Lakme Fashion Week - Winter Festive 2010 - Rohan Arora

My bad fortunes continue! No sooner had I recovered, my dad was hospitalized with Hypoglycemia. It was a big scare for all of us, as appare4nlty it can get really serious! I am about done with trying times. Today is another day, and it’s bright and sunny outside, and I am not going to let a little bit of stormy weather get in the way of the last traces of summer we have left to enjoy.
The last of day of Lakme Fashion Week Winter Festive had a delightful surprise for the fashion lovers. The accessories show featured the extremely talented Rohan Arora. I met Rohan at his stall at “The Source”. An amicable, unassuming young designer, all smiles and filled with enthusiasm about his new collection. “The shoes are all hand-made, with a mix of printed fabrics, hand-painted khadi, and leather”, he informed the curious crowd naturally attracted to the quirky and colorful collection. Having started his label in 2008, Rohan has been creating high-end fashion footwear for numerous big names in Indian fashion design.
His collection featured at the Lakme Fashion Week was an eclectic mix of colors, with hand-painted posters of old films painted on strikingly edgy footwear. Models walked the ramp sporting ankle and calf length boots in shades of beige, brown, blue, orange and red. Spiral heels, cuffs, side flaps and flat lace-ups had the audience hooked to the trendy designs.


I am going to post the remaining reviews soon, and hope that if life is planning on springing any more surprises at me, they’d at least be pleasant ones. Will soon be visiting my favorite lovely blogs and catching up on all the glorious fashion and lifestyle news from all of you. Till then, take care and wait for some super exciting, life changing news from me!

PHOTO SOURCE

Anaikka - Fashion Jewellery Goes Forward

Combining architectural shapes with vintage aesthetics in bold “statement jewellery” is Anaikka. Their stall at the Lakme Fashion Week took my breath away. Metallic grey and gold neck pieces, shoulder pieces and shrugs stood tall, beckoning the independent new age woman, who isn’t afraid to flaunt her strength and her grit. A unique blend of the edgy and the luxurious, these pieces are as modern as jewellery can be, while at some point finding their origin in tradition. The stall was a delight, giving form to that clichéd but not often followed term, Fashion Forward.

Lakme Fashion Week Summer Resort 2010 - Day 3 - Vijay Balhara - Borala Nautch

Flamboyant and vibrant, Vijay Balhara’s Collection “Borala Nautch” had every bit the fun element expected from the young designer. “Borala” means a traditional headgear of the Northern Women, while “Nautch” is derived from the Sanskrit word for dance: Nritya.
“Naach” was a popular dance style performed by young girls known as “Nautch Girls”. The culture of the performing art of Nautch rose to prominence during the later period of Mughal Empire, and the Company Rule . Dance as a form of entertainment and art was a rage with the Princely states and Nawabs. “Borala” was extensively used as a headgear in Vijay’s collection. With the silhouettes inspired from the motifs and the culturally rich clothing style of Nautch Girls, Vijay’s collection is for the Urban Woman not afraid to flaunt her individuality. The vivid color palette shows the designer’s penchant for experimenting. Blending rural influences seamlessly with urban sensibilities, Vijay has truly lived up to his reputation as an emerging designer to watch out for.

Using sensuous, natural fabrics like cotton with satin weave, mul, voil, linen and soft brocades, Vijay has created an interesting line including tunics, dresses, capes, jumpsuits, shrugs, skirts, and churidar pants. Playing with a wide color palette of ivory, beige, orange, pink, fuchsia, yellow and gold, and using embellishments like gold sequined kanthawork, resham thread embroidery, pipe work and cut daana work, Vijay’s collection definitely promises great things to come from his brand VJB.













Vijay takes a bow...

The after-effects of Aftershock

Oh, and I just had to share this really cute find from Aftershock. They had a 50% Annual Sale and I would have been a fool to not lift this clutch. Apart from the striking color, it is really comfortable to hold and goes with several formals that I use quite often. Aftershock is fast becoming my favorite shopping destination. It has more than a small share of little surprises tucked away that make great fashion buys. In the past, I have often picked up handbags, accessories, and handbags from Aftershock. And now, this little clutch is asking for company!

Aftershock is one of the UK’s leading designers, retailers and manufacturers of ladies wear and accessories. I love their use of exuberant colour schemes and beautiful design work. Their collections invariably feature some intricately beaded ladies wear, casual wear and some stunning accessories. The brand has its own popular daywear range entitled Little Buddha. But the best feature of the collection is affordable glamour. Their press feature claims that their celebrity followers include Madonna, Helen Mirren, Charlotte Church and Katherine Jenkins.

My past purchases from the store include a lovely floral print dress, and a jaw-dropping glamorous kurta in white, with silver sequins. I know that I can always turn to this store for a quick retail therapy session. But don’t expect the quick thrills to come cheap. For though the designs are affordable, they are not really budget buys. Unless on sale, that is. But it makes good fashion sense to try this store at least once. You never know what you might find. And I can vouch for one fact; the after-effects of Aftershock are almost always really pleasant, not to forget addictive.