FALL'S STAR COLLECTIONS

Bazaar picks the top three collections from Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week’s Autumn-Winter 2013 shows

Rajesh Pratap Singh

THESE BLOODY NORTH INDIAN WINTERS

The Standouts: His cashmere-felt pant-suits for women were sexy and suave, while his graphic intarsia-knit dresses looked modern and retro at once.

Made in collaboration with The Woolmark Company, this collection bears testimony to Singh’s felicity with various types of fabrics, in this case, wool. Cocoon jackets in plaid and tartans, separates in fine-count, worsted wools, intarsia jacquards as dresses—this collection had it all. What also made this collection relevant was its nod to global trends with ankle boots, gloves, furry hats, rounded shoulders, wide-legged trousers, flared skirts, and Singh’s use of bright accessories to add accent colours. Plus, the return of tartans and patchwork, a major trend this season, echoed loudly on Singh’s ramp. And while the name of the collection may seem like it limits its scope, the designs are

truly global in both execution and outlook.

Ranna Gill

MOLTEN METAL

The Standouts: In a collection bursting with au-courant trends, Gill’s most memorable garments showed photographic, kaleidoscopic prints and were big on separates. Supermodel Nethra Raghuraman worked one such maxi to the hilt (left). Just when we had become used to Gill’s resort-inspired clothing in jersey (a fabric she favours in its summer-weights through the year), the Fall 2013 collection came as a surprise. The designer stepped out of her comfort zone and explored a city-slicker vibe through structured separates such as capes and trousers. She also developed a glamorous fabric by weaving raffia and Lurex yarns (pictured, on Gill) that had the weight and fall of damask, and used it to make gleaming jackets and trousers, that were, like most of her collection, perfect for an evening out. She also engineered her photographic prints for a line of dresses ranging from day-to-night shifts (shiny jacket added on) and flowing gowns that wouldn’t be out of place in a party at an Upper East Side penthouse. She even glamourised oversized ikat patterns through embroidery (after using them as multicolour motifs on a black base), and edited a lineup that kept us on the edge of our seats through the energetic show. The styles we absolutely loved were a sequinned sweatshirt that ended at the waist in the front but continued as a trail at the back, and a powdered-tangerine pant that was Gill’s take on winter’s pastel trend.

Anju Modi

STEEL MAGNOLIAS

The Standouts: Modi updated the trench coat-and-sari combo with jewelled brooches and embroidery that instantly glammed

up a pairing once seen as frumpy. She also showed western separates layered with Indian drapes and faux jewellery, which

made for a refreshing take on dressed-up daywear. It takes a genius to pair the feministic agenda (the collection was the

designer’s take on the strength of a woman) with the patriarchal traditions of the Indian Army. And Modi married these opposites with ease. Modi’s expertise with traditional silhouettes is unparalleled, and this season, she utilised her comfort with all that is Indian to break the rules in the most beautiful way. Militaristic jackets topped traditional

lehengas, saris came with cropped jackets, and the war machine of ancient India, the elephant, appeared through the collection as a print

and embroidered motif. Epaulettes dripping with silken tassels and embellished with zari and zardozi topped panelled, plaid jacket-blouses under which gorgeous ochre and ivory lehengas with gota-patti work flounced to the models’ walk. The farshi, ancient India’s answer to the

palazzo, came topped with kurta-jacket designs that featured regimental-style braiding and brass buttons and studs on their fronts.

Resist-block prints on tussar silk saris (pictured, on Modi) added an old-world charm to a thoroughly modern and truly Indian collection.