Lakme Fashion Week – Day 3 – Vj Balhara

I am thinking cupcakes and cheese cakes. And dreamy, flowing silhouettes in ethereal, form defying details. Vj unveiled 25 stunning creations from his collection “Age of Innocence”, and celebrated defiantly, the return to honest-to-goodness designing. Making a tongue-in-cheek styling statement, by adorning the models’ hair with colorful cupcakes and cheesecake slices, (his stylist wife Cynthia’s contribution) Vj brought out his characteristic drama, never taking himself too seriously, yet knowing what women want from his fashion statements.

A welcome trend that I have seen in Indian fashion, at least in collections created by designers determined to take Indian fashion to new grounds, is the lack of “bling”. Usually, you take heavy fabrics, put tons of embroidery, sequins, thread work, and you have a collection. Fortunately, Vj does not take that path. Sure, there was cut daana, pipe work and mukaish in her collection. But they were there merely to complement the elaborate fabric detailing that has become Vj’s forte.



Using Chanderi and brocade with ethnic motifs, Vj enthralled the potential buyers and fashion followers alike, with aqua, hot pink, and vibrant green mixed with grey, olive and cream. Silhouettes varied from floor length dresses and smocks to long skirts, chogas and tiered diaphanous tunics. Sheer and fluid fabrics like chiffon, cotton, mull and plisse materials with hints of gold motifs made this a collection every woman would go to bed dreaming of.



The show opened with a white tiered gown with brocade bodice and a patched hem. A grey tiered mini with green lining, drop crotch pants with a flaring top and cropped jacket, a flowing grey and fuchsia outfit, a powder blue full length floor-sweeper teamed with a bolero, and a fluid, vibrant green outfit were among my favorites. Waistcoats with interesting lapels and detailing in soft pastels were recurrent in the collection, teamed with kurtas, gowns, and dresses. The show-stopper was a shimmering gold cape over a plisse smock gown, a fitting finale to a dazzling collection.

So, Day 3 of the Lakme Fashion Week is over. I know I am really behind on the reviews, but madness has unfolded, and you all will soon have all the Indian fashion trends reports soon. For now, I am craving one of Cynthia’s super-adorable cupcakes. For my hair!

Lakme Fashion Week Preview - Farah Sanjana

So the Lakme Fashion Week is around the corner, and the pre-week anticipation is thick in the air. The dates for the winter/festive collections are August 16-21, 2011. Despite August being rainy, the decision to prepone the Fashion week from September to August will help the designers get ample time to meet their order demands after they showcase their collections.

For me, one of the highlights of the Lakme fashion Week is the Gennext Show. This is where the future of Indian Fashion unfolds. Where young designers showcase collections, that will change the direction of the fashion scene in coming years. The designs are rough, raw, and very true to the essence of fashion and style. Of course, I love the works of established designers too. But it’s the young designers that I love to watch out for.

One such designer that you all must keep your peepers out for is Farah Sanjana. The young graduate from the London School of Fashion plans to style well-heeled women who have an eye for quality. In the UK, Farah worked a six month stint assisting pattern cutting for designer Vivienne Westwood, and assisted backstage at Paris and London Fashion Week, helping put together a dress for actress Kim Cattrall and working on Hollywood star Anne Hathaway's gown for the premiere of Alice in Wonderland. Following this, she returned home with innovation, quirks and a waste-not ethic, all of which she picked up on the job. She is now ready to storm the Mumbai runway with a crop of clothes that’s sexy and rebellious, basic and androgynous, and sometimes just plain strange. Architectural shapes, origami, detailed metal work, and extremely structured silhouettes are what one must look forward to in her collection.

If these pictures from her Summer and Cruise Collections are anything to go by, Farah’s blend of edgy sophistication with form exaggeration and bold colors is bound to make her a hit at the Fashion Week Debut.

Lakme Fashion Week Recap

Some of the designers whose work impressed...

Emerging designer Sabah Khan’s Sabashe label let loose a quirky and colorful collection “Tuk Tuk”, (colloquial for the Tangewala or Rickshawala). Finding her muse in the pastel uniforms of the rickshaw drivers and the bright interiors of the rickshaw, Sabah devised a series of trendy, interesting ensembles. From cute bikinis to hot pants, dhoti dungarees, waist coats, T backs - Sabah's inspired summer wear struck a cord with the young and the bold.






Harangad Singh's "Madame Pavone" brought alive the Pre-World War II Fashion decadence with opulent shades like sand, gold lemonade, pink, Tahitian red, sea blue and black. the collection featured maxis, summer cardigans, and flapper dresses from the 1920s shifts, embellished with embroidery replete with fine net, chiffon, seed beads and crystals. Details included pleats, cowls and 3D drapes.

Lakme Fashion Week Day 5 - VJ Balhara

The 5th day of the Lakme Fashion Week Summer / Resort 2011, and I finally made it to the venue. I still can’t get over it. My favorite five days of the fashion season, and I missed them! Well, almost. I did make it to the 1.30 show where VJ sent his collection down the runway. I have already given you a preview of the collection, so won’t go into that again. All I can say is that from the very first strain of the music, it was a collection that had the audience swinging and applauding. VJ’s penchant for controlled drama was at play, as “Rustic Sophistication”, a collection in 100% cotton and chanderi unfolded in an inspired palette of lavender, fuchsia, turquoise, white, ivory and olive among other colors. Empire line smocks, cool summer pants, tunics with gathered hems, full pleated tents, drop crotch linen churidars, flared mul blouses, gypsy dresses, paisley embroidered skirts were all unusually styled with colorful birds in models’ hair, and exquisite, understated accessories that complimented the outfits, the collection bore the VJ Balhara stamp of edgy originality through and through. That the show was styled by VJ’s extremely talented wife Cynthia added a special touch to the event.

But what truly took everyone’s breath away was the showstopper, VJ’s muse Carol Gracias in a melon and taupe tiered circular Angarakha had the audience let out a collective gasp. And then, my favorite moment of every VJ show when the ex-model turned designer walked the ramp for a final bow, as the applause kept getting louder. When I first saw VJ’s designs, I saw in them a promise that finds substance with every new collection. Unfortunately, the show has left me with a dilemma. I am weighed down with the urgent need to lose ample weight to fit into one of VJ’s breathtaking designs. That, I hope will happen before his next collection.









All Photos Courtesy: Nitesh Square Photography

Lakme Fashion Week Preview- Atithi Gupta

Her last outing at the Lakme Fashion Week was titled “Recherche”, or French for “to look ahead”. That’s exactly what Atithi’s style does; to propel women’s fashion into the future. The collection she is going to showcase tomorrow at the Lakme Fashion Week is called “Ella”. The collection celebrates the modern dynamic woman, and is replete with unusual silhouettes that promise to revolutionize daywear. Accentuated with symmetric pleats, folds and twists, the collection underlines a woman’s sensuality, while never ever compromising on functionality. With series of monotones resembling the wet and dry sand, mud, stone, grass colors made in exquisite cotton silks, organza, crepes and chiffons with various drapes and gathers, “Ella” promises to truly expose the natural beauty of the materials.

The collection will have tailored petal-folded shorts and trousers, along with pullovers and kimono shouldered dresses with open-pleated bodices.

Last year, I had to miss her show and really regretted it. This time, for sure, I will try and catch up with the future of city wear as it unfolds on the runway.

The Unforgettable Colors Of Rajasthan...

This weekend, I am headed to Rajasthan. The desert state of India is one of the most beautiful places in the country. The DUNES Festival, where I will be going is going to be celebrating 10 years of Electronica, amidst the breathtaking dunes of Tordi, about 75 kms from Jaipur. Rajasthan has this hauntingly beautiful quality that never ever leaves you. Its colors, textures, music, people, and culture possess you with their vibrancy and uniqueness. Just sharing some of this state’s beauty with you all.





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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...