IT WAS one of the most spectacular finishes as Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla took the stage to make the climax of Delhi Couture Week an affair to remember. Abu-Sandeep were showing in the capital after a hiatus of four years and buyers, celebrities and fashion enthusiasts from all over the country pulled in to be a part of this fashion extravaganza.
Neha Kapur opened the show in a gold blouse with exaggerated collar which gave meaning to the heavily sequinned skirt worn with it. Soon a bevy of kohl-eyed, coarse men in sequinned bare minimums hit the ramp and broke into a sensuous slithering act. The models kept walking on the cleaved ramp resulted by the performers spread all over it.
The front row had the Nanda family, Ritu Kumar, Shobhaa De, Dimple Kapadia with daughter Rinky, Suzanne Roshan, Mandira Koirala, Shahnaz Husain, cricketer Steve Waugh plus the regular social butterflies in attendance. Gold seemed to be the flavour of the night. So if the boys from Mumbai paid a homage to Sonar Kella by Satyajit Ray through their collection, Shobhaa De slipped into a heavily done gold sari whereas Dimple chose to wear a dull gold sharara-like skirt. Talking about the clothes there were heavily embellished kurtas in plenty, shararas, evening gowns, kaftans, frilled saris and crushed pants for men. The dresses had multi-coloured floral thread embroideries, sequins arranged like liquid metal in hues of gold, copper and bronze. Gowns in fluids were accentuated by flashy erected collars and sleeves. Churipants with kurtas, robes and even saris wowed everybody. The embellishments were so liberally strewn all over the line that its source must be laughing his way to the bank.
Though Abu-Sandeep’s trademark chikankari was seen only in a few garments, the audience was enamoured by their global appeal. High on wearability, the collection was couture in true sense.
A stunned Steve Waugh was short of words for the grandeur and elegance. He said, “It is amazing. Indian fashion is truly making waves all around the world.” As the show neared its end, Brett Lee and Shweta Nanda ablazed the runway. Brett came out wearing a chic silver sherwani with dense gold embroidery while Shweta gracefully carried off a gold gown with huge lotuses.
Earlier in the day, Raakesh Agarvwal and Rina Dhaka presented a clubbed show. There was a live singing of Diamonds are Forever by former Viva girl Anushka Manchanda, who looked no less than a star in her metallic short dress with tassels. A NIFT passout, Raakesh is getting famous for his innovative yet glamorous designs. For the debut couture collection, he played with blushing pinks and yummy peaches for short dresses, gowns, saris and lehengas. Jacqueline Fernandes closed the show for him in a gold lehenga and a radiant smile lighting up her face.
Next in row was Rina, who got inspired by cobwebs and created a line consisting of interesting saris, dresses and corsets paired with lehengas. Lace, embroidery, cut-work and pearls were amply used give a web-like look to blouses, corsets and dresses. Rina had Lara Dutta as the showstopper, who left hearts pounding and how. The way she swerves her to-die-for frame can easily give models a run for their money.