While designer Anushree Reddy’s collection spoke volumes about romance and femininity, the duo of Sukriti & Aakriti delved deeper into Indian traditionality, reflecting the festive season. Masaba Gupta chose to collaborate with music to lift spirits in these unprecedented times at the Lakme Fashion Week 2020
Designer Anushree Reddy’s bridal collections have been the most sought after by the brides and their entourage for years. At Lakmé Fashion Week 2020 Digital First Season Fluid Edition, Anushree unveiled another offering Nazira (meaning glowing with happiness) for bridal trousseaux shoppers. Once again there was that uber reflection of romance and femininity in the ensembles as they glided through the show on models. Anushree’s creative design directions have always been deeply rooted in traditions.
The colour spread showcased a delightful array of hues. There was the ever-neutral pristine ivory as well as the haute bridal favourites like peachy pink, cherry red, strong royal purple and regal navy. When it came to the embellishments, she allowed her designing skills to bring in large offerings of handcrafted 3D crystal work, which was balanced perfectly with Katdana and delicate thread work.
Embroidery was the star of her collection with fine detailing like ornate scalloped edges for hemlines, dupattas and cholis. Dazzling latkans hung tantalisingly at the waist while strappy gowns replete with the most exotic blooms splashed all over were mesmerising. The almost lacy treatment with embroidery given to the choli sleeves presented a fragile look. The saris were treated with great opulence as the embellishments were lavishly used for the pallavs, borders and cholis.
Ridhi Mehra’s collections have always moved with the fashion-forward trends season after season. For Lakmé Fashion Week, her collection called Reflections moved from modifying to modernising the fashion story. The leitmotif of the line was the ever-popular mirror work that was balanced with innovative designs and techniques. The inspiration was the royal heritage of Kutch that brought forth the characteristic bohemian craft in a riot of colour power play but suited to the contemporary silhouettes.
Keeping mirror work as the focal point on the ensembles, Ridhi fused in mixed elements of gota patti and zari on the silks as well as the prints that highlighted the fabrics like chiffon and organza. Offering a variety of silhouettes to suit the ethnic and western dresser, she unveiled anarkalis and luxuriously embellished saris and then moved to stylish jumpsuits with interesting design directions.
When it comes to showcasing creativity at its best for occasion wear, designer Jayanti Reddy can dazzle her buyers with her collections. Her line of ensembles, Rouge, was an ode to the different shades of red, which is considered the celebratory offering for all festive Indian seasons. The collection was all about vibrant seductive adventurous and bold clothes that will win the wearer showers of accolades wherever she goes.
Jayanti’s kaleidoscopic fashion directions started with the fabric base. Here it was the elegant silks, the sheer beauty of traditional chanderi and the slinky glamour of satin that enchanted her imagination. The silhouettes that fitted perfectly into the festive and bridal mood, moved from lehenga, choli, and dupatta trios, then added regal fluid capes and completed the fashionable menu with draped skirts.
From tiny cape blouses to regal long-sleeved cholis matched with asymmetric robes, Jayanti’s homage to red moved to long-sleeved gowns with scalloped bib necklines, puff-sleeved jackets and innovatively woven matted cholis. The anarkalis and dupattas were edged with ornate silver borders, while the angarkha style kurtas had embroidered bodice as the focal point. A flame-red satin sari was edged with glittering border, but the accompanying choli was a glitzy one-button addition. Embellishments were always the focal point of the garments as they appeared in discreet but glittering forms though at times they were lavishly sprinkled on the garments.
Celebrating fashion for the festivities, designing duo Sukriti and Aakriti unveiled their Neo-Phulkari collection. Phulkari, that often appears on bridal trousseaux, was given a revival touch by the designers, who incorporated it in fluid forms onto the Indian silhouettes. The base of the craft was the organic fabric as well as the naturally dyed gota work. In addition, Sukriti and Aakriti gave a creative contemporary thrust to phulkari so that it had a wider global appeal.
They started with a black and white offering comprising cropped pants with kurta. They kept the phulkari embroidery in all white for the black jacket. The designs included cropped jackets, white-on-white embroidered kurtas, kurtis, ghararas and flared empire line dress over calf-length pants. The ivory sherwani/lehenga duo, the peplum jacket, bralette and lehenga, choli, dupatta trio, as well as the seductive plunge ‘V’ neckline tunic over a white and gold maxi skirt brought formal wear into fashionable focus.
The black and white section was all about flamboyant styles as swirling long skirts looked perfect either with a bralette or giant balloon sleeved cholis, while a flouncy dupatta added that extra zing to the look. The showstopping pair, actors Radhika Madan looked radiant in a colourful lehenga, deep, round neck choli and dupatta that perfectly balanced Aparshakti Khurana’s embroidered bundi kurta and narrow pants look.
The electronics brand, boAt, teamed up with designer Masaba Gupta and unveiled a line of colorful headphone designs. Masaba will be back at fashion week next year to showcase her fashion collection that will be inspired by this collaboration.
She said, “We are super excited about collaborating with boAt. Lending House of Masaba’s aesthetics to their headphones will invite a new consumer and excite the existing ones with cool, fresh and quirky products. Lakme Fashion Week and I have a long-standing association, it is where I made my debut. I think that it is a platform that has consistently brought some amazing talent to the forefront. I am sure it would have been a little challenging in these unprecedented times that we live in. This seems to be a perfect collaboration. Through these headphones and my summer collection, I will be able to transport people into a parallel universe which I can’t wait to share with them. I am looking forward to this.”
