By the afternoon of day five, the final day of the Lakme Fashion Week’s 2013 winter/festive season, the “source” area — where the actual business of the event occurs, the designers’ stalls had begun to wear a slightly abandoned look.
At many of the stalls, the collections—displayed so extravagantly on the ramp—were being taken off the hangers and packed away. But the venue was still overrun with buyers and viewers, fresh from seeing the “Talent Box” displays by Anushree Reddy and Aastha Narang, and the general air, going into the “big daddy” evening shows (Bisou Bisou by Michele Bohbot and the Absolute Royal grand finale by Sabyasachi Mukherjee), was one of satisfaction. And why not, for a season that has had plenty to sit up and take note of? Day five was certainly no exception, with crowd-pleasing turns by designers Archana Kocchar, Shyamal and Bhumika, Pragya and Megha Samor and others. Edgy, blingy accessories from the House of Chic (Jinali Sutaria and Heena Surani) started the day. Called “Dark Angel”, it featured crosses, skulls and lace in a series of Gothic bracelets, necklaces, clutches, even a jewelled vest (modelled by model-turned-actress Pooja Gupta).
The look shifted to a more feminine one with mother-daughter duo Pragya and Megha Samor’s line for their eponymous label. The vibrant colours, drapes and cuts as well as the surface texturing for the line drew much attention, as did the motif of birds, repeated across garments.
“This is a collection which is close to our hearts as we have combined my print making expertise with my mother’s painting talent. We have created a collection directly from her canvas; styled in modern drapes and cuts,” said Megha Samor, of the collection.
Kalidaar kurtas, wide skirts, long angarkhas and lehengas in shades of white, beige, ecru and later, black, formed the mainstay of Rahul and Shikha Mangal’s “Charkha” line with Sonam and Paras Modi’s line for Sva was inspired by Rajasthan. Also inspired by Rajasthan was Archana Kocchar’s line, showcased in the afternoon. Rajasthani architectural motifs were digitally printe onto kurtas for men and women, and along with these, pre-pleated saris and swirling skirts in turmeric yellow and saffron made for an impressive showing. Acrylic embellishments added a luxe accent to the line. “My collection ‘Chokhi’ is inspired by the richness of Rajasthan,” Archana said. Away from the main auditorium, the “Talent Box” venue saw capsule collections presented by Anushree Reddy and Aastha Narang. While Aastha’s line saw some lovely scalloped blouses worn with sheer embroidered saris, Anushree’s collection was a glamorous confection befitting her “Tantrum Bride” theme. Colours like bright pink and orange as well as leaf green made an appearance on the ramp, in delicate net and Anushree explained that she wanted to create something that depicted the “not picture perfect bride”. “Ultimately at the wedding, all brides look demure. I wanted to do something different. Everyone goes mad trousseau shopping — I wanted to capture all the drama and emotion,” said Anushree, who had a radiant Kalki Koechlin as her showstopper. Back on the main ramp, Shyamal and Bhumika’s royalty-inspired line set the tone for the sumptuous evening shows that were to follow. A tad gaudy and making heavy use of velvet and brocade, their heavily embellished range of saris, kurtas and bandhgalas, anarkalis were much appreciated.