Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Showcases Creativity of Designers

Asia's biggest business of fashion event, Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week 2010 (WIFW), introduced, from 24 through 28 March 2010 an assortment of striking collections from 130 designers on the runway and the exhibition areas. With 43 shows and 130 stalls, the premier event offered five enthralling days of inspiration, ingenuity and imagination aligned with business opportunities. The event which is a fashion kaleidoscope brought a diversity of talent on the runway. The show highlighted its multicultural philosophy with ensembles that held the commercial appeal all under one roof at NSIC Exhibition Complex. WIFW is the perfect platform that allows style gurus to showcase their collection to domestic and international buyers, media, design schools and fashionistas. Most importantly, it lets the industry know what's 'in' and what's' out' for the season.

Though there were indeed a large number of designers, whose collections made it to our short list, but even this list had to be further pruned to only 12 designers, who could be accommodated in our present write-up.

Young Masaba's Exuberated Festivity Creates Festival Masala

Probably the youngest of the lot, Masaba is known for her patchworks and colours. Her collection exuberated festivity and excitement as her face on the ramp. It was a festive traditional line with a lot of velvet coupled with silks. Silhouettes included dhotis and angrakhas. She, yet again, proved that she belongs to the talented new lot of the promising few, as she showcased her creations at the WIFW NW 2010. This was a collection of men's and women's couture, with extensive use of velvets and silks. It gave a sneak-peek into the Rajasthani culture.

The antique gold embroidery, beadwork and zari added a dramatic touch. What really caught our attention were her mul silk sarees with stripes on pleats and plane border pallus. The highlight was saris with appliqued pockets. Multi fabric churidaar sleeve blouses, patch worked angrakhas with dhoti pants were a super hit on the ramp. The patchwork, doriwork and gold embroidery on a colour palette of sindoor red, leaf green with whites gave the collection a traditional yet rustic appeal. The collection is sure to catch the attention of Indian styleconscious sari wearers and is aimed at appealing the Middle-eastern market.

Tarun Tahiliani Returns to Craft

Tarun Hahiliani's collection is the refection of Indian craft. The surface treatments clearly show the values, richness, workmanship and the role of Indian craft in fashion. The designer has again successfully explored our traditional textiles and embroideries and applied it in Indo Western as well as Indian ethnic silhouettes. Fitted structured jackets were combined with drapery bottoms to create the elusion of IndoWestern drapes. Traditional saris were draped with both short length waist coats and long tailored coats to lend richness to the clothes and make the collection look truly global. Trademark sari drapes, embroidered belts paired with clunky platform shoes, long tailored coats with kaftans were adding a masculine chic look. The designer played smartly with various surface treatments like quilting, chikankari, and prints with natural dyes.

The colour palette varies from deep honey golds, ambers, Prussian blues, wine reds to transparent black, earthy brown, shades of green and blue. His menswear collection was based on classic silhouettes which were again reworked to create the traditional look. The coats, achkans and bundies with wide pants were very much prominent with colours like mushroom, charcoal, chocolates and blacks. The collection certainly reminds us of our traditional route and has a sense of pride for our cultural values.