Quirky print-erpretations

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Fashion is all about standing out, and when we talk about the grand fest of fashion, the hatke element can’t be missed. This season, when many designers are bringing back traditional styles, there are a few opting for unconventional factor. From Masaba Gupta’s lipstick and Google map prints to the eccentric mobile bug prints developed by Nida Mahmood, one can find a variety of quirky prints and motifs gaining steam on runway.
For designer duo Dev R Nil, who specialise in screen prints, this time the mood indicates a silent autumn-winter in a spiritual space. The designers say, “We picked up elements of Zen and developed fern, bamboo and dried roses in screen printing. The theme is primarily monochromatic and we have tried to keep it simple yet different.”
While Dev R Nil focused on leaves, designer couple Hemant and Nandita explored the anatomy of wood in their collection ‘Language of the woods.’ Nandita reveals, “For this collection we developed the x-ray prints of wood in various forms. From the planks to thick trunks, the patterns of wood inspired us for our collection. We used the striking digital prints of wood in shades of blue, brown and purple on the jackets, dresses and tunics, keeping the embellishment minimal.”
On day three, designer Reynu Taandon’s label Mynah presented the ‘Urban Goddess’ using interesting bird motifs of kingfishers, sparrows and peacocks. She says, “My collection is about city women embracing their wild instincts. I have used hand-embodied bird motifs in the ensembles and in some pieces I have even used gold bird scales to highlight the theme. The bird motifs are my signature style and I have mixed them with traditional designs also.”
Whereas, designer label Pankaj and Nidhi highlighted the entire orchestra theme in their collection ‘Musical Box’. Nidhi mentions, “We have crafted a line of skirts, tunics, shirts and jackets using silk, jersey and wool. We developed digital prints of various musical instruments like harp, harmonium, the grand piano, saxophone and guitar to add the novelty element. We even mixed baroque prints with these instrumental prints to bring out the richness factor.”
However, designer Nida Mahmood’s collection ‘The adventures of captain Must Qualandar’ tells a story of a vintage bike reincarnated as a motorised flying ant, which travels in space and time.
Speaking about her quirky prints and theme, she says, “The muse is a bohemian person who thinks out-of-the-box and travels in a time machine called VDO Gaga. The prints are hand sketched and digitalised afterwards. The whole theme is very mobile and gets inspiration from ‘steam punk.’ One can see mechanical parts in bright colours and they form the motorised ants, bugs and butterflies on the ensembles.”