Day three of Lakme Fashion Week Winter-Festive 2015 saw Narendra Kumar showcase a bridal line called The Monaco Diaries, presented by Monaco Tourism, a first-of-its-kind fashion collaboration in India, whilst am:pm (Ankur and Priyanka Modi) turned back the design clock to a time when Islamic arts and crafts flourished with their collection called Siyah. Actor and comedienne Vir Das debuted a casual clothing line aptly called Weirdass Pret-A-Funny and Nachiket Barve went goth with his Chiaroscuro line.
Narendra Kumar
Narendra Kumar’s Monaco Diaries brought the Mediterranean microstate of Monaco, situated on the French Riviera, alive with his bridal trousseau line for the contemporary, jet-setting woman, which he exhibited on day three of LFW. All that was missing at Kumar’s show were flutes of bubbly and tangy summer cocktails. The show opened with a beautiful coral-toned line with a dominant rose motif, ranging from skirts, jumpsuits, linen suits and floor-length gowns — very reminiscent of the ‘50s era when Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly epitomised fashion globally. It was everything a modern bride would want to wear at a resort destination wedding, her own or otherwise, apart from de rigueur bikinis and denim cut-offs.
The marriage between rich fabrics such as velvet silk, sheer organza and lace in coral, mint, lavender, midnight blue, burgundy and purple with minimal accents resulted in quintessentially sophisticated outfits.
Kumar limited the silhouettes for women’s wear to bubble skirts with flaps, and ornate, glittering bodices for the dresses, with peplum jackets and blouses paired with pants and skirts. The Monaco Diaries line had something special for everyone, my personal favourite being the entire range in coral, especially the stunning rose cutwork skirt and the jumpsuits. His menswear was largely a linen affair with suits, jacquard jackets and bandhgalas in beige, peach, mint and burgundy tones, contoured closer to the body, with two-buttoned jackets teamed with skinny, ankle length trousers. The heavily tattooed and very haute British model, Stephen James, wore Kumar’s suits flawlessly.
“The rose is the dominant motif in The Monaco Diaries line because it is the national flower of the Principality of Monaco. I wanted my line to manifest the regality, pomp and understated elegance of the Riviera through the garments, visually. When you see the line, you should be transported to any part of Monaco that you so desire, wearing my clothes — be it to brunch, dinner date, a stroll on the beach... the Grand Prix or glamorous wedding functions like mehndis, sangeets and what have you. This collection is about destination weddings and travel for the jet-setting modern man and woman for whom home could be anywhere in the world,” Kumar said.
am:pm
Husband and wife duo, Ankur and Priyanka Modi of the label am:pm drew inspiration for their collection, Siyah, from a time when Islamic arts flourished and when ivory was hand crafted and inlaid on black sheesham (Indian rosewood). They recreated this very art form from Hoshiarpur in Punjab on fabric. Silk, organza, chiffon and satin metamorphosed into impeccably sharp and structured lines of sensual clothing, the colour story staying predominantly in the black and white palette, with a shot of blood red for the final five garments that had a beautifully embroidered sari and a peplum blouse, the only one in their Siyah collection.
Draped tunics, Anarkali jackets, layered skirts, twin layered pants, sexy chiffon dhotis, mini skirts, asymmetrical skirts, gowns — the entire collection was elegant and played on the most important aspect of femininity, mystery. What stays with you after the am:pm show is their sharp silhouettes, clean lines and how beautifully they adorn the female form. Undoubtedly, a winning collection from am:pm.
Nachiket Barve
Nachiket Barve’s goth line, Chiaroscuro, which literally means the treatment of light and shade in drawing and painting, was a dark fashion fantasy replete with gryphons, raven feathers, medieval armour, graphic roses and swirling swallows. Intricate thread embroidery, bead work, applique and cutwork were used to highlight the dark motifs, with roses cut out on fine dupion and gryphons embellished in bullion, with a graphic interplay of black and white with frayed fabrics and oversized raven feathers.
Barve’s fabric choices such as tussar, Lurex, tulle, mulberry and spun silk, organza, georgette, flat chiffon, satin, crepe, chanderi, merino wool and cotton added softness to the dark theme of the designs. The garments were largely in black and white with bits of Marsala, pine and pewter thrown in.
Coats, sheer dresses, capes, pleated palazzo pants, minis, full circle/midi skirts, culottes, cropped tops and long maxis made up Barve’s dramatic and bold collection, but somehow a sense of deja vu with the line superseded any other kind of impression the collection might have otherwise made.
Vir Das
Actor and comedian Vir Das debuted his casual clothing line called Weirdass Pret-A-Funny with an anti-fashion show that had his friends from the television and film world such as Meiyang Chang, Sophie Choudhry, Aditi Rao Hydari, Cyrus Sahukar and many more walking for him in boxer shorts and quirky slogan T-shirts that read “Mumbai – Winter Never Comes”, “Govinda Approved” and the like. You get the bawdy drift of things here. It seemed like an honourable ode to one of Bollywood’s finest actors and dancers, Govinda. Unfortunately, the line didn’t come close to his unique style or his comic timing in the least. In fact, it made you want to go right back home to watch reruns of the good old Govinda-Karisma Kapoor/Rani Mukerji films for a good laugh rather than watch the anti-fashion show, as Das called it.
Given that this is the Winter-Festive edition of Lakme Fashion Week 2015, it is rather odd that a line like Das’ got a slot for a show that had nothing fashionable or festive about it and least of all, funny.
— Rubina A. Khan is a Mumbai-based writer.
