If his minimalist jackets with big, trapezoidal collars and high-waisted trousers twisted with a classic bow ruled the runway at the India Fashion Week, off the ramp Rajesh Pratap’s look book for fall-winter 2009 is equally wow-worthy. Presented in the form of posters rolled up in a scroll, this bends tradition. The rather mandatory description of each garment is missing. The palette is restricted to black and white, but the ensemble ceases to be the focus, with emphasis on the mood.

The look book is no longer a humble guide to a designer's collection. It is often a designer creation in itself. David Abraham and Rakesh Thakore have tucked their black book for fall-winter in woollen and quilted bags; Shantanu and Nikhil Mehra have put details of their spring-summer 2009 Ladakh collection in a scroll placed inside a paper bag. Shantanu-Nikhil had earlier turned the marketplace into a set for their look book for spring-summer 2008 with models posing in a supermarket and a paan shop. Big Ethel of Archie comics not only inspired Kiran Uttam Ghosh’s autumn-winter 2007 collection “Ethelectic”, but also led the designer to produce a corresponding look book in the comic format. “It was fun. The look book shows what the collection is about and one should experiment with it. With ‘Ethelectic’ collection, it seemed most natural to have it in the form of a comic,” says Ghosh. In contrast, her fall-winter 2009 collection “Frugality is the new black” has a one-page look book. While the text explains the theme, attached to it is a jute cord strung with photographs of models dressed in Ghosh’s designs. “This was in keeping with the theme of recession. Some people appreciated it and others did not get it. I did not mind the mixed response,” says Ghosh.

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