There is always hope

Of course nearly all fashion brands revel in the design process as a creative mix of instinct necessity marketing and merchandising A practice that imagines clothes through the lens of a muse context and technique now seems tailormade exclusively for maximum influence on social media and little elseThe show is the moment the clothes connect with people But when the clothes lack points of view how can they engage with the wearer Those are the overarching sensibilities we assimilated after carefully considering the ldquofashionrdquo presented at the justconcluded FDCI x Lakmeacute Fashion WeekThe clothes may have been wellmade a few designers easily ticked the aspiration box but itrsquos not often that we appreciated a collection for presenting content with commerce technical brilliance critical design thinking or in lieu of having a pulse on identity politics Very few designers harvested notes from the brandrsquos heritage or pushed boundaries as shapeshifters or bothered to give us clothes expressing an emotion or narrativeBut like with life at fashion week too all is not lost When everything is available 247 and we are inundated with information in every style shape and form we are calling time on overcrowding and window display of ldquolewksrdquo to single out in a good way those who continue to inspireRajesh Pratap SinghSo many moods so many incarnationshellip Rajesh Pratap Singhrsquos curtaincloser show for Lakmeacute Fashion Week held in partnership with FDCI asserted the eternal allure of the classic ldquoPratap white shirtrdquo in every avatar dinner and tuxedo peplum and pleatsHis interpretation of clothing styles from the 1950s felt selfconsciously retrospective without being burdened by direct references harking back to the time when India was young and resolute as a newly independent nation Flower Duet the first act of Leo Delibesrsquos Lakmeacute a French rendering of Lakshmi the Goddess of wealth performed by singers of the Neemrana Music Foundation offered an emotional purgeMeanwhile in a wistful throwback to mannered elegance the erstwhile salon styles of the rsquo50smdashcinched waists and balloon hemlines cocoon and opera coat styles in dropped shoulder seams statement sleeves and sharp tailoring and finally issuing the cult of sareesmdashtook stage in the virtuoso display This chapter in history also speaks powerfully about homegrown beauty brand Lakmeacutersquos leading lady Simone Tata the defining icon of modern elegance and of signature pearl necklace in the 1950sRPS is a cerebral and controlled clothes maker with an unusual gift for making the complex seem simple while stating the obvious but oh so cleverly Because whatrsquos more obvious than a black and white pairing which he presented in a modern dance of long dress hybrid a blend of a widepeaked lapel doublebreasted sleeveless blouse and a draped skirt short dresses shorter jackets with immaculate cuffs and ghungroostacked boots styling detail Gaurav GuptaRachel Bayros in a Gaurav Gupta ensembleDespite the theme and set design that screamed ldquoInstagram merdquo the clothing ideas by Gaurav Gupta came across as wellthoughtout He knows how to make Indian costume traditions live by playing with materials and techniques and giving them a voice of today The designer revisited the lehengacholi pair and presented what his brand is now synonymous with a onepiece gown comprising a georgette skirt attached to the tulle bodice and dupatta ldquoThe idea is to celebrate goth futuristic elements in modern Indian couture which is essentially the saree and the lehengacholirdquo Gupta explainsWe suspect that Gupta foraged through a hundred shades of grey before he found his ldquogalactic lava greyrdquo for the gown while his knowledge of fabric manipulation and dressmaking allowed him to infuse a hardtocopy sculptural quality in his clothes The use of 3D glass bugle beads and sequin embroidery seemed to mimic meteor showers sprayed on the wearer of his ensemble with a hint of art nouveauinspired gilded threadwork strewn on the blouse The mask as a styling detail not only interpolated imagined galaxies but also made the best case for a genderblurring futureAbraham amp ThakoreGaia Kaur in an Abraham amp Thakore ensemble right Carol Gracias wears Abraham amp Thakorersquos black and white houndstooth patterned double ikat sareeIf you accept that fashion reflects the timesmdashand this writer doesmdashthen you have to concede that the Abraham amp Thakore show that celebrated three decades of the brand was impressive even prescient The collection caught the mood thoughts and values of the present The triumph of logo rebranding The need for simple messaging on social media ldquohellipfor all the days yoursquore not getting marriedrdquo The return of the black and white houndstooth pattern on a handwoven double ikat silk saree first modelled by Carol Gracias at their debut show at the 2010 Delhi fashion week The saree with a matching shirt ensemble is part of permanent archives at Londonrsquos Victoria amp Albert MuseumThis was not however a trip down memory lane but a fresh look at the brandrsquos past hits reigniting the reciprocal affair they continue to enjoy Teamed with towering Oxford shoes the saree was once again draped by Gracias but this time with a highneck sleeveless blouse What could only be interpreted by this writer as a hat tip to the original design idea Gaia Kaurrsquos ensemble at the show was reconceptualised with the colour palette of chartreuse yellow black and white without the houndstooth pattern The Victorian puffsleeve blouse replaced the formal shirt from the original the saree winked and smiled in pearlescent sequins It was as clear and canny a message as any about AampT knowing how women want to lookAnand KabraReha Sukheja in an Anand Kabra ensembleAnand Kabrarsquos refusal to scramble to achieve a ldquopositionrdquo in an industry that once feted him is refreshing Five people worked on a metallic thread and pearl embroidery slip dress over seven days Kabra first designed the pattern which was transferred to a khaka traced and handed over for embroidery ldquoWe had one person solely assigned to burn holes with agarbatti incense sticks and get rid of the negative spaces to create effective resultsrdquo Kabra says about the processThis piece brings to mind the jali wall and minarets on the facades of Hyderabadrsquos Toli Masjid 1671 AD in cutwork and delicacy ldquoIt is craft it is handmade it is ultimate couture You can layer this piece over a kurta shirt or a dress and if you are daring wear it sheer with lingerie Separates is where I see the future of Indian fashion Letrsquos celebrate individualityrdquoNachiket BarveDaman Brar in an ensemble by Nachiket BarveStraight up representation Nachiket Barve argues is a bit banal ldquoThe abstract version of a flower or maybe an anemone or even a stylised constellation is exciting for merdquo Barve says of whatrsquos become the brandrsquos signature motif Once perceived as a feminine clicheacute Barversquos interpretation brings to mind the Baroque round mandala pattern a circular figure representing the universe in Hindu and Buddhist symbolismThis long dress made from 21 meters of handwoven silk organza took 1284 hours of intricate eyestraining handwork to create the cutwork applique beading and thread embroidery And yet it weighs only 280 grams ldquoThis piece amalgamates the effortless minimal luxury that I have always strived to express Irsquove learned over the years to get out of my head and carefully look at the women I dress and consider what they want In a way that feels authentic and uncompromising to merdquo Bloni by Akshat BansalVanshika Saxena in a Bloni ensembleThe crazier the world gets the more Akshat Bansalrsquos supersized clothing ideas make sense By contrast to the usual lineup of lookatmebaby insert jazz hands here the harnesses the skin and dystopiacore finery at the Bloni show didnrsquot exactly scream ldquowear merdquo His clothes carry an overall approach of dealing with the body its pleasure and power And the ways in which it can be fetishized coopted and curbed suggests that this young designer understands the direction in which things are whizzing about aheadHe calls the show ldquothe first instinctive frontline of experiencing reconstructed emotions revealed via stories and truths in the futurerdquo His appropriation of emotions as singlemindedly gender agnostic come undone with the play of proportions in the form of cropped jackets with exaggerated shoulders sliced jumpsuits and a line of lowwaist cavernous jeans with its zips and fastenings relocated to the side panel byebye saggy crotch The future is key for Bansal The austere medievalstyle pewter gown is crafted from recycling stainless steel metal waste converted into yarn of soft metal on sight and touch it looks and feels no different than any luxe fabric Bansal pairs this ensemble with a sculpted boxy jacket with jagged power shoulders created entirely from rubber