On a sunny day in Paris, Vaishali S made a bold debut at the Paris Couture Week Fall/Winter 2021 when she showcased her couture collection in a beautiful location at the Fashion Capital. True to her signature style, the look was fluid with a juxtaposition of drapes with structure. Vaishali recovered from COVID when she was creating her collection and ‘Breathe’ was the theme that she worked upon.
Vaishali used sheer and light-weight fabrics like Khand, Chanderi and a gossamer thin Merino wool weave. Her E-zone was the shoulder and the yoke of the ensemble. Known for her fashion ethos of ‘wearable art’, she adorned each creation with fin-like or leaf-like structures. The shoulders were like wraps that were draped in swirling forms. Her signature technique of cording, using long hand-rolled cords, became both embellishment and a structural element; winding around hips and limbs. The embellishment was primarily tone-on-tone with detailing of accordion pleats and Origami-like cutwork.
The dresses were long, diaphanous and sheer with high slits and asymmetric hemlines. The look was avant-garde with lots happening on the bodice of the ensembles while keeping waist-below simply fluid. A typical style of creation, which in fashion lingo is called ‘deconstruction’. Vaishali used lots of purple, greys white and ivory, crimson red and spark of yellow in the collection that was unusually big. Live violinist added to the eclectic mood.
Elated to be showing at the prestigious Paris Couture Week, Vaishali said, “As an Indian woman showcasing at the pinnacle of global couture, this is a significant milestone. India has a strong design language in terms of craftsmanship combined with social impact, richness of technique beyond embroidery or plain manufacturing. The idea was to put the Indian weave on the highest platform, in its purest form.”
Text by Jaydeep Ghosh
Image Courtesy: Vaishali S
Find more about Vaishali S and Paris Couture Week:
https://fhcm.paris/en/paris-fashion-week-en/dates-3
