Clothes real stars at Delhi Couture Week (Review)

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NEW DELHI - It was surely a treat for of fashionistas! Trend, style and clothes were high on quotient at the inaugural Peals Infrastructure Delhi Couture Week(PI-DCW) and designers stole the limelight despite the presence of a bevy of Bollywood stars.

A long list of Bollywood stars were present there. While the likes of Rani Mukerji, Vidya Balan, Neha Dhupia, Soha Ali Khan, Riteish Deshmukh, Zayed Khan, Aftab Shivdasani chose to watch the shows, Jacqueline Fernandez, Anil Kapoor, Lara Dutta, Kangna Ranaut and Australian cricketer Brett Lee sashayed on the ramp.

The organiser, Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), which has been behind two successful editions of Mumbai Couture Week. But the Mumbai shows were dominated by Bollywood stars. In fact, the last edition looked as if it was more of a Bollywood extravaganza than a fashion week.

But FDCI’s president Sunil Sethi had promised that PI-DCW here would focus on generating business for the designers.

“Fashion and Bollywood go hand-in-hand. But this time we wanted the clothes to be the real stars. It was a designers’ personal choice to bring in their celebrity friends as guests,” Sethi told IANS.

“So whether they wanted them to walk the ramp or sit in the front row, was entirely their decision. And if you look at the scenario, the designers too have personally preferred to have their clothes as stars,” he added.

Only 13 designers showcased their creativity during this six-day extravaganza with two shows each day.

Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla concluded the fashion week Sunday by showing off their interesting creations including chikankari and very light embroidered saris, heavily embroidered empire line jackets, smart dresses and free-flowing gowns.

The young designers displayed their creativity too by showcasing interesting stapled dresses to saris teamed up with leggings.

The seasoned designers kept the tradition of craftsmanship alive with their detailed work and also focused on fusion. While Manish Malhotra’s collection was inspired by Spain, Varun Bahl’s line had some interesting inspirations from the Russian culture.

As the word couture exudes grandness, but the sets didn’t reflect grandeur. It was due to the last minute changes as the shows were shifted indoors because of the security reasons and designers didn’t get enough time to make elaborated and extravagant sets.

“In Mumbai, we have two MSA’s (Main Show Area) and here too, we had two till last minute changes. A designer needs minimum 24 hours to build an elaborate set, here unfortunately they didn’t have that luxury. But I am thankful to every designer for supporting us,” said Sethi.

The venue, the Grand hotel, Vasant Kunj had interesting installation from Swarovski elements. They had decked up the venue with shining crystals, giving the whole ambiance an elevated feel.

“These installation showcase the timelessly modern love affair of crystal and couture and these installations have dazzled and delighted the audience and also created truly magical and luxurious ambiance befitting for couture,” said Sanjay Sharma, director, Swarovski elements, Swarovski India Pvt. Ltd.

“Also a lot of designers have used Swarovski in their line, which proves that fashion and Swarovski go hand in hand,” he added.

While 13 designers displayed their creations on the ramp, six prefer to show installation off the ramp.

Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, Anamika Khanna, Manish Malhotra, Gaurav Gupta, JJ Valaya, Manav Gangwani, Pallavi Jaikishan, Raakesh Agarvwal, Rina Dhaka, Rohit Bal, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Suneet Varma and Varun Bahl - showcased their creations on the ramp.

Ekru by Ekta & Ruchira, Geisha designs by Paras & Shalini, Jaya Rathore, Monapali, Reynu Taandon and Puneet Nanda of Satya Paul label - displayed special installations.