The Revival of Style

FIBRE TREND WATCH Rajasthan Heritage Week 2 FASHION TheThe revival revival ofstyle ofstyle

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MEHER CASTELINO

reports. The revival of style

BIBI RUSSELL: Bangladeshi designer Bibi Russell’s collection ‘Fashion for Development’ was an RITU KUMAR: Ritu Kumar’s ode to khadi, crafts, kota collection ‘The Thar Desert’ doria and prints. Russell was a mélange of Rajasthani has worked for months fabrics and crafts. Using mica with weavers and mirrorwork and ajrakh along with craftsmen of Rajasthan wool embroidery from Kutch, and her collection was a Kumar used these for high- labour of love featuring fashion ethnic garments in khadi the crafts of the state. and handloom. The dazzling wool Turning traditional embroidery highlighted ponchos textiles into wrap skirts, and slim kurtas, while the eye- palazzos, tonal weave catching block prints in blue, sarees, dhoti pants, grey and black were turned into waistcoats and kimono kurtas with embellished skirts style covers, she gave along with bandhani that made a stylish heritage twist an appearance for dramatic to womenswear. Her angarkhas. The camel harnesses men’s line featured of the Ship of the Desert were leheriya, kurtas, jackets, turned into impressive head gear sherwanis, dhotis and for the finale creations. cuffed trousers.

FIBRE2FASHION FIBRE TREND WATCH Rajasthan Heritage Week 2 FASHION like mogadoria,sutamuslin andSFKhadi,whichisspuninBikaner. silk flamingredlehengasglittered withzardosiwork.Sheusedavarietyoffabrics palazzos andflareddresses.Shararas appearedwithkurtis,whilepanelledkhadi swirling kurtas,capedgowns,dual coloursforombréjackets,sareeswithkurtas, Pallaviaari tari,dabka,zardosi,gottapatti, resham,sequinsandcrystals, had likemukaish, dye withhandloomsandembellishingthemRajasthani crafts toyellow,moved gentlyfromivory orange,black,andthenred.Mixingsilks,tie-n- most popularbrands,presentedafestivelineinkhadiandhandloom. Colours PALLAVI JAIPUR: ThelabelcreatedbyPallavi MurdiathatisoneofRajasthan’s came acrossaseffortless. yellow, orange,black,redandrust midis andmixofvibrantcolourslike the tentdresses,coats,palazzos, geometrics, polkadotswithquilting, embellishments. Mixingstripes, forthe appliqués andcrafts a quirkyvibranttouchfeaturing stylish westernwearandsareeshad PujaPUJA ARYA: Arya’s Jaipur’s garments. camels andbirdshighlightingthe unusual withanimalslikeelephants, collection. Theprintsandmotifswere trousers andkurtaswerepartofthe neck dresses,croppedpants,shirts, handlooms. Batwingcoats,cowl and woventunicsjerseysin solids, theybroughtinhand-knitted interesting weaveswithprintsand casualwear forbothsexes.Mixing SmallShop’,displayedstylish ‘The Jason andAnshu,fortheirlabel THE SMALLSHOP: Bangalorepair khadi madearegalimpact. in teamed withasymmetricwaistcoats,whileshadedbrown/blacksherwanis waistcoats madedramaticentries.Loosedrop-crotchpantsinkhadiwere hoodiesandbelted cargoes, shirts,jackets,kurtas,bandhgalas,sherwanis, cholis. For men, there wasamixofIndianandwesternwearascapris, sarongs, harempants,lungisandlehengasalongwithstitchedsarees Trevedi conjuredlayeredgownswithsexyslits,slashedskirts,trousers, block prints,wereintonesofblack,brown, beige,rustandwhite.For women, HEMANT TREVEDI:HemantTrevedi’s story, wovenaroundkhadiandhand ASIF SHAH: Asif Shah proved that khadi and handlooms are not only for festive wear. He used handwoven wool and cotton fabrics, which were the basis of his corporate collection. Presenting sharply cut tuxedos with contrast satin and velvet shawl collars, he added well-constructed jackets in pastel striped weaves with printed shirts for men. Moving to bundgalas, Jodhpuri trousers and jackets, he brought woollen sherwanis for formalwear. Womenswear also followed the corporate path with khadi wool suits, pencil skirts with waistcoats and jackets, striped coat dresses and baggy pants. The collection then moved to printed cotton minis, skirts, peplum tops and a few multi-coloured halter gowns.

LARS ANDERSSON: Swedish designer Lars Andersson, known for his luxury hand knitted apparel, used khadi yarn for his off-white collection of knitted unstructured clothes for men and women thereby giving a totally international feel to khadi. Completely deconstructed with raw edges, seams and hems as the focal point of the garments, the ultra-baggy skirts, kimono wraps, layered baggy tunics, kaftans, and wrap tops for women were the relaxed looks of the range. He offered an almost fluid sheer line also for menswear, which was quirky and almost prehistoric as the knitted fabric was draped as dhotis, tees, hoodies, long tunics, lounge jackets and a summer cover with pockets.

KAARYAH: The Kaaryah label’s motto is ‘Fits that Flatter’, and it selected khadi and cotton and added Rajasthani techniques like abhala and bandhani. The brand brought in a wide range of clothing for the global woman starting with pencil skirts, blouses, minis with laser hemline detailing, layered dresses, leheriya covers for jumpsuits, halters with skinny pants, butterfly sleeve blouses, shorts, high waist trousers, petal hem creations and flared shorts with jackets.

JAIPUR MODERN: The Jaipur Modern label has a large following and uses Rajasthani fabrics and crafts. The brand’s aim is to promote ‘Made in India’ with which it pays homage to the crafts and artisans of the country. Wool khadi was used for knee-length coats with interesting borders, while printed maxis were ideal for summerwear. A variety of blouson style batwing maxis, wrap dresses and long flowing gowns were additions to the women’s line. Menswear was casually stylish with kurtas, shirts and shorts completing the look.

FIBRE2FASHION FIBRE TREND WATCH Rajasthan Heritage Week 2 FASHION motifs. mustard withvarying pink, white,orangeand in shadesofpurple,blue, unveiled eightbeauties of kota doriasarees, winning masterweaver Ansari, theotheraward Mohammed Yasin flared shortjackets. machined waistcoatsand cropped pants,toquilted shorts, dhotis,jackets, men’s sectionmovedfrom ideal causalwear. The covers, shirtwaisterswere dresses withbandhani blouses andslashed blouses, smocks,wrap sleeve pants withbutterfly tunics. Jumpsuits,pleated and asymmetricstriped dresses, sacks,boleros patchwork forlayered that highlightedkhadi presented ‘NatureAlley’ Aslam andNainaSatish NATURE ALLEY: Tara horizontal stripes. to trousersaspatchesor and maroonwasadded grey, white,paleseagreen shirts. Colourblockingin designs forthekurtasand tonal stripeswithgeometric highlighted withcontrastor shirt designs,whichwere Singh playedwiththe as thebasekhadicolour, Lanka. Working withwhite ‘Conscience’ labelfromSri by AjaiVir Singhofthe menswear, wasproved are ideallysuitedfor khadi cottonandwool AJAI VIRSINGH: That colours. to paisleyonstunning fruits, florals,leaves motifs thatrangedfrom kaleidoscope ofgorgeous sarees wereadreamin Kachara’s tenkota doria winner Mushtakeem The 2014nationalaward black, beigeandblue. of rust,ivory, yellow, in thetypicalhues and floraltogeometric ranged frompaisley block printsthat with avarietyofhand presented ninesarees winning printer, Derewala, anaward- Ram Kishore menswear look. or suitmadeupthe smartly cutjacket breeches wornwith ombré black/red hunting jackets.The teamed withshort and redtrouserswere kurtas withwaistcoat abstract printsfor coats, black/red jackets, doublebreast Jodhpuri sherwanis, Tie-n-dye kurtas, checked trousers. were teamedwith cuffs, andkurtashirts in woolhadcontrast Checked bundhgalas textures forgarments. the duocreatedfabric closely withweavers, khadi wool.Working men usingRajasthani and weddingwearfor a royallineofformal ‘Modem Maharaja’, Kamra created Rohit andAbhishek ABHISHEK KAMRA: ROHIT AND and abstracttoswirls. moved fromfloral,dots the baseofpatternsthat black andmauvewere slate, mustard,orange, Shades oflilac,white,blue, gold andbrilliantcolours. shades andglitteredwith kota doriainrainbow award winner, featured Ansari, the2012national ten sareesbyNasruddin exquisite fabrics.The as wellprintthemost magical kota doriasarees district wheretheyweave from KaithooninKota award winnerswhohailed printers werenational master weaversandblock THE MASTERS:The FIBRE TREND WATCH Rajasthan Heritage Week 2 FASHION men andwomen. presentation ofstripesandcolour blockingfor dhotis andsarongs,thecollection wasagrand woven shawlsandstolestothe sarees alongwith sarees inRajasthan injust onemonth.Adding designs forthekhadi,kota doriaandhandloom Mudayya createdthebeautyofcoloursand and ownedbytopBollywoodstarscelebs. womaninBangalore Vimor weredesiredbyevery Vipra. Thegorgeoustemplesilk sareesfrom daughter Pavithra Mudayyaandgranddaughter handlooms ChimyNanjappaisnowrunbyher around 1974bythelategrandoldladyof VIMOR: TheVimor labelstartedinBangalore and green. maroon, grey, brown black, white,deeppink, in rainbowhuesofblue, he presentednineworks dye wasevidentwhen with leheriyaandtie-n- Sabir Bhai’sexpertise ecru. rust, black,brownand block printsinblue,olive, sarees withamazing printer, unveilednine master handblock AK Pandey, another and asdhotiswithshirtsformen. drapes teamedwithjacketsorbolerosforwomen khadi, the collection appeared as dramatic layers and and horizontalstripes.Working withkota doriaand beige, red,inkblueandindigowithintricatedesigns wide rangeofcolours—white,yellow, green, orange, Textiles—Tradition andBeyond’.Thesareeswereina and West Indian Bengalaswell‘Handcrafted ‘Sarees ofIndia’volumesonMadhyaPradesh, Bihar Chishti isarecognisedscholarandeditorofthe whose brandTaanbaan iswellknown. RtaKapur drapes, wasbytextileshistorianRtaKapurChishti sari collection, whichwasdisplayedinamazing RTA KAPURCHISTI:Anotherrevivalisthandwoven collection. prints completedhis with floralandpaisley kameezes andfoursarees palazzos, mulitcoloured Lehengas, cholis,wide the Tree ofLifedesign. as kalidaarkurtaswith prints werepresented Abdul Majeed’sblock interference. without create intervention in amannerthatwould textile artisansofRajasthan conceptualised tobenefitthe of Rajasthan: Thisprojectwas Group inTourism, Government * MalvikaSingh, mutually benefit. learn fromeachotherand designers, whereinbothcan our artisansandleadingfashion platform foradialoguebetween Rajasthan, byprovidinga of traditionaltextiles Programme forthedevelopment a Textiles Development of Rajasthan: We haveinitiated secretary, MSME,Government * Rajeeva Swarup, which itrightlydeserves. and handloomthetagofluxury, determined togiveourkhadi minister ofRajasthan: We are * Vasundhara Raje, chief IMPRESSIONS geometric forms. animal, paisley, floraland drew inspirationfrom The motifsofthesarees well asdhotisformen. of formsforwomen, as draped theminavariety and leheriyaeffectsashe muted shadeswithmotifs kota doriasareesindeep He workedmagicwith khadi andhandlooms. been anadmirerof Design Oasis,hasalways Saksena, forhisbrand DESIGN OASIS: co-chair, Sub- principal Manish