Fashion Weeks have a special place in my heart as it is my close endeavour with fashion, creativity and talent. After having gone through the hectic schedule of five days, Martini On heels have a trendreport on Amazon India Fashion Week Spring Summer ’17, for you all.
The opening show- The Road to Chanderi completely mesmerised the audience at the show. 16 designers came together to celebrate one of the finest fabrics of India- Chanderi, each through their unique collection. Anita Dongre, Aneeth Arora (Pero), Divyam Mehta, Vaishali S., Pratima Pandey, Gaurav Jai Gupta (Akaaro), Karishma Shahani Khan, Krishna Mehta, Samant Chauhan, and Sanjay Garg (Raw Mango) showcased their impressive creations. Aditi Rao Hydari, who was the showstopper, and walked the ramp dressed in an intricately woven black lehenga, designed by Raw Mango’s Sanjay Garg closed the first show.
The day 1 also had a show by Love Generation– a brand whose very ethos speaks global acceptance. It made a sparkling debut at the Amazon Fashion Week with Disha Patani sashaying down the ramp. The brand has been created and blossomed under the vibrant, dynamic, ever-changing ‘trendscape’ of the city, and it was launched in Paris earlier this month. The front row comprised of an eclectic mix of guests from the fashion fraternity, society, Bollywood and Delhi glitterati, Dino Morea, Nitya Mehra, Chunky Panday, Ritesh Sidhwani among others. The ladies behind Love Generation- Nandita Mahtani, Bhavana Pandey and Dolly Sidhwani are all stalwarts of the fashion world in India. The collection comprised of ingenious cuts, bold elements alongside a striking colour palette that is a perfect fit for every urban chic woman.
The last show on the day1 was in collaboration with Italy. For the first time, The Fashion Design Council of India got Italy on board as the partner country for the Amazon India Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2017. The Italian Trade Commission in collaboration with the FDCI and in association with ASSOCALZATURIFICI (Italian Footwear Manufacturers’ Association) and AIMPES (Italian Leather goods Manufacturers’ Association), presented 45 Italian brands at their show Fashion Appeals from Shoulder to Heels. Out of the 45 Italian brands, 41 top brands of shoes and bags are ready to take the Indian market by the storm with their strong fundamentals of design, comfort and craftsmanship. This show captured a lot of attention of the audience, and everything from ensembles to shoes were noteworthy about it.
The last show on the day2 was by Rajesh Pratap Singh and Ashish N Soni. Rajesh Pratap Singh collection belonged to the world where asymmetry and bold graphics are the norm. Signature hand woven woolikats blended with high tech multi layered textiles ruled the ramp to represent the perfections in the imperfect world. He was applauded for his out of the box thinking, and again very unique creations that has always been his forte.
Looking back to the 25 years of Ashish N Soni, and looking forward to the next innings for the brand, the Spring/Summer 2017 for Amazon India Fashion Week was a menswear only collection that focused on a subdued color palette. With the collection predominantly in shades of black & white – keeping a largely monochrome look – grey was also one of the key shades that featured in the collection. One of the key pieces from his collection was ‘Puddle Pant’ which is the adaptation of flared pants with dramatic silhouettes at the bottom, bringing in visual drama and a break from the conventional styles reserved for men.
Martini On Heels was really mesmerized by the Pankaj and Nidhi’s collection on the Day4 which was all about marrying new textures and prints that has been never seen before from the duo. Pastel shades dominated the collection with textures created by raffia garnished with leather and threadwork doodling. Printed fabrics were cut in scallop and amoeba shapes, with symmetrically and asymmetrically placed throughout the garments. Celebrating the spirit of summer the silhouettes were anti-fit and easy, keeping in mind the playful muse for the season. The glamour of the designers was kept intact with an army of metallic red-carpet ready looks amalgamated with the new textures and techniques.
Another show which was awaited by everyone but went noticeably missing on the Amazon India Fashion Week spring/summer 2017 schedule was Pero. However, the brand didn’t disappoint the audience at all. The credit for this is of course to the brand’s creative director Aneeth Arora. Péro recently moved its headquarters to a new venue, and Arora wanted to bring the crowd to the new location. Considering that Pero ran a live installation on all days of Amazon India Fashion Week, where customers could come and interact with the karigars and the designer at their studio itself. The showcase of the collection took place through Instagram and facebook on 15th October at 8 PM. This season, it was the work of painter and botanist Pierre-Joseph Redouté that caught Arora’s eye. Redouté was the court artist for Marie Antoinette, often known as the Raphael of Flowers. Drawing references from his illustrations of the garden at the Château de Malmaison, Arora has worked detail into her garments by mirroring the artwork through embroidery. Pero was one of the most interesting collections showcased at the Amazon India Fashion Week Spring/Summer’17 which really floored everyone with its design inspiration and the way they presented their collection to the audience.
The last, but certainly not the least was the finale by JJ Vallaya and Alpana Neera (Guru–Sihshya). People always look forward to the grand finale at the fashion week as it is one show which closes the five day saga with a bang. The grand finale this season for Amazon India Fashion Week 2017 continued the theme of ‘India Modern Festive’. The major attraction of the finale was the way the show was conceptualised, taking inspiration from the ‘Guru-Shishya’ (teacher-student) philosophy and co-conceptualised by veteran designer JJ Vallaya and his former assistants Alpana Mittal and Neeraj Chauhan. The label Alpana Neeraj is best known for its architectural, sculpted and, dramatic ensembles. JJ Valaya was the mentor for the designers and pertners now as both started their career as designers under him. The collection of jewel-toned garments that ranged from gowns to lehengas and dresses spoke of opulence and magnificence with their each beautifully crafted piece. It was a perfect display of ‘India Modern Festive’ in the real sense on the runway!
