Quirky steps on the runway

Following every year's tradition, day one at Fashion Week in the city started off with the Gen Next (young debut designers) show.

Designer-turned-model, Shilpa Reddy walks for her own show

Designers Rixi Bhatia and Jayesh Sachdev showcased some of their eccentric prints, as they are known for with their label Quirk Box. We, however, felt a little dejected as several people already own jackets, skirts and dresses in those prints; hence, only the structures were different.

Aiman and Armaan's rendering of the black and white motif played with texture as well as prints

Designer-duo Aiman and Armaan used the ‘now common' owl motif and stripes. But we loved their play with black and white, and the garments were extremely wearable and chic.

Nikhil Thampi wowed us with his play of the Kathakali dancer motif used in different variants on a palette of gold, black and white. pics/nimesh dave

Nitin Chawla offered something for men with lots of layers and some interesting detailed jackets. Aditi Holani worked wonders with breathable fabrics with fringe detailing.

The embellished cape and ghagra by Shilpa Reddy grabbed eyeballs

From the second show, Nikhil Thampi wowed us with his play of the Kathakali dancer motif used in different variants (think accessories, embroidery and applique) with a palette of gold, black and white. Nishka Lulla and Nimish Shah stuck to wintery hues with warm shades captured in a mix of prints, ikat in embroidery and even doodles.

Debarun's multi-layered anarkali was an interesting take on structure

Trends that struck on day one
>> Layering your clothes this winter just got stylish, other than wearing the usual bulky jackets. Men can take a cue from designer Debarun who used short full-sleeved embellished jackets on kurtas. For women, he created long flowing sleeveless cape style anarkalis that were worn on voluminous base kurtas. Also, for women, shorter blouses in a contrasting colour on longer cholis were a rage.
>> Shilpa Reddy used sheer fabrics to create embroidered capes worn on choli and ghagras on heavily embellished trousers.
>>Gold seemed to dominate the colour palate for the day.u00a0