Gotta, intensity of colour, dynamic artisanal work, there was minimalism despite the sandstorm of maximalism in Anjus lexicon, as she took us to the land of jharokhas and aad (princess chokers); it was seduction by royal charm.
By Asmita Aggarwal
Kishangarh, Rajasthan takes you back in time, when in the 18thcentury miniature painting found favour under Raja Savant Singh, who was a poet and connoisseur. They were rendition of the clamorous love affair between Radha and Krishna and as Anju Modi believes in women power, this year too she stayed true to her theme and courted ebony and ivory in a market that never cuddled the duo.
My new collection continues to explore the many facets of women. Sunehri Kothi is inspired by the land of folklores, of defiant yet compassionate princesses, their tales of courage as they held fast to their honour, and that of their families. The collection draws from the architectural references (the Sunehri Kothi of Rajasthan), a humble yet resilient edifice that is symbolic of the essence of a woman, she says.
Menswear had safas with glittering brooches, as well as salmon pink bundis and gold and white layered lehengas with gold foil work, and gotta borders, which have been Anjus signature, complete with fluttering butterfly rings.
This ICW 2017 has been a season when the cape has catapulted itself to fame, as it has been tinkered with, by almost all the couturiers giving it an all new silhouette. Anju added a trail to her mustard ones and she also experimented with clashing colours or colour blocking by teaming two ends of a spectrum in one lehenga. So olives met lemons, aqua marines with pinks, as duppattas (she added two, one to cover the head and other mostly brocade neatly pleated in the front concealing the midriff) were fastened with gotta belts and jade coloured mens sherwanis came printed with entire forest scenes plucked straight out of a miniature painting.
The asymmetric tunics were interesting, in two colours you would not expectaubergine with Cyan as Bajirao Mastani style skirts for men were worn with kurtas and sherwanis making it a layered magnificence. Viddhi Sharma sang thumri with Raag Pahadi and Jay Jay Wanti as Ajay Prasanna the flautist and Ahsaan Ali on the sarangi transported us to the times of dusty havelis, once drenched in colour, promising picture perfect moments, intricate frescos, vintage Bentleys and moustached men! So there were zari embroidered velvet lehengaswith deer running across reminding you of the golden one, Maricha in Ramayana, who kidnapped Sita.
Interestingly, tassels now have a story of their own—they come pearl ended, bugle bead encrusted, fabric manipulated or just Macrame knot ones and each designer has used this sweet nothing to add grandeur to his ensemble.
In a world where lensmen often get more excited about a Bollywood beauty than a niftily executed Cretan stitch with beautiful curved, feathered edges, the half-German-Bengali Dia Mirza (her Munich-based father is a renowned architect) seemed just the perfect shutterworthy showstopper in her veiled avatar and an ash grey lehenga and ornate naath.