Indo- Western blend, ode to textiles
Designer Sanjay Garg’s collection kickstarted Amazon India Fashion Week Spring Summer’ 16 in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Sanjay Garg of Raw Mango, a crowd favourite, debuted on Delhi ramp without any grand set, decor or DJ- esque music in the background. Titled “Mashru,” models displayed 45 incredible garments in the shades of charcoal, bright red, rani pink and parrot green during the show. “The garments in this collection aim to bridge the gap between textile and fashion, and at the same time, blur the categories of traditional and modern, old and new, past and present. The garments present technical advancements in Mashru that make the ‘ old’ textile contemporary, while retaining the luxuriousness that has always been an important part of it,” Garg said about Mashru fabric — developed in the 16th century, wherein silk is woven with cotton and worn by Muslim men.
The star- studded audience included celebrities such as actresses Deepti Naval, Soha Ali Khan and Konkona Sen Sharma, and TV personality Mini Mathur.
The Talvar actress said saris are essential part of Indian culture and she is happy to see people like Garg taking forward this tradition. “I love wearing saris and I am proud to see him do what he did today. The creations speak of endless stories, and designs fused with intricate techniques are so Indian – rooted, comfortable yet so stylish.”
Naval, who is not a regular at fashion shows, added that it was only for Garg that she decided to make an exception. “I don’t attend fashion shows, but I admire Sanjay’s work. I have spent a lot of time at his Mehrauli house, seeing and learning about textiles and handloom so I had to be here today,” she said.
Next up were designers Anavila Mishra and Vaishali S. with a back- toback show followed by designer duo Rabani and Rakha, Vineet Bahl, Kavita Bhartia and finally Shivan and Narresh with an offsite show at the Imperial Hotel.
Anavila drew her inspiration from “balance” and presented a wide range of hand woven saris in monochromic colour palette with hints of gold and silver and Vaishali presented her collection titled, Yajna, as an ode to textiles. The colour of the collection weaved a story in royal blue, deep black, pale and milky white and smoke grey and included fabrics from Maheshwar khadis gently transformed into asymmetrical drapes with free- flowing ends.
With a peppy and crisp edition of “The Beach Bulletin,” designer duo Shivan and Narresh invited their guests to an offsite venue made up to look like a beach resort. The duo, known for reinventing swimwear extended their forte and presented resort saris, gowns, dresses and more.
Drawing inspiration from prominent Mexican artist Diego Rivera, their collection included oneshoulder bikinis, Hollywood gowns, cruise dresses, bralettes with high- waisted bottoms, gorgeous trikinis in fabrics like leather, neoprene, jersey and more. The colour palette and prints reflected their inspiration — Diego’s surreal paintings. Speaking after the show, the duo said, “The real challenge was to keep the DNA of the brand intact while extending our universe or forte to develop saris and lehengas. We are a bathing suit brand and we made sure that we don’t lose track of our fundamental principles as designers. We used Italian fabrics and jerseys to create dresses that were not swimwear. The whole idea of an offsite show was to invoke a sense of holiday or an outing.”