The best of Indian fashion displayed at WIFW SS 2010

Actress Shazahn Padamsee displays a creation by designer Amit GT at the WLIFW in New Delhi, India.

Actress Minissha Lamba presents a creation by Indian designers Hemant and Nandita’s Spring/Summer 2010 collection at WLIFW.

110 designers displayed the very best of Indian fashion at the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) organized Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2010 held from October 24–28, 2009 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

The event is a platform for designers to showcase their talents to both
national and international customers.

The 14th edition of India’s biggest fashion trade event ushered in a new era of a unified fashion week represented by the best of India’s fashion industry, brought together on a cohesive platform for another season of cutting edge design, style and business. The unified fashion week saw the return of reputed Delhi designers such as Tarun Tahilliani, Ashish Soni, Rohit Bal, etc to the FDCI fold, while Mumbai’s crème de la crème designers - Wendell Rodricks & Narendra Kumar - opened WIFW SS 2010, Suneet Varma & Ritu Beri made a come back to the Pret ramp. WIFW SS 2010 also saw the work of debut designers who have shown flair, ingenuity and who have the right blend of creativity and commercial viability.

Actors Neil Nitin Mukesh, left, Manoj Bajpai, right,
and filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar display a creation by designer Reynu Tandon.

HIGHLIGHTS:

The USP of the very first day of the fashion extravaganza was Wendell Rodricks collection, which took inspiration from ‘The Cubist’, who was behind Picasso’s square lies and boxy paintings. Models walking the ramp for Rodricks, could be seen in jerseys, over-shirts and layered dresses as well as cowl blouses and long flowing gowns. The designer also brought back the asymmetrical dresses, while the show stealers were the sensuous ‘dhoti gown’ and the tunic sari.

Narender Kumar’s collection, very aptly titled ‘Introspection’, was mainly about the smart cuts and fine straight lines highlighted in pencil trousers. What stole the show for Nari were his one-piece short dresses and smart jumpsuits, with appliqué work and origami folds on hemlines.

Apart from being a fashionable experience indeed, the WLIFW saw Bollywood celebs in abundance. The cast of ‘Jail’ including actors Neil Nitin Mukesh and Manoj Bajpai, along with director Madhur Bhandarkar, walked the ramp for designer Reynu Tandon here, actress Minissha Lamba became the showstopper for designer duo Hemant-Nandita, Neha Dhupia grabbed all the eyeballs as she sashayed down the ramp for Kavita, Bollywood beauty Sushmita Sen along with sisters Riya and Raima Sen, and the Khan brothers, Salman and Sohail, showcased Sanjana Jon’s creations.

The third day of the Wills India Fashion week had ace designer Varun Bahl vowing the audience with his typical feminine designs oozing with color and chic styles.

Star power at Sanjana Jon`s fashion show causes stampede

Sanjana Jon`s show at the WLIFW may have been high on glamor with Salman Khan and Sushmita Sen walking the ramp with other celebrities but it turned out to be a “fashion disaster” and even caused a mini stampede post the show. While the designs looked amateur, ill-fitted, and extremely high on bling, the post show media conference was a total mess with almost 150 people — few of them from the media — vying for one “close” glimpse or an exclusive byte from Salman Khan. Though Sanjana was able to answer all queries before Salman came in to address the press, trouble ensued thereafter. The entire crowd started pushing towards the actor, much to the dismay of those standing in front and for the 10 bodyguards, who failed to manage the crowd.

A model displays a creation by designer Shantanu Goenka.

There was a mini stampede where female media persons struggled to even stand still. Salman waited patiently for the situation to come under control. But it only got worse. People were not only upset with the post show chaos, but Sanjana`s clothes as well.

Designer Rahul Jain of label Sirali said: “If this is fashion, all of us must die. Even though Sanjana is a friend, I would say the clothes were horrible - they looked straight out of Chandni Chowk or something. We designers put in days of creativity and hard work into our designs and then there is this sort of a show - happening only for the money and the star power. This is just so unfair.”

Designer Sanjana Jon

When her name came up among the showcasing designers at the current edition of WIFW, it caused a stir especially because no one was aware of her design talent. But she claims to have made her fashion debut at Cannes in 2004 and says she also participated in the 2005 New York Fashion Week. For her collection Sanjana drew inspiration from the Indian family system. Hence, she brought on stage a melange of celebrity siblings such as Salman Khan-Sohail Khan, Sushmita Sen- Rajiv Sen, Riya Sen-Raima Sen, Amaan Ali Khan-Ayaan Ali Khan, Shibani Kashyap, boxing champ Vijender Singh et al to spread the “the strength of love amongst siblings and family in India”. The show was a tribute to her brother, who has been sentenced to 59 years in prison.

[ BY HEMA FERNANDO ]