Fashion's new crop opens LFW W-F 2015 on high note

Mumbai: They have their own take of fashion, be it the out-of-the box inspiration or experimentation in terms of patterns or cuts, the seven new faces in the fashion design industry, who showcased their collection under the Generation Next category at the opening day of Lakme Fashion Week winter-festive 2015, set the standards high for many.

This year, mentored by top fashion expert Sabina Chopra, the 20th batch of seven Gen Next designers presented by INIFD dazzled the audience with their creativity at the fashion gala that started here on Wednesday at Hotel Palladium.

From Ajay Kumar's High on Kaleidoscopic prints, Charchit Bafna's fashion neutrality, Kriti Tula's upsclaing fashion, Jebin Johny's oriental fashion fusion, Ishita Mangal's intriguing fashion, Shivangi Sahni's deconstructed elegance to Siddhartha Bansal's rustic fashion impact, every theme has a story to tell.

Kumar showed his version of men's wear for the 21st century male through a collection called “Consonance and Dissonance”.

With black and white and loads of kaleidoscopic patterns, which were unbelievably intricate and geometric with florals, birds and beasts, the designer unleashed a colour story of lotus pink, cranberry, parrot green with hints of bright red.

He used 100 percent cotton, linen and silk with digital prints to showcase a collection that had Indo-Persian silhouettes featuring angarkha jacket, draped cowl printed shirt, kilt trousers, interesting back-over-lap trousers, long kurta, and embroidered the bib shirt with jewelled crystal beads.

Bafna's collection comprised of men's and women's wear line that bordered on androgynous touches. It moved effortlessly between both genders with silhouettes and styles ideal for casual wear.

Called “Elakka Ice”, Bafna's collection moved away from conventional winter hues to blue, green and gold with distinct banana leaf prints and floral hand embroidery.

For her label Doodlage, Delhi-based designer Tula unveiled a collection of garments that projected how industry waste can be upscaled to create stylish women's wear. Her collection, called “Purge”, was inspired by evolution of basics. She recreated the white shirt and draped scarves for the fashion conscious.

Adding patch work, knitting back fabric strips from production waste and block printing, Kriti displayed slouchy silhouettes with discreet detailing.

The shapes bordered almost on the androgynous level with the kurtis aimed at the versatile dresser in the age group 14-65 years with easy silhouettes that can fit any shape or size.

Cochin-based designer Johny showcased his collection called “KathaKubuki”. It was a dramatic amalgamation of two dance forms - Kathakali from India and Japan's Kabuki dance.

The eight very feminine and quirkily designed pieces had fusion prints in bold colours of red, blue, black on a white backdrop in 90 percent cotton and 10 percent Lycra. The highpoint of he collection were the form-fitting silhouettes.

Delhi-based designer Ishita Mangal presented “Misprison of Treason” under her label “Quo”.

She offered a new stylish unconventional twist for women's wear with dramatic prints, slogans and accessories for the modern adventurous woman.

With crime as the theme, she was inspired by the people involved around the happening, like detectives, victims and many more. Using solid rich woody hues, the silhouettes moved from stiff collars to pleated silk backs, cut-outs, crêpe skirts teamed with pleated leather trousers and long trench coats.

Asked about her take on androgynous trends in the fashion scenario, Mangal told IANS: “There is lot of saturation in the market for fitted clothes. We are going simpler and easier so I feel that androgynous trends really work well in India we don't have perfect body and with this, we can easily hide our flaws without trying too hard. We are trying to create a look which shows that we are not making effort.”

With easy silhouettes as the centre of attraction, Mangal brought in luxurious fabrics with thread embroidery and suede detailing to highlight the creations. The prime colours were navy blue and mustard with hints of burnt orange and earthy tones to complete the effect.

Tassels and fringes were the focal point of the layered palazzo, black sleeveless jacket and woollen tasselled coat.

Last but not the least was Delhi designer Siddhartha Bansal whose collection called “Story Teller” revealed an elegant feminine fashionable tale on the ramp.

Revolving around the story of the mythological divine bovine goddess, Kamadhenu, described as mother of all cows, the designer's collection was inspired by the gates and doors of Indian vintage havelis.

But while the inspiration was historic, Bansal's shapes were ultra-modern and ideal for the fashion forward 21st century woman.

The quirky cow and milk bottle prints were matched with embroidery in vibrant colours.

With sporty bomber jackets, tank tops, track pants, sweat shirts, minis, cropped jackets, full circle skirts, oversized jackets and figure hugging peplum dresses, he added a profusion of prints-on-prints, layering and quirky accessories like sneakers, back packs, clutches, and contrasted them with Indian traditional jewellery.