Day 1 from Wills India Fashion Week in Delhi got off to a cracking start. Autumn/Winter shows in Delhi are usually of loose relevance as designers forget it gets Very Cold Indeed here in Winter and offer bales of chiffon to supposedly keep us warm. With a vodka shot please.
Veteran Indian designers showcase alongside the new generation and here I present three designers that showed yesterday and who can demonstrate the bredth of fashion coming from India:
This beautiful dress is by Preeti Chandra who offered a collection inspired by ‘matador chic’. It’s quite a tried and tested inspiration of designers from all over the world and Preeti managed to show creative interpretations such as above but inevitably fell into a literal translation veering on fancy dress.
Next up is Vineet Bahl a designer known for his prints and he didn’t disappoint offering looks that would certainly get attention in London for all the right reasons. The collection took inspiration from world travellers, presumably the wealthier ones not grungey backpackers. The color palette was varied but flattering and I am particularly fond of the skirts as I have a soft spot for bows.
Anju Modi is one of the founding members of the Fashion Design Council of India and she offered a collection inspired by ‘nomadic wanderlust’ or more specifically from the regions of Uzbekistan, Afghanistan & Pakistan touching the Kutch border in India. Anju’s collection was more traditional featuring saris and layered salwar suits. The colour palette was flattering but I’m afraid to say boring. Anju also managed to demonstrate nicely that it is difficult to wear traditional clothing and keep warm and look good.
The jacket the designer offered here is quite fab and I think would look good with a pencil skirt, jeans or cigarette pants but not with this [badly draped] sari:
I don’t know any women who would want her legs to look like dressed lamb. I feel the dress could have worked had it been styled differently and that the women of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan could have given some styling tips to the designer.
Sadly none of these Indian designers have UK stockists but look out for them on your next visit to India and when perusing the fashion pages!
More tomorrow, whoop!!
Bubbly
The Chatterjis Blog 