Bollywood wife and glamourista Suzanne Roshan may have turned many heads in her little red number as she sat in the front row of buddy Surily Goels show at the WIFW SS 13, but it was undoubtedly the quiet and extremely dignified Aditi, daughter of textile revivalist Jaya Jaitly in a soothing green sari, glittering nose stud, and a red bindi, who stole the show! Wendell Rodricks should be a happy man, he got appreciation from none other than a woman who truly understands style and has abandoned ultra short sequinned wonders for true Indian flavour and that too at a showing that is celebrating what the country really stands for, craftsmanship.
With the rhythmical Jesse Radhawa opening his show in a beachy Goa number with high slits and a sequinned silver bustier, Wendell took us on joy ride through his floaty, dreamy collection that reflected his attitude towards life, easy going, relaxed as nothing was rushed or deliberate. Cowl back tops, wrap skirts in muddy colours with the midriff subtly revealing, Wendell did what he does best, make clothes for hour glass figures who are not sacred to show a shapely leg or a well-endowed bust.
The day started with restrained elegance with Payal Pratap taking the catwalk by storm with her ode to Kutch in all its glory. Colourful stitch embroidery, almost gypsy-like with gilets, wide legged trousers, well-fitted bodices cinched with leather belts and transparency made an interesting play for space on a vibrant palette that ranged from pleasing purples to hints of hot pink to liven it up.
The cute touches came in the form of sunflowers, ingeniously placed on nimble shoulders and of course, dexterous tie-up backs. Quite a U-turn from the famous better-half Rajesh Prataps design aesthetics! It was minimalistic, colourful yet controlled, and Payal proved that it was time for her to come into her own.
And then came red carpet glam in the form of the pocket-sized bombshell from Mumbai Surily Goel who besides getting all the divas from Bollywood sitting on her front row, Riddhima Kapoor and Natasha Nanda, gave guests a good dose of sexy, well, fever, incidentally which is also the name of her WIFW line. Flirtatious sequinned shorts, scallop tops, swaying fringes and flap dresses were fun, but it was the Aztec prints that really got the boat sailing. And when this was paired with geometric embroidery it turns quite charming.
It was a day of diversity, with Anand Kabra giving us the Hyderabad blues with his jaali work, reminiscent of the Nizams and their opulence, airy shararas stopping a little short of hitting the ankles and tunics almost extending below the knees. The interesting part was the asymmetry, pristine white tops and pre-stitched saris worn with dull gold blouses.
Nobody can play with textiles and pure Indian fabrics the way Poonam Bhagat can, and Chanderi took centerstage at her show yet again. On an egg white canvas, Poonam used brush strokes of red, emerald green and pink to create a line that reflected her travels to Samarkand and Bukhara in 2002. The beauty and culture stayed with me and all the ideas I had collected in my head for ten years were consolidated to make this line, she beamed. Poonam never does prints, she finds them too easy so she takes the road less traveled and goes in for hand embroidery, which is painstaking but beautiful. Art emerges out of a 3D look not a flat print which has nothing to offer, she smiles.
Kolkata-based Kiran Uttan Ghosh made orange palms sway on jackets, and didnt forget her Indian roots by giving Ikkat a cool twist and adding a metallic touch by using it on dresses. Pleating was clean and precise whether it was in pyjamas or saris, and the sarongs looked fun just like the pinafore kurta dresses.
Paras Badoliya and his design partner Shalini have been in the business of fashion for over 15 years now, but unlike many who like to undertake experiments that go horribly wrong, Paras sticks to his luxe philosophy. And to do this he got a little help from tulle, and nets as mermaid skirts reminiscent of Hollywood glamour floated on the catwalk. Lace added a delicate touch and the floor length gowns took you back in time to 1910 when gold, beads and romance chose to be understated.