Pioneering a new trend

More than 30 designers and many more models gathered at a New Delhi venue recently in a week-long celebration of style. The first ever such event, it produced a lot of colour, sound and excitement, but beyond these there was nothing substantial or significant to write home about, says GAUTAMAN BHASKARAN.

THE Recent India Fashion Week in New Delhi was the first of its kind. Thirty-odd designers put their ready-to-wear collections on the ramp, hung them up in their stalls and told those who visited them that they meant to take style to greater glory. They did all this under one roof, in a single venue.

Never mind that a point came when it became difficult to distinguish one set of garments from another. Never mind that at the end of seven days, it was impossible to discern any trend. Never mind, nobody knew where India was headed for in this sphere, although Sumeet Nair of the Fashion Design Council (which along with Lakme organised the Week) told me that they would soon publish a book spelling this out.

But till then, one had to look at the clothes and hear out the creators in an attempt to feel the wind. The younger, the fresher lot had something more pertinent to say and show, and one was tempted to train one's eye on them rather than on those who had been around for a while.

Aparna Chandra got started with a man who can be rightly called the pioneer of fashion in this part of the world, the late Rohit Khosla. Today, she combines the classic and the contemporary to produce unaffected understatements. They may be sexy, seldom vulgar. There is a powerful sense of style and finish.

"Rohit taught me these," Aparna tells me during a chat. "I admired these qualities in him. I never leave something unfinished. I always finish the look. This is something

permanent with me, unlike other aspects like colour and fabric which keep changing with the state of my mind. These are transient in my scheme of things."

Aparna loves to clothe the "full Indian woman" in Western outfits. "I think she is quite comfortable in them. I do not see her anymore trying to cross her arms in an attempt to hide an exposed part of her body...."

Monisha Bajaj studied fashion in Los Angeles and came back to New Delhi with the firm belief that "pret is all about minimalism, about clothes that snuggle next to your soul encasing your lifestyle in one happy medium". Call it eclectic, but her exhibition was certainly sensual, with a liberal touch of the folk form harmoniously woven into the Western attire. The office suits creased into brocade organza. Bikini tops and draw-string pants with a unique tribal angle marked yet another part of her presentation.

Monisha hopes that the emerging ready-to-wear market in India will bring in more professionalism. "I am not saying stylists lack that, but stores do. We still have to run after payments, and there really are no good multinational retailers where one can sell one's stuff. Also, we need to promote our own strengths, our own handicrafts. I like to make what I call Indo-Western outfits. There is so much of beauty in our own culture. I always use our own fabrics, even in my cocktail collections."

Aki Narula once lived in Calcutta before moving to New Delhi, where he now "zens" along with the unisex look. Theatre and cinema are also his passion: he designs costumes for them.

Aki, whose shift was guided by a desire for greater visibility - the capital offers that - says that he is sure to be right on top of the fashion wave about to sweep India, which is on par with the rest of the globe. "I think the designers have got their act together. It is high time that the retailers got their's together. Our finishing is amazing, our quality is fabulous, certainly mine is."

Aki cuts and shapes his dresses in a way that highlights a woman's personality. "I do not want Aki screaming across her. That is never my idea. I also encourage her to pick up separates from me and separates from someone else, put them together in a mix that will give her a certain uniqueness. Clothes must complement her looks, not overwhelm them."

Monisha Jaising was the only stylist from Mumbai in an ensemble that included New Delhi, Calcutta,

Bangalore and even Lucknow. She studied fashion in London, and that is perhaps where she developed an eye for detail. During the Week, she showed an array of slinky dresses in viscose jersey with embroidered floral motifs in red, black and beige. Low- waisted pants with delicate tops, at times covered by denim jackets, plus classic embellishments were part of her pret fare.

Monisha feels that there are excellent prospects for designer pret lines. The idea now should be to reach out to as many people as possible. The mood is favourable for this : a woman is all the more keen today to look good, she wants to spend money on fashionable products.

Ranna Gill's profile reads, "in the vibrant world of contemporary fashion, few stylists have consistently stood out in the crowd for their creativity, talent and attention to aesthetics. Ranna is one such rarity". The new millennium, with its optimistic mythical romanticism, inspired her towards a three-layered collection. The simple silhouettes in linens invoked the nationalistic fervour on the 1940s, while the 1970s are reflected in the "nirvana of naughtiness (radiating petals on sheer fibre in lemon, in turquoise and green). Finally, the present Fall opened out with tints of tango-n-tangerine, bemused beiges and stern blacks. There was plenty of silk to tease you.

Ranna thinks the Week was a great way of introducing trends particularly among the young. "They earn a lot of money to look good - keeping fit, keeping trim and sporting the latest in fashion. It is all about outer beauty. This is their basic desire." Is she sure of this?

"Oh yes, otherwise, they would have all gone spiritual. They have not...."

Kiran Uttam Ghosh's "Kimono" line from Calcutta picks and chooses from a range of international designs and adapts them to the moods and fancies of the Indian woman. At New Delhi, she focussed on embroidered cholis, delicate kurtas and dramatic hues. Flaming orange, dashing yellow and blood red came in V necks and straight silhouettes.

Kiran tells me that Calcutta today is as stylish as Mumbai or Delhi. "You will not believe me when I say that people from these two cities come down to Calcutta to shop for weddings. The prime reason for this is the exquisite craftsman available there. The karigars are fantastic with their hands. They are very artistic and they are not very expensive. So, it is possible to offer top quality at reasonable prices. This is good for style. This is what pret is all about, affordable designer-fare."

Manoviraj Khosla from Bangalore presented a mix of sporty stuff and evening wear. His strength is the cut, rather than embroidery. He concentrates on men's clothes, and he took us on a flight of fancy with his bright checks and satin. His shirts and kurtas had a flamboyant look.

Manoviraj avers that he believes in fun outfits. "Things you can wear all the time. I have completely gone off ramp gimmicks. I found after many years that at the end of the day people wanted to see what they could actually wear. This is what brought in appreciation even at a show. I think it is a waste of time doing garments that cannot be used."

Unfortunately, fashion is largely gimmickry here, and, maybe stylists like Manoviraj can pioneer a down-to-earth trend.

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