The busy Day 3 of Lakmé Fashion Week Winter Festive 2019 was all about novelty stemming out of the signatory design language of the show presenters, as they touched base with new techniques and silhouettes to ease out of their comfort zone.
Several Indian art techniques were reprised by the designers in more contemporary and modernist silhouettes, be it for the Indian bride or the everyday corporate personnel.
This crop of designers definitely had the audiences’ attention as the footfall for Day 3 was a lot bigger than the previous two days, marking a good day for the buyers and designers at the stalls as well. Here is the selection of the top 5 designers who stood out on the third day of LFW W/F’19.
Abhishek Sharma: ‘ARUP’
Opening the third day, the designer decided to showcase his expertise via fine tailoring, clever drapes and distinct style statements that thrilled the buyers. The collection celebrated the union of male and female forms. His creations were inspired by traditional Mithla paintings and spotlighted almost water colour-like canvas achieved using fabrics such as fluid chiffon and satin along with organza as well as handloom silks.
With a contrasting colour story of a lotus pink and muted pebble brought to life with hues of the night, the attires shined with techniques such as yarn couching, appliqués, quilting, printing and then topped it all with very fine hand embroidery. Womenswear technique exposition included delicate cutwork, layered blouses teamed with slim skirts, while drapes appeared for slinky creations that were topped with cropped cascading dolman sleeved jackets.
The highlights were pink mini with 3D embroidery, fringed mini topped with a sleeveless jacket and the asymmetric tunic with pants, furthered with designs that included ruching, plissé, mini capes, while the lehenga with a one-shoulder top offered variety for a festive wardrobe.
Menswear included tailored options in brown, grey and beige with elegantly tailored jackets topped with winter coats and floppy lapel jacket paired with waist coat and pants.
Label Ritu Kumar: ‘Structured Pastoral’
A sartorial approach to bring out the cowboy in the wearer, Label Ritu Kumar’s collection, “Structured Pastoral,’ was a bold initiative by the designer to address the modern, experimental woman through fresh, spunky aesthetics. The designer translated the pastoral and equestrian settings via silhouettes that included the mixture of divided bottoms layered with sheer skirts over it, lace blouses with yoke, flouncy sleeves, panel dresses accessories just right with harness, leather headbands, waist packs, fanny bags, leather Obe belts and an occasional horse whip at the waist.
The colour story was a bold mixture of fiery red and neutral black supported by other brights of the rainbow added. A highlight was the introduction of knitwear by Label Ritu Kumar, which offered some interesting masculine touch to the silhouettes and styles. Fabric selection included tulle, chiffon, silk and cotton along with leather to elevate the design details of the creations.
Key highlights were pleated dress with tulle overlay, maroon lace dress, embroidered jacket with stretch pants, pleated ombré purple/black skirt with white lace yoke blouse and a printed floral pinafore. Spotlighting the equestrian part, garments that would appeal to lady jockeys had breeches, shirts and cool pants. An eveningwear collection was included as well with the final shimmering line of pants, bustier, shirts, pleated skirts, gold dazzling mini bolero with rear fringes.
Ridhi Mehra: ‘An Ode To Heirlooms’
Ridhi Mehra unwrapped her collection ‘An Ode To Heirlooms’ with the belief that “Anyone may have diamonds but an heirloom is an ornament of a different kind,” with a three-part collection, where she mentioned that, “Wisra was a mix of Gujarati and Kashmiri forms for the Demi couture line with bohemian touches, while Ziya, combined Patola motifs with chintz and Kashmiri embroidery. Finally, Zaib was a mix of ikat, bohemian and Kashmiri prints with a contemporary touch.”
The range championed rich Kashmiri Pashmina shawls, rare Basra pearls, inherited vintage jewels and hand-woven silk saris, and a mixture of the traditional and the modern with Gujarati motifs from Patola textiles were effortlessly blended with Chintz designs, in Kashmiri embroidery, to create breathtakingly alluring silhouettes.
The techniques included an exotic play of embellishments, French knots were juxtaposed with Dori couching and Aari work, while the vivacious prints added intrigue. Using the splendour of royalty, the designer showcased a trio of ikat, bohemian and Kashmiri aesthetics, along with customised belts. Using the splendour of royalty, the models sashayed down the runway in a treasure trove of colours, ranging from ivory, ecru, champagne, jewel, sapling blue to emerald green, Persian red and Topaz.
Nachiket Bharve: ‘Passport Princesses’
Giving an ode to the women of today who keep travel at the Center of their lives, Bharve presented his collection outlining the colourful design language of the Caprese brand named the ‘Passport Princesses’. The line encompasses of a mix of coordinated separates, which were designed for events on the international calendar.
The collection stemmed out of the inspiration from the languid Moroccan flavours with the sprig of leaves motifs embellished in gold silver and white on the luxurious eveningwear. He championed his signatory inclination towards surface decoration over fabrics such as georgette, velvet, silk and tulle with hues that had the hot red and black as the prominent players with support by white, maroon and blue.
Fringed embellishments in white silver and gold along with patterns achieved with hand punched wool felt appliqué showcased the designer’s prowess in the field.
Jade printed poncho with fringed hemline and teamed with ivory palazzos, longline robe, black sheer maxi over bodysuit and the 3D embellishments on floor length gowns were the key standouts.
Kanika Goyal: ‘Paus(e)itive’
Starting of with a tremendous branding initiative of both the designer and the beer brand Simba, the Kanika Goyal x Simba beer ended the day on a high note. Celebrating youth and colours, the designer put forward a series of transitional silhouettes with bold prints and clever colour blocking.
The ‘Paus(e)itive’ collection took cues from the idea of constant use of technology in the fast-paced world, where taking a pause for relaxation and self-care is what the designer feels is needed. Staying true to the label’s signature of contrast, the collection was a perfect mix of tailoring and fluidity.
Neutrals and earthy hues formulated the major colour palette with hints of subtle pinks and blues for colour contrasted against saturated red and yellow as accent shades. Multicoloured metallics added the dramatic look in the creatively colour-blocked collection. The garments perfected structuring with touches of streetwear wrapped in a tailored line. Surfaces were filled with mixtures of organic structures, geometry in the form of prints, textures and for the humorous sarcastic element, typography was used with motifs such as ‘feelings.zip.’
Biggest highlights included a jacket with cut out elbows and multicolour-striped midi skirt layered with an off-shoulder metallic cropped top.