wraps, jumpsuits, peplum and cropped jackets, created a party mood.