India Fashion Week _ Spring/Summer21: Going phygital

The Spring/Summer 2021 edition of the India Fashion Week kicked off on the 14th of October with designer Rajesh Pratap Singh opening the Week with an enigmatic collection and designer Namrata Joshipura closing the day with a collection that can be called ‘Athleisure’, a much overused fashion lingo these days.

Rajesh Pratap Singh created dolls out of oxygen cylinders and called them ‘O2 Baby’. These dolls added character to the collection titled “Fall. ing.2020” that were stitched out of Pratap’s finely woven ‘Glass Cotton’ that MASH revealed first here, handloom, silk and satin. He created a sublime line of whites with funnel neck detailing and away-from-the-body silhouette and colourful line of vibrant jackets layered over maxi skirts and collared shirts, embellished with metallic block prints. The signature pin tucks were definitely there and so were Kutch jackets and tops. Layering was over-riding trend in Pratap’s Fall 2020 collection. It was indeed a visual treat dipped in high fashion from Rajesh Pratap Singh.

Rajesh Pratap Singh- Fall 2020

The Namrata Joshipura label has become the go-to label for Bollywood starlets looking to make a red carpet impact. Hats were a novelty in Joshipura’s collection that had faux-fur cloaks, lounge pant-suits, girly frocks and separates all embellished with metallic trims and detailed with sly cuts and puffed sleeves. The colour palette was primary of soft hues, sprinkled with black and shimmering gold in places. Namrata states, “The label has a vision of a global aesthetic. Contemporary silhouettes are combined with modern interpretations of artisanal embellishments.”

Namrata Joshipura – SS21

Nitin Bal Chauhan presented NAEVUS, a collection inspired by the JallianWala Bagh Massacre. Hints of colonial references fused with military inspired detailing is prominent in the collection. Victorian collars & cuffs, exaggerated sleeves combined with 3D embroidery is seen in the collection. Grunge textures and bold military styling were interesting aspects of the show.

Nitin Bal Chauhan-SS21

Dhi is a collaboration of designers, artists, artisans, entrepreneurs and technologists led by Anjana Bhargav and Ankita Bhargava Meattle. “Dhi started as a single thought of how to preserve Indian traditional workmanship and keep them relevant in our ever-evolving world”, states the designer duo of mother and daughter. Their collection “Mirror Me” comprises of separates that are conducive to working from home in relaxed fits with sharp construction. The designers love to call it, “Above the KeyBoard Dressing”.

Dhi – SS21

Vaishali S is a brand that crafts wearable art forms out of handwoven textiles. Since the inception, the brand has been committed to handloom weavers and worked with over 900 weavers and explored 14 different techniques of weaving from various Indian states. The SS’21 collection – “Rebirth” builds the experience in forms of corals, creating a distinct feel of being born again in the slow.