The second day of IIGF 2018 was a fashion extravaganza that not only attracted many domestic and international buyers but also resonated with the fast-paced and highly developed skills that Indian manufacturers now hold over the fashion industry.
Several trends were spotted for the SS19 fashion season and most of them, in some way or the other, conformed to the resort wear trends the world is now following, setting the vacation mode on for the impressed prospective stakeholders.
Several light hues such as pastels, nudes, whites and neons were the most commonly followed colour stories. Let’s look into the five most common trends spotted at the IIGF 2018 that took place in Greater Noida, anointed as the City Of Apparel in the India Expo Mart.
The Threads and Voids of Schiffli
The breathable schiffli fabric with its signature beautiful patterns of florals, geometric shapes, indo-ethnic motifs embroidered on light, breezy fabrics is what attracted the buyers at the IIGF when it comes to spring summer fashion.
Extensive use of schiffli fabric to make breezy summer dresses, kaftans, beachwear cover ups, summer tops, skirts, casual pants, and scarves too could be seen at the fair.
This was paired with tie and dye print, tropical prints, and even embellished garments to create the perfect amalgamation of breathable, comfortable fabric and value addition design details.
The Art of Resist Print
Nothing resonates with Indian techniques quite as tie and dye, batik and bandhni and the skilled manufacturers at IIGF 2018, harnessed the offerings of resist printing by showcasing multitude of garments, accessories, and even lifestyle products such as bags and towels featuring versatile tie and dye techniques.
The different kinds of resist prints such as the standard patterns including the spiral, peace sign, diamond, and the marble effect to create intricate beautiful works of art done using stencils or tritik technique were very common.
Garments with longer, boxy or flared silhouettes were in conjunction with fabric knotting and gathering manipulation, setting the perfect resort-wear trend for the next season. A combination of patches with different designs juxtaposed over a solid fabric was also available for the customers.
Embellishment Extravaganza
The clients looking for high fashion value addition garments were not disappointed as many exhibits offered a wide array of high quality embroidery and applique work.
Light embellishment complimented paisley and indigenous motif hand-block printed fabrics and the sheer fabrics such as organza, chiffon, georgette, etc. Large beads and floral embellishment over heavy drape fabrics such as velvets, denims; on bright kaftans and beach cover ups to create the illusion of jewellery over neck and cuffs were among the most common forms of embellishment.
Not just exclusive to garments, embellishments brightened the soft goods and accessories such as cloth bags also had a fair share of embellished design details with neon beads, tassels, and pom poms arranged to create repeated geometrical patterns, floral designs, artwork inspired by cosmic entities were an attraction among the buyers.
The Call of the Tropics
Going along the flourishing laid-back yet vibrant, luxurious vacation mode of lifestyle, tropical prints were a common yet welcome sight at the fair.
Long skirts, pants, shirts, and tops enveloped in the beachy palm leaves and tropical flowers were among the most prevalent offerings under this trend.
Most of these tropical prints of various bright hues were set on contrasting solid fabric tones such as whites, nudes, beige, etc. and were even printed over beautifully embroidered fabrics and schiffli fabrics too.
Flock printing, rubber printing techniques were used to write quotes or make patches of vacation-inspired design objects such as umbrellas, sand, waves, tropical fruits and animals etc.
A treat for the eyes with a feel of wearing something light- tropical prints scored the most buyers.
The Neon Punch
Neon colours are a trend that find themselves back in the market every now and then and this time during the fair, neons were everywhere- from tops to bags and scarves to hats.
Not just sticking to neon prints, several manufacturers showed intelligent use of neon threads embroidered over contrasting fabrics to make the design stand out.
Dark velvets and carpeting fabrics were among the most common sights for neon coloured embroidery to pop up on. Several neon colours were placed on a single garment piece to produce geometric, floral, and bohemian style designs while other designs showed a single neon colour in combination with another colour to produce stripes, lines, and other similar patterns.
