MUMBAI, IF CLOTHES were the mainstay of the first four days of the Lakmé Fashion Week Summer Resort, then day five was a bit different. It started off with the accessory show with four designers showcasing their resort collections comprising bags, shoes and jewellery.

“It’s a hard show to do because after a while, it gets monotonous to just look at a model’s feet or bags,” said Sonali Dalwani, one of the accessory designers, who showcased her “Papillon” (butterfly) collection of shoes, bags and jewellery. Sonali’s line was more street chic and she used butterfly motifs to give her work a 3D feel. Eina Ahluwalia divided her “Breating Space” line of jewellery into two collections — “Truth” and “Sunset in Nice”.
The first collection was more edgy and abstract and Eina created chunky pieces using amethyst, coral and calcite on gold and silver. Her second collection was lighter and more vibrant as she used vivid scarves in orange and sea blue and green, silver along with shells, to give it an all-round sunny beach feel. Malini Agarwalla’s “Flamore” collection of bags, totes, clutches and accessories stuck epitomised resort chic. Suhani Pittie’s “Grunge Begum” had thin gold chains meshed together. Zippers and antique coins made for stylish statements. Anand Kabra made all things new on day five, with his Fall-Resort line. Inspired by the line “She was so dark that she was blue” from the book Palace of Illusions, which narrates the Mahabharata according to Draupadi, Anand once again depicted a beautiful, fiery woman through his use of his favourite black. Colour came in the form of digital prints taken from a painting that struck him. “I explored the similarities between Draupadi and the River Krishna, which is another of her names. It’s a collection of separates, which were divided into controlled strokes, bleeds and swirls,” said Anand.
Designers Debarun, Walnut by Nidhi and Divya Gambhir and Rimi Nayak also showcased lines that stood out for their simplistic creativity. Debarun was inspired by the colour of chanachur, a satiating but often ignored street snack. “I love the colour and since my forte is embroidery you’ll have seen a lot of it throughout,” he said of his very royal, bohemian collection, which used fabrics like raw silk, cotton and nets. Rimi’s nautical line titled “Azure Amore” was very feminine with free flowing drapes, nautical stripes, layers and soft falls. Nidhi and Divya’s line went from clean fitted dresses to asymmetrical ruffles and folds that added texture. Designer Lina Tipnis impressed with her Istanbul inspired collection.
Jewellery was sewn on to the clothes and her use of cotton fabric made it resort-friendly as well as chic.

EDLYN G. D’SOUZA