Day 4 of PCJ Delhi Couture Week 2012 presented two shows of opposite extremes. Both designers referenced bridalwear but whereas Shantanu & Nikhil’s fantasy bride was gothic and dark, Manish Malhotra’s was a fluttery sugar-dipped princess.
Shantanu & Nikhil’s show notes were far too deep in reference points especially since they threw in the towel and conformed to produce a bridalwear collection. Why not simply state that you want to do a different type of couture collection?
Referencing strong women such as Elizabeth I, the show notes continue:
Shantanu and Nikhil present the new bride this season of fall 12/ 13 , a women who has deeply inspired not only us but the world in total with her great power to withstand the extreme surroundings that constantly put her down… her avatar as a new age bride is complete as a women who believes that s he has the courage to rule and nurture time itself… the collection has colour palates of vintage and dark tones of burnt blues with a strong element of gold and finally a dose of black and red… all these colours are clear indicators of her personality that has been tarnished and scraped by the current socio economic conditions of the world we live in… the textures , the surfaces the silhouettes are somewhat harsh like depictive of how we as a community are treating the one we worship… it is this part we want to restore and resurrect.
Manish Malhotra is a crowd pleaser and showman. His couture presentation included Bollywood celebrity Katrina Kaif, film director and TV personality, Karan Johar and bare-chested male models.
His collections are beautiful no-brainers. There were no show notes, the collection is what it is yet even with the heavy bridal embroidery and layers of silk the collection managed to retain a youthful bounce and energy.
Bubbly