Designers turn directors on day 2 of Wills India Fashion Week Fall-Winter 2013-2014.
Day 2 at Wills India Fashion Week Fall-Winter 2013-14 wasn’t just about cuts, trends or colours but about lights, camera, music and live acts. With a much larger turnout as compared to Day 1, this day witnessed theatrical performances in the name of fashion. Starting from Urvashi Kaur’s collection Fez where Delhi-based music band Space performed and got the audience to raise their hands up in the air to Tarun Tahiliani’s collection Kumbhback that recreated the magic of the Kumbh mela with Saffron being the colour of his clothes and the stage where models walked to live instrumental music by Sounds of Isha.
And if this wasn’t enough Anju Modi’s show wrapped up Day 2 on a patriotic note with her collection Steel Magnolia inspired by men in the army. So sounds of bullets, images of barbed wire on the screens and Vandematram playing in the backdrop actually made us believe we were at the cinema. And her collection was a pleasant mix of typical ethnic print sarees and kurtas in shades of olive green, maroons and khaki teamed with embellished jackets and Nehru caps. In terms of collection if Day 1 was dominated by structured and straight fits, Day 2 saw a mixture of unstructured garments and some absolute body fitted dresses.
The neon pop colours which were all over the place yesterday were replaced by earthy shades of browns, khaki, mustard, greens, maroon and more. Also, most designers were fashionably late at starting their show and rehearsals carried on till the last minute, making people wait for upto an hour beyond the scheduled time of the show. On the front row friends Suneet Varma and Rohit Gandhi were seen cheering for Shantanu and Nikhil; whereas Ustad Shujaat Husain Khan quietly sat through Anju Modi’s Collection. The only B-star visible was Gul Panag who walked the ramp for Urvashi Kaur.
The one and only time I ever made my own clothing was in grade 8 home economics. The entire class had to make Jams, brightly colored baggy shorts that made everyone instantly feel like a surfer. The pattern was provided but we had to go and pick our own material at the fabric store along with thread to match.
For your consideration this Halloween: Don’t play make-believe in macabre makeup or get out in a geeky get-up.
New Fashion Week organizers seek to bolster profile of homegrown brands.Eyeing the latest spring and summer styles may be the main draw, but with new organizers at the helm and a roster of emerging designers, changes are afoot behind the scenes and on the runway at Toronto’s Fashion Week.
Sarah Doukas is Britain’s alpha fashion scout and founder of Storm Modelling Agency. She tells Luke Leitch how she spots fashion diamonds in the hoi-polloi rough.
Move over, Harpers : it’s quite some coup for a high-concept fashion magazine like Centrefold to have secured the sheer strength-in-depth of high-fashion talent that stars in its latest issue.Founded in 2003 in London by creative directors Andrew Hobbs and Warren Beeby, Centrefold is an unabashedly specialist title that’s tilted squarely at print-obsessives. Hobbs says: “We have always loved the relationship between good design, paper quality and high-end printing, all married to great imagery. We work to showcase the work of photographers and graphic designers using our concept of having a fold-out poster at the centre of the magazine. And then we send it out to leading creatives in the UK and internationally, as well as making a limited selection available for sale at specialist stores.” This Storm-celebrating issue number 8 – whose pictures we exclusively reproduce here – was supported by the Manhattan Loft Corporation and riffed, says Hobbs, on the concept of “space”. Thanks to Andrew, the MLC and Storm for allowing us use of Centrefold ‘s work. To learn more check site.
Ok kiddos, it’s episode two of Project Runway All Stars and just as the clothes are sharper, so is the scrutiny! These designers don’t mess around and don’t hesitate to go brutal in the isolation interviews. And the judges expect much, much more from the little sewing wizards they’ve employed to make Project Runway relevant again.
Gordana: I was surprised by the color, but didn’t mind it even though it was 80’s bridesmaid at its finest. My biggest issues were the lack of elegance and refinement. The color with the sheer elements, the chain bib beading, the low-cut back – it was more high class escort in post-communist Ukraine than classy night at the opera. I could see plenty of celebrities gravitating towards this, but like the judges pointed out early on that’s a whole different crowd than the opera!
Rami – This was a mess of too many ideas, not well meshed together. Frankly, it wasn’t flattering and the proportions were odd. It broke up the body too much cutting her in threes – off the shoulder, tight at the waist and then tight again at the hip. Then the full skirt. From the side there was a lot of odd bunching in the stomach area – not cute.
Mondo: So sixties. So stunning. So fun. I’m a total sucker for an opulent Betty Draper costume. Couldn’t you just see her wearing this!? I thought the patterned silver was interesting, the bow in the back, while a bit large was fantastic, and the fit was spot on. Mondo always does a lot of details, but it never gets jumbled. While this was probably a little too referential of a by-gone era I don’t care, I love it. I appreciate that Mondo always has his own approach and he never strays from his own thinking. I’m glad Mondo is back.
Congratulations Austin: Austin had serious worries about living up to the expectations surrounding him, but as soon as his dress swanned onto the runway I knew he was a contender for the win. It was chic, elegant, understated, glamorous and striking all at once. I loved the tulle and the lame together, which can go tacky in an instant, but looked luxe and sensual. It was easily a red carpet show stopper, but classic enough to transition to the Met.
Michael: Issac was right – Michael’s dress was the exact opposite of Austin’s. While I could see Cate Blanchett wearing Austin’s gown, Michael’s belonged to Kate Beckinsdale (not Kimmie Kakes). When it walked onto the runway it was pretty breathtaking and you couldn’t look away. He had thought about ever angle and made the details very circumspect. Like the judges, my favorite thing was the covered up front with the extremely daring back.
Anthony: When Anthony was describing his gown, I was thinking ‘oh no,’ but it actually turned out amazing. The plunge wasn’t as extreme as I envisioned and the construction was impeccable. I agree with the judges that it seemed more red carpet than opera. It definitely was not bridal!
April girls: There was too much going on and none of it was impeccably completed. The judges were right to criticize her for being overly ambitious given the time constraints. April girls had some semblance of good ideas, but it got too jumbled and ambiguous because she didn’t have time to properly work through any of them. I think what saved her was that she did incorporate her own aesthetic into the gown and it had a point of view, or it would have if things had gone right.
Kara girls: I personally liked the fabric, but it certainly didn’t look like a Kara Janx girls dress, as Georgina pointed out. It wasn’t exactly striking and I think the shape was too elementary with no extra details. Isaac thought the +-proportions were off – it was too high-waisted. It needed a little zhu-zhu and that belt wasn’t enough.