It's a man thing

Men's fashion is gaining ground. MiD DAY gets you the lowdown of nattily dressed men on the catwalk at the ongoing Van Heusen India men's week

Fitted silhouettes, crisp clean cuts, a healthy mix of Indian and Westernwear, attention on detailing -- these marked the first two days of Van Heusen India Men's Week in the Capital. The first day saw designers Arjun Khanna and Tarun Tahiliani take stage, while Rajvi Mohan, Zubair Kirmani, Krishna Mehta, Ankita and Anjana Bhargav of Anky and Sanchita showed off their collections in the first half of the second day. We got you a lowdown straight from the ramps.

Arjun Khanna
His collection was inspired by the 'Action Men'. So pirates to wheeler dealers, detectives to time travellers -- all were on stage.


An Arjun Khanna ensemble

The ensembles were essentially grungy and had a rocker chic sensibility. The fabrics were linen, leather, velvet and wool. There were jackets, structured trousers in colours that varied from black to grey.u00a0
u00a0
Tarun Tahiliani
Drapes were the focus of his collection. The colour story revolved around black, beige, roan, greige, ecru and taupe.


A Tarun Tahiliani outfit

We saw slim-fit trousers, sleeveless jackets, long jackets and kurtas. The trousers were cropped or rolled. There were also embroidered jackets, angrakhas in khaddi, mulmul and silk.

Rajvi Mohan
Rajvi's fall-winter collection was called Phir Bhi Dil is Hindustani. There was a mix of Indian and Westernwear with trousers, long kurtas, and Nehru jackets in tones of black, brown, blue and grey with bursts of orange.


A Rajvi Mohan creation

Fabrics used were luxe like linen, pure silks, high count cottons with blocking, paisleys and contrasting textures.

Zubair Kirmani
His collection had sherwanis, bandhgalas, lots of shorts with printed shirts, Nehru-u00a0 collar achkans, T-shirts and shibori trousers in handloom fabrics in different blends. We noticed detailing, intricate embroideries patchworks, geometric patterns and colour blocking. The colour story revolved around black, orange and grey. The fits were structured and slim.

Krishna Mehta
Peppy music mixed by DJ Suketu marked the beginning of the show with models entering from among the audience.


A Krishna Mehta garb

There were sharp silhouettes with folded pants, torn jeans, long jackets and kurtas, colourful scarfs, propped pants and fedoras. The tones were ecru and black with shades of orange, ochre and red. Bollywood yesteryear was her theme and there were Indian bandhgalas paired with denims. Mehta used texturisation, shibori and tie and dye on fabrics like cotton, silk and linen.

Anky by Ankita Anjana Bhargav
Their pr t line was all about experimenting with trousers. There were cropped trousers, Jodhpurs, inseam string trousers, bunched trousers, origami shorts, banana shorts, cowl shorts and petal shorts.


A costume by Anky by Ankita and Anjana Bhargav

The collection also included knit shirts, woolen short jackets, Bhagalpur shirts, V-necked tees and woolen short jackets among others in shades like smoked green, roasted brown, teal, greys, mahogany. Topsy-turvy knits (multi-dimensional and can be worn upside down) were the high point of the collection. The models were wearing socks designed like boots and there were a lot of hoodies in the collection.

Sanchita
The collection saw interchangeable layers, checks, Japanese stripes and geometric designs. Models strutted about in casual hats made from natural fibres and knotted scarves wearing slim-fit shirts, dual toned vests, bomber jackets, Japanese coats, shorts, waistcoats and rolled up trousers in colours like oranges, cobalt, blues, greens. Fabrics used were jersey, handloom, cotton and twill.