Clothes were the real stars of Delhi Couture Week (Review) (Lead, Superseding earlier story)

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NEW DELHI - Designers stole the limelight despite the presence of Bollywood stars at the inaugural Pearls Infrastructure Delhi Couture Week (PI-DCW) here and, sure enough, they made it a treat for fashionistas.

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

Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), which has been behind two successful editions of Mumbai Couture Week, was the organiser of the six-day event at the Grand hotel, Vasant Kunj, that concluded Sunday.

The Mumbai shows were dominated by film stars - the last edition looked as if it was more of a Bollywood extravaganza than a fashion week. But FDCI’s president Sunil Sethi 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 the extravaganza, which saw two shows each day.

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

Young designers displayed their creativity too by showcasing interesting stapled dresses and saris teamed with leggings.

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

The word couture exudes grandness, but the sets didn’t reflect grandeur. That was because the shows were shifted indoors at the last minute due to security reasons and designers didn’t get enough time to make elaborate and extravagant sets.

“In Mumbai, we have two MSAs (Main Show Areas) and here too we had two until the 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 had interesting installations from Swarovski Elements. They had it decked up venue with shining crystals, giving the whole ambiance an elevated feel.

“These installations showcase the timelessly modern love affair of crystal and couture and have dazzled and delighted the audience and also created truly magical and luxurious ambience befitting 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 catwalk, six prefer to show installations 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 the Satya Paul label - displayed special installations.