Get blackwashed!

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For the Spring/Summer edition of any fashion week across the globe, the runways are awash with bright oranges, fresh greens, psychedelic pinks and spunky neons. But when black makes an appearance, it’s greeted with shock and awe! With black on one side and cheerful hues on the other, it’s a tough call for a designer, but the pull of black seems hard to resist. At the ongoing WLIFW, a few of these dare-to-be-different types have tried to tell the story of black through their collections and impressed we are. It could have been a big risk for SS, but black is an instant sell-out, all say in unison.

Priyanka and Ankur Modi of am:pm have designed a strong collection for which black was the apt choice. The use of other colours could have diluted the idea. “Black speaks for itself. It’s so versatile and one can do so much with it. We had a very strong concept in mind and didn’t want colours to dilute it. Business-wise black is always a secure option.”
Internationally black is already very popular. Black stays true for all seasons but 2013 is going to see a lot of black, says talented designer Rahul Mishra, who has used a lot of black for his designs. He adds, “I am in love with black at the moment. I have used a few other colours which make black more luminous and rich. This spring is about hardcore reality and reality is all about black and white.”
Black is super absorbent and doesn’t reflect anything. It is a classic and Bengaluru-based designer Raj Shroff's collection in black is a tribute to the hue of the night. It was a risk but he says that it was worth it. “It’s much easier for people to pick black over other colours. When I was conceptualising the designs, the blossom garden for the collection in my head was in black and white. I translated the thoughts in the exact way and I have done justice to what I felt was right,” says Shroff.
Likewise the depth of black makes it interesting for designer Vaishali S. to do her entire line in shades of black. Hand-woven chanderi from Madhya Pradesh and woven khand fabric from Maharashtra form the soul of the collection. She says, “I am quite intrigued by the concept of depth. Talking about the colour from a fashion perspective, it loves all seasons. Moreover, black looks rich in Indian textiles. In my collection the story is narrated through the layers of fine constructed silhouettes and unconventional drapes.”
Others who have extensively used black include Rohit Gandhi-Rahul Khanna, Rajesh Pratap Singh, young gun Anaikka, Poonam Bhagat and Kallol Datta.