Indian Couture Week

By Monisha Shivaraj

Technology has advanced enough to let us shop online and look at red-carpet-worthy clothes online, but what do we think about an online fashion show?

The first-ever Digital Fashion show took place from the 18th of September to the 26th of September. The coronavirus crisis compelled the Indian couture week to be the first-ever digital fashion show. The show was cancelled in March after the outbreak of COVID 19 leaving the designers in despair, but now the virtual show brought back the enthusiasm of the designers. It was announced on the 30th of august by Hindustan Times as the first-ever digital version of the Indian couture week .

The fashion show is organized and promoted by the fashion design council of India(FDCI). Although it's generally a bi-annual event, the pandemic prevented it from being so. The fashion industry of India seems to have accepted the new reality and have put in their best efforts to adapt to the digital as well as the virtual world. With 12 talented and different designers lined up for 6 days. The virtual show was a real challenge with its limitations to the designers but they made the best use of technology and outdid themselves by summoning some of their finest designs. The show being just another online event to some, furnished the best of best couture Indian designs. The show had the best Indian couturiers from day 1 to 6.

Day 1:

Gaurav Gupta opened for the Indian couture week 2020 by celebrating ‘Name is love’, the theme of his collection. The entire collection has been architected using the wave technique with pearls and sheer fabrics accompanied by garments submerged in a rich colour palette with bright colours.

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Suneet Varma constructed a fun and playful collection called "timeless". The entire collection had a varied colour palette with colours like gold and pastel shades. The silhouettes of this collection were rich with tulle blouses, sequinned skirts, and crystal-encrusted anarkalis.

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Day 2:

Amit Agarwal summoned the power of the ocean in this collection. The showcase was show underwater being one of a kind. The lehengas were made using the brands' accustomed cord techniques, polymers, and industrial waste.

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Rahul Mishra’s collection was a portrait of a lotus pond which was also the theme of his collection as a tribute to the aquatic world with lotus being emphasized. Everything in this collection was accented with floral motifs, sequins, bead as well as mirror word and a season-friendly Patel colour palette.

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Day 3:

Dolly J opened day three with her contemporary collection ‘Gulenaar’. This collection lavished with ball gowns and lehengas, escorted by a contrasting colour palette as well as feather cameo in the silhouettes complex crystal work.

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J J Valaya known for her divine designs came up the most royal collection ever,’Bursa’, inspired by the ottoman empire. The collection was embedded with the most intricate zardozi work on garments saturated by colours like maroon, red, gold, and much more.

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Day 4:

Reynu Taandon came up with a collection,’ Surkh’, for modern brides or the bride of today. The collection was blanked with a touch of tradition. Silhouettes like lehenga sets, anarkalis, sharara sets, and sarees were infused in colours like fuchsia pink and shades of red.

source-Reynu Taandon

Shantanu and Nikhil, the designer duo compiled a collection, 'Resurgence' of zardozi work on metallic textures on cape style gown, floor brushing lehengas for women along with bandhgala sets and sherwanis that were given a modern appeal and dramatic drapes for men.

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Day 5:

Kunal Rawal is a menswear genius who composed an all menswear collection named 'Hide and Seek’. The collection has a parallel palette with colours like creme and pastel colours. The couture collection has rich use of French embroidery, thread work, and tonal embellishments on silhouettes constructed into sherwanis and bandhgalas.

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Falguni and Shane peacock displayed a traditional and melodramatic collection named ‘Marry me in Jaipur’. The mesmerizing collection has a blend of heavy sequin work, beadwork and crystal work, and a beautiful colour palette with bridal worthy colours.

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Day 6:

Anju Modi resuscitates deep-rooted Indian traditional textile and craftwork in her collection 'Sindoori'. The ethnic wear and bridal collection revives and boasts work on jamdanis and pashminas with zardozi, dabs, and mukaish work.

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Manish Malhotra drew the curtains of the show with his show stopper collection, 'Ruhaaniyat'. The magnificent collection was tinted with the essence of Mughal. The entire collection has a Mughal inspired vibe with a bridal color palette. The collection comprised of richness from the Mughal empire, Kalidas kurta sets, ghagara sets, and salwar kameez for women that were ornamented with handwoven sari work- original gold

Andsilver.

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Although we miss the runway with a line of clothing and the spotlight accenting the clothes, the digital version of the fashion week did not fail to impress us. The current pandemic may last forever, but that cannot stop the showcase of talent right? Well well, the new normal may not last forever after all but on that note, out of all the collections showcased for the Indian couture week, 2020 did you like the most?

-By Monisha Shivaraj