Day 5 Highlights From Amazon India Fashion Week 2016

Another great season in fashion wrapped up at Amazon India Fashion Week Autumn Winter 2016 this Sunday, with designers working together to create one-of-a-kind ensembles. Techniques, fabrics, and craftsmanship — all Indian — were the highlight of the day with design geniuses coming together for the grand finale titled India Modern. But even before that, the day rolled out some exquisite creations, both contemporary and ethnic, only to give us a glimpse of the sartorial talent India is witness to. Read on as I dissect each designer’s collection keeping in mind the use of fabric, colour, cut, and style.

 

Gauri & Nainika

A cocktail vibe with a costume-like quality is now synonymous with Gauri & Nainika’s collections. And it wasn’t any different this time around. We saw models strutting in floor-sweeping, voluminous gowns, and dresses with ruffles or exaggerated sleeves, if not both, all in an array of vibrant hues that ranged from orange, red, yellow to even blacks and blues. The duo suffused florals throughout their collection, using prints, applique and stone embellishments in abundance, and even turned to trends like the cold-shoulder in some. Perfect eye-catching ensembles for that formal evening event.

 

Hauterfly Pick: And off-shoulder structured gown in white with black floral applique.

 

Dolly J

Love That Remains was a collection that rightly entwined nostalgia and romance. Making use of classic silhouettes, the designer worked textures and prints on pleated gowns with ruffled sleeves, collared and wrap dresses, off-shoulder gowns, relaxed pantsuits and more. Hues ranged from pink and mint to black, wine, and even red. The butterfly motif appeared on certain garments.

 

Hauterfly Pick: This cold-shoulder midi dress with voluminous sleeves had hints of gold texturing on it.

Jaya Rathore

The designer’s line titled Containment ran a gauntlet of simple Western pieces to racy Indian wear. Quilting made an appearance in the best possible way; working as a dupatta at times with a twin-set of kurta-pants or as a jacket. The line comprised saris and sheath dresses with cut-outs, floor-length dresses with tassels, sheer tops with pants, and more.

 

Hauterfly Pick: This green cut-out dress with tassels on it.

 

Kartikeya

Influenced by the colonial era, designer Kartikeya fused an old-world charm in an Indian context. Intricate applique and gold embroidery made the base of this collection, which showcased ruched dresses, skirts with tiered ruffles teamed up with full-sleeved crop tops, voluminous gowns and more. Basic French knots also made an appearance. As far as the colour story goes, ombre played quite a role in the collection.

 

Hauterfly Pick: This mini wrap dress with a gold cinched waist.

 

Joy Mitra

Talk about an appetite for good design, Joy Mitra’s collection showcased just that. Ajrakh prints and hand-crafted gold embroideries were the highlights of his Indo-contemporary collection. On closer inspection, it did have quite a European influence. Lehengas with and without peplum tops, pleated tunics made up this collection. Blues and green reigned in his colour palette. As far as styling is concerned, every garment was accompanied with a scarf with trimmings and tassels on it.

 

Hauterfly Pick: This green and red lehenga with gold embroidery teamed with a brown scarf with tassels.

 

Soltee by Sulakshana Monga

Another timeless collection was presented by Sulakshana Monga. Made up of ivory, white and black, this line had gowns with net embroidery, floor-sweeping dresses with sheer panels, pleated gowns and more. The fairytale feel in the gowns that were cinched at the waist with metallic belts reminded me of Zuhair Murad’s 2016 couture collection.

 

Hauterfly Pick: This long-sleeved ivory pleated gown with net embroidery with a metallic belt.

 

The Grand Finale

Design connoisseurs like Anju Modi, Rahul Gandhi & Rohit Khanna, Abraham & Thakore teamed up with the younger brigade of fashion like Aneeth Arora, Amit Aggarwal, Samant Chauhan, Rahul Mishra, Pankaj & Nidhi to showcase a capsule collection at the grand finale. The final story titled India Modern was created by merging each one’s outlook with their trademark style. It was a visual treat, with one left wanting more.

The designers worked their distinct methodology by using either techniques, textiles or embroidery that were desi. David Abraham and Rajesh Thakore displayed the extension of their recent collection Shimmer. Working with earthy and golden hues, the designers re-envisioned the traditional Gujarati kedia and fused gold and metal foils with organic mulmul. The frock like silhouette was given hoodies and paired with ghararas and skirts.

Taking a cue from his AIFW 16 Autumn/Winter line The Gold Rush, Rajesh Pratap Singh was inspired by the Pichwai style of painting of Rajasthan. Using gold motifs that were handprinted on naturally dyed indigo, we saw an influx of zardozi on silhouettes that were linear.

The architectural motifs of the Hawa Mahal inspired designer duo Rahul Gandhi & Rohit Khanna, who worked with contemporary silhouettes in white and bold hues like orange and pink while Samant Chauhan used his signature flare silhouettes with asymmetric hems throughout the collection.

Rahul Mishra’s covetable collection was an expansion of his Paris Fashion Week display; he used artistic pottery motifs on evening gowns in khadi. One to bring about a dramatic vibe on stage was Amit Aggarwal who used bright hues of orange, red and blue to showcase overwhelming proportions in neoprene and organza, that were laced with sheer ruffles and pronounced peplums.

Anju Modi, on the other hand, played with mirror work, zardozi and block printing to create lehengas, asymmetrical-hemmed skirts and anarkalis. Keeping a highly modern approach, Pankaj & Nidhi made jackets, twin sets to even thigh-high slit dresses and flared-hem dresses with cold-shoulder detailing and tasseled epaulettes, with silk ikat in contrasting hues of orange and pink.

One among the best of the lot, Aneeth Arora used Benarasi woven fabrics, Chanderi and techniques like block printing for wearable pieces like maxi dresses with overlays. All in all, a unique showcase of sartorial modernism in India as interpreted by nine genius designers.