Lakme Fashion Week Winter Festive 2011

So many fashion weeks going on all over the place, I can hardly keep up! Lakme Fashion Week Winter Festive 2011 just kicked off. Here's your snapshot of a few shows from Day 1 and 2!

 Archana Kochhar showed a restrained collection with refined, subtle embroidery and flowing silhouettes. It was a definite change from some of her other collections, which dangerously bordered on tacky. I like!

Payal Singhal's collection had some soft pastels - yellows, pale blues and green, light purples with intricate but refined embroidery and zari work. I liked that the collection looked festive without getting overwhelming or tacky.

JJ Valaya's collection featured lots of intricate embroidery with sequins, beads, metallic threads, and stones, as well as rich colors. Deep red, maroons, burgundy, gold, and coppery shades in rich fabrics like velvet, brocade, silk and raw silk dominated. Overall, the collection wasn't anything completely new or exciting, but it was beautiful nevertheless. One of my favorite pieces was the coat worn by the male model in the first set of photos, on the left.

I'll confess - I've never really paid any attention to Nishka Lulla's clothes, but this collection definitely caught my eye and is an instant favorite! I loved how it was distinct and festive at the same time. The collection featured some yummy shades of golden yellow, bright orange, blood red, ivory, with accents in hues of blue, purple, and green. The collection used a lot of chiffon-esque fabrics, along with regular and raw silks. I especially loved all of the bold embellishments and embroidery used on the borders and motifs of the clothes.

{Photos: MastiOne and Facebook}

Delhi Couture Week Review

Delhi Couture Week just passed and another fashion week is upon us - the Indian International Jewelry Week.
Here's my review of Delhi Couture Week!

Suneet Varma's collection was his take on the Kama Sutra. He interpreted the text with deep, bold colors like fiery orange, bright red, and fuschia, with bold metallic accents accents. There were some softer colored pieces as well, in beiges, creams, and pale aquas, and these were also lushly embroidered. As expected of couture, everything was over-the-top - long, trailing sari pallus, train-like dupattas, skirts made of layer and layers of fabric, rich embroidery and zari work. And, a special mention for the hairstyles - I loved the gold hair pins/discs (?) that the models wore. Gorgeous!

Manish Malhotra's collection was more of the same-old -- stuff he is comfortable with, and has been presenting, it seems, forever. As usual, the pieces featured rich detailing and lush embroidery. I do wish MM would experiment with different cuts, silhouettes, fabrics and interpretations of modern Indian bridal wear. I'd love to see him re-invent the quintessential Indian bride, mix old with new, add an edge. Alas, it is not to be :(
But, I've got to say, a certain Miss Kapoor looked totally fabulous on the runway. FIERCE!

Sonam Kapoor for Manish Malhotra

I loved the jewelry featured in Anju Modi's collection! 

My two favorite pieces, and shots, from Ashima Leena's collection. 
The collection featured a mixture of ethnic clothes that included saris, lehengas, churidaars, anarkalis and more. The collection had an other-worldly quality with the rich colored fabrics, traditional silhouettes and intricate embroidery and motifs. I loved all of the fabrics used for the dupattas!

JJ Valaya's collection - titled Tasveer showcased how photographs have changed over the ages. 
The collection featured clothes that were were both simple and elegant and clothes that were very intricate and rich. My favorites were the black and white saris featured at the beginning. I liked how JJ Valaya translated with the black-and-white and sepia photographs into his clothes, but the "colored" stuff felt kind of dated. The lehengas were defintely beautiful, but I wish they were innovated or rethought somehow. I did like some of the lehenga-jacket pairings though.


{All Photos: Viral Bhayani}

Blogging from India!

Hi everyone!
I'm excited to be blogging all the way from India, but upset since I'm leaving for the US again in just three days. India is the midst of Delhi Couture Week right now, so I couldn't resist and had to blog for a little bit!

The opening was done by Manish Malhotra and one of my favorite designers, Sabyasachi.

Here are a few snapshots from Delhi Couture week, and more to come later :)

{JJ Valaya's gorgeous, intricately embroidered lehenga skirts}

{Manish Malhotra evoked royalty with his simple, minimalistic pieces}

{Sabyasachi highlighted India's rich textile heritage with a variety of textures and intricate embroidery}

{Anamika Khanna created some fusion magic}

(all images from vogue.in)

More to come soon!