AICW: Designers unveil modern designs inspired by India

Bollywood’s favourite designer Manish Malhotra brought the curtains down with actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as his muse at the Amazon India Couture Week (AICW). The dazzling five-day affair saw 12 acclaimed designers from the fashion industry unveil their interpretation of couture. While the inspiration was still very Indian with bright hues, embroideries and rich fabrics dominating the scene, designers created modern silhouettes to woo modern brides.

Desi inspiration behind modern silhouettes

Acclaimed designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee inaugurated the sixth edition of AICW in collaboration with the noted French footwear designer Christian Louboutin, whose signature red heels added glamour to the ramp on July 29. With his vintage collection, titled ‘Bater’, after one of India’s most common hunting birds, Sabyasachi used embroideries from different parts of India like zardozi , badla , resham and Parsi work for his ensembles like sari draped over jackets, short dresses, long maxi dress, skirts and trousers, male outfits, capes to bandhgalas teamed up with shawls, sherwanis and Nehru jackets in men's wear.

Designer Anju Modi’s show ‘Kashish’ an Urdu word which means attraction or yearning for something was inspired by the Sufi yearning for the Almighty as well as the bride's yearning for her beloved. The collection comprised of royal looking yet delicate lehengas , saris, angrakhas , duppatas , and shararas for women and achkans and pajamas for men.

Rahul Mishra, who debuted at AICW, showcased ‘Tree of Life’, a collection inspired from the centuries-old Chintz textiles that merged international influences with traditional Indian elements. He showcased sheer handloom embroidered saris, jackets, capes and lehengas that were paired with bomber jackets, to express his idea of a marriage between sharp tailoring and luxe sportswear. Designer Gaurav Gupta’s collection titled ‘Silt and Cipher’saw sari gowns and sari lehengas in oil blue, silver, peach, nude and gold.

Couturier Rohit Bal’s show ‘Husn-e-Taa'iraat’ , or beauty of the bird began in shades of cream with models dressed in chic maxi coats over crinkled floor-length angrakhas . White flowers made of cloth formed clusters on tilted headbands, the cuffs and around the necks of models were the frilled collaret of pantomime character Pierrot of the early 18th century. Bal showcased his love for nature and birds with the exquisite embroidery on the garment pieces with the embroidery that captured birds in flight with remarkable precision and detail.

With flowers as inspiration, Varun Bahl launched his own luxury wedding design venture, ‘Aurum By Varun Bahl’ at AICW. The off-site show saw a delicate and elegant line of clothing having crop tops, skirts, pants, dhoti pants, saris, lehangas , maxi dresses for women and sherwanis , dhotis , kurta pajamas for men in shades of white, red, black, blue and pink.

The couture fashion week proved that the industry that believed in establishing their presence on international fashion runways, is now creating collections appealing to Indian audiences. The styles and designs followed so far to create typical traditional or bridal wear are also undergoing changes with designers infusing western silhouettes into Indian ensembles.