Chennai International Fashion Week enthralls fashionistas

The five day long Gitanjali Chennai International Fashion Week (CIFW) which concluded this week, was full of jazz and glamour that it professed to offer. The gala event saw 35 designers, five shows a day, six emerging names from Chennai,

four labels from abroad, a sprinkling of stars and non-stop excitement. Prominent designers like Rahul and Gunjan, Neeta Lulla, Krishna Mehta, Archana Kocchhar, Rehana, Shahid Amir, Niksha Lulla and Masaba Gupta showcased their ensembles.

According to Gaurav Sharma, CEO, Storm Fashion Company that produced the fashion week, Chennai is emerging as a major destination for fashion in India with several iconic brands setting shop here. As high street fashion comes of age in Chennai, the city is being watched with great interest by big players in the segment.

CIFW was primarily started to give Indian designers an international platform to showcase and market their collections globally. It aims at showcasing India as an important fashion destination for foreign buyers and designers wanting to make inroads into the Southeast Asian market.

The first day started off with a fashion show featuring western wear with traditional embroidery work. Eminent designer Rehane showcased her collection ‘Antolio’ which boasted of women’s western-wear with traditional embroidery-work. Bollywood actress Udita Goswami was the showstopper for the show.

The highlight of the second day was the unique ‘Recession Collection’ along with the latest western-wear. The main collection focused on ‘Recession and Global Warming’ and was created by designer Priyanka Bansal. Former Miss India, Natasha Suri, was the showstopper in the show. As a tribute to Indian ethnicity and heritage the fourth day saw traditional wear being presented. Designed by Jyotthi, Ramya and Shathi the clothes were based on ethnic forms with a touch of the west.

Designers Neeta Lulla, Krishna Mehta and Satya Paul were the highlights of the shows on the concluding day. Walking down the ramp in a Victorian era designer gown, actress Anupriya was the showstopper on penultimate day. Designer dresses for women particularly a range of satin and silk gowns were the main attraction on the last day of the fashion extravaganza.