Green Fashion: So far, discarding fur and going organic have been the biggest concession that designers had allowed themselves on the ramp. But suddenly, everyone seems to have decided to go green with the designs. Take for instance, the collection by Kolkata designers Ekta Jaipuria and Ruchira Kandhari. Called The Awakening, the line is crafted out of vanya silks (a wild silk sourced from Assam). It has a sheen of its own and does not have to be treated with chemical dyes. “We have always been green activists and we thought of extending it to our clothes as well. Conventional cotton uses 25 per cent chemical pesticides like parathion, which is 60 times more toxic than DDT. It’s time people became aware of the reality,” says Jaipuria. So expect the designer duo to come out with organic fabrics, pigment printing and azo-free dyes on a line that’s at once clean and sophisticated.
Accessory designer Rina Shah of the successful brand Rinaldi too endorses the green theme. A member of PETA, Shah has done faux leather shoes and accessories, teamed with mostly natural embellishments. The list goes on. From Rahul and Gunjan of Sirali to Payal Jain, the green brigade is growing this season.

Real India on the ramp: Off the ramp and away from the lights, fashion can be found in the mundane and the every day. You realise that when you meet Nitish Bal Chauhan from Chamba in Himachal Pradesh and Atesu Sekhose from Nagaland, debutants at the Delhi week.
Fashionistas loved the ensembles that Chauhan put up at the London Fashion Week last season. For the Delhi week, he has worked with Himachali tribal folk traditions, giving them an international Gothic twist with crisp cuts and toned silhouettes. “I’ve used a lot of wool, particularly the toosh variety to create the ensembles. The idea is to revive the dying indigenous traditions that have been a source of sustenance for the villagers in these regions,” says Chauhan, who is actively involved in rehabilitating local handicrafts. Atesu Sekhose will display his Naga sensibilities when he showcases his collection at his Delhi stall. The former Tarun Tahiliani assistant has used handloom and silk fabrics from the Northeast and infused them with what he calls “Asian sensibilities with Western silhouettes”. Fashion’s tribute to incredible India.

Masters, Old and New: Rick Owens created a stir in Paris with his voluptuous jackets and his fin-shaped trouser bottoms. The message was loud and clear: if you have to make a statement, there’s no better way than to do your thing without ruining the effect. Nouveau designer Prashant Verma has got the message. At this season’s fashion week, his inspiration has been human failings—aggression and rage to be more specific. He has put together a collection with hand-crafted dresses created from fabrics like crepe that resemble delicate bandages. “It looks like a wound that has been treated. Youth is fashionable, whatever you might have to say,” he shrugs.
The bandage dress finds resonance in Ranna Gill’s collection this season, even as she forays into unchartered territory with pants and trousers. The Parisian hangover continues for Manish Arora and Rajesh Pratap Singh. Watch out for Arora’s encore act with his warrior theme. Singh endorses his native Rajasthan through his hood-dresses—petite ensembles with hoods shaped like ghunghats.

Revivalists: This year, the fashion week format has something for everybody. For Indian designers working with traditional handicrafts and fabrics, it just gives them a better chance to go all out and do their stuff on a grander scale. While Rohit Bal plays up the gota and the zardozi with his rather couturish collection called Ashta dhatu, Priya Awasthy has called her collection Alo or first light. Inspired by the Bengal Renaissance, Awasthy has borrowed heavily from the costume finery of the age. Fitted churi pants and angarkhas, woollen zari shawls and overlapped coats come together in velvet, brocade, tussar and wool. Amrish Kumar might have chosen the occasion to step out of his illustrious mother’s shadow and do his own thing, but the Ritu Kumar label, despite its younger semi-formal look, also falls back heavily on its trademark mirror work embellishments and embroidery. Look chic in remembrance. ©