Best of the best at Lakme Fashion Week Priti S Kapur’s creation Sabashe

Priti S Kapur’s creation

Sabashe by Sabah Khan

Mumbai: The Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) Summer/Resort 2011 from March 11-15 at Hotel Grand Hyatt not only saw exquisite creations by established designers such as Shantanu & Nikhi, Manish Malhotra, Anamika Khanna, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, and Rocky S, but also witnessed a lot of new talent like Manas Dash, Timsy Kamnoj, Shivaji Dutta, Deepti Pruthi, Manas Dash, Siddhartha Mittal and even a bunch of Japanese designers.

The Grand Finale show featuring designers Gauri and Nainika, renowned for their stunning creations, was presented by Lakmé at an elegant, extravagant evening. The Ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Hotel March 15 was turned into a veritable Fantasyland as it came alive with butterflies and birds cutouts suspended from the ceiling. The backdrop of trees and snaking vines around the arched entry of the ramp along with the throbbing strobe lights set the scene for the fantastic show. To the strains of the ABBA classic “I have a Dream”, Amrit Maghera descended from the ceiling reclining on a sliver of a new moon to open the opulent fashion presentation.

Gauri and Nainika, known for their glamorous Red Carpet collections, dazzled the audience with 31 creations inspired by the color cosmetic line Fantasy by Lakmé. With stunning creations and selection of elegant fabrics, colors, construction and silhouettes, the creative pair showed a breathtaking line of gorgeous evening wear with form fitting bodices that reflected the many moods of a woman. Unbelievable meters of diaphanous tulle, silk and French lace molded with horse hair and can can gave the outfits a surreal look.

The five looks from the Fantasy collection by Lakmé created to flatter the beauty of women, started with the Sugar Plum Fairy in shades of pink, followed by the Snow Queen in rainbow hues, The Cloud Princess surrounded by blues and greens, The Wandering Butterfly who is nature’s child, and finally Goddess of Gold surrounded by gold as she shimmers and shines.

Using the five looks, Gauri and Nainika creatively combined their styling and presented cocktail dresses with spiraling drapes and textures in pastel shades of white, blue, green, pink and yellow. One shoulder lace ensembles, cocktail draped and frilled creations, taffeta pencil dresses, mermaid lace and tulle ensemble and the three final magnificent ball gowns in lace and satin would have been the envy of every queen and princess in the world.

When the Satya Paul label appears on the ramp the look is truly feminine, glamorous and exciting. “The Jewels of the Sea” collection presented by Satya Paul at LFW was an ethnic and western offering comprising saris, lehengas and serene western creations. Using the inspirations of the theme cleverly, Satya Paul had a mix of Lurex and glitter net for its sheer quality and had prints and embellishments to create the elements o the sea. Divided into three segments the fabric choice was vast starting with chiffon, crepe, georgette and satin along with textured taffeta, organza, net and silk prints. Embroidery was added to create drama for the creations. Dresses, gowns, tunics, kaftans, blouses and pareos floated down the ramp in dazzling colors.

Unconventional silhouettes and a title that evokes instant interest is the way Abhishek Dutta told his collection story. “The Kite Runner” was a men’s and women’s line that blitzed on to the ramp with kaleidoscopic colors as canary yellow, tangerine orange and grape mingled with neutrals like ivory, beige and steel. With origami as his inspiration, Abhishek played with folds and created a mélange of hemlines, plackets and seams. Detailing was abundant with striking appliqués, laser cutouts, channel seams and screen prints for cottons linen and knit. When it came to the silhouettes, the designer gave a nod to comfort and preferred trapeze lines, shifts, yoga pants, cool summer jackets and draped creations. Shades of burnt sienna and coal, skin and egg and the frothy blue clouds – these were the colours that sailed down the runway as Lina Tipnis unveiled her “Fantastical Land” .

Giving a strong emphasis to cocktail and club wear the sharply cut minis, were tailored in basic shapes that moved from sheaths to shifts and trapeze silhouettes, with a few blouses and Jodhpuri trousers completing the look. Displaying a distinct shoulder emphasis for many of the garments, Lina added on interesting sleeves that moved from pegged to cowl. Using her signature Trompe L’oeil technique featuring the chandelier and coin print for the creations, the collection was a mix of style, practicality and colour coordination.

Introducing her line of specially designed jewellery earrings and rings Lina matched them beautifully with every garment. Giving a galactic title to each ensemble, Lina started with a dupion skirt in midnight blue with satin tank top, the stylish palazzos with black one shoulder top, peg dress in ochre with star brooch, elegant sienna dress with circular sleeves and jewelled shoulder patch, another shift with diamond harness around the armholes and an hour glass dress in midnight blue with jewelled shoulders. The shimmering embroidery was often added to act as necklaces or pendants on the dresses.

The final trench in black with pewter coin print had shimmering collar and epaulettes that ended the perfect summer ready-to-wear collection.

[ BY HEMA FERNANDO ]