Veteran designer Ashish N Soni wows with his clean, minimal line which saw a play of monochromes as he gets set to launch a sub-brand Ceremonia.
Twenty-one years back when Ashish N Soni started his line and attempted to sell a plain, white shirt to a woman, he found few takers. Today the new-age woman has graduated from a salwar-kameez and sari to wanting more and thats why he has launched his label Ceremonia, or ensembles targeted at celebrations.
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It will be a sub-brand and offer red carpet clothing, I started with monochromes, but it will have colour eventually, says Ashish, who presented his line at the WIFW SS 14 grand finale aptly titled La Dolce Vita.
Recreating 50s Hollywood glamour, Ashish captured the post-war period through his prints which ranged from polka dots to retro, all done in-house. The mosaic prints were distorted and then reversed for a heightened effect, explains Soni.
He then pleated the hems of dresses and skirts and played with the revered 50s silhouette flare and fit. The hardest part about blacks and whites is that it is a deadly combo, which looks pleasing, but what looks fun to do is the easiest to mess up, so we had to craft the ensembles perfectly, he adds.
Ceremonia was born out of seeing the need in the market for clothing that you would want to wear at black tie events so there were dinner jackets with single buttons, waffle jackets, double breasted blazers, tuxedos and ball gowns. Menswear has been Ashishs forte and his clean lines and innovative use of lace for mens jackets which is usually reserved for lehengas or saris was fash-forward.
The biggest challenge, however, for Ashish was 60 models, 60 outfits to be co-ordinated on the notes of a live Delhi-based jazz singer Vasundra and a 20-member orchestra with a fabulous Spanish conductor. We had practiced 5-6 days before and we were trying to establish a synergy between the clothes and music, he smiles.
And there would be no one better than Anil Kapoor to be the showstopper with his successful Hollywood career. I called up Sonam and requested her if she could ask her dad, and Anil agreed. I didnt want a showstopper for the heck of it. Anil was the right match, he concludes.