Looking back at the fashion weekend, the hits, the misses

The Best Collection: Anamika Khanna and Ashish Soni. Khanna’s show at the Lakme Fashion Week, Mumbai, had prepared us for the grunge-chic that highlights her beautiful spring-summer 2010 line, but it was a double delight to have her alongside Delhi boy Soni. The latter’s collection was very minimalist, with short yoke dresses, single-panel jackets, peg trousers and high-waist pants. The silhouettes cut the volume away, giving it a masculine edginess that contrasted sharply with the essential femininity of the basket weaves, the trapeze necklines and the rosette detailing. Breathtaking.

The Revelation: Rajesh Pratap Singh’s take on the jacket. To the tune of Zombie by The Cranberries, models hurtled down in sleek jackets, a stylish interpretation of men’s dinner jackets. Singh experimented with structure — a simple black jacket erupted into a succession of folds — while the Swarovski-studded leggings earned a nod from Dior representative Kalyani Chawla.

The Extravaganza: Tarun Tahiliani. There was nothing new about his chikankari shirts and draped jersey dresses. But even with a collection that had little to offer in terms of novelty, Tarun Tahiliani pulled off a show that was rich in visual extravaganza — the ramp was exquisitely done up like a bower, with roses, ferns and cascading orchids. The flower show had a reason: it marked the launch of Tarun Tahiliani for FnP, a tie-up between the flower chain and the designer.

The Disappointment: Ritu Beri. Expectations were running high for Beri’s comeback show to the Indian fashion fold, in almost 10 years. But not even a dimpled Abhay Deol, who took the curtain call with the designer, could make up for the letdown. After a surfeit of quite-yesterday animal-print leggings, catsuits with sequins, torn jeans and embroidered bra tops, the only part of the show that had us nodding in approval were the lovely evening dresses.

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