Winter/Festive Trends - India 2013

By Monica Mistry

Photography: Courtesy Lakme Fashion Week

LFW 2013 Collection

Every trend is a mirror of what society needs out of design. This season, there is a clear reflection of structured outfits, colour-blocking and the fusion of contemporary meets traditional.

Neons, velvets and brocades have company this season. From the recently concluded Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 13, three striking trends suggest they are here to conquer hearts and add to the design sensibilities of everyday outfits.

Model in Jatin Varma outfit

Rocky S Creation

Structured outfits

Working on structure and demure fluidity in form of sexy corsets with sheer layering, designer Jatin Varma’s Red Carpet collection had wired, rigid and moulded-to-the-body op art shapes - totally out-of-box with transparency as the focal point.  Shela Khan showcased beaded tasseled slim gown, will-power ivory midi sheath and net trail. And standing tall with an almost experimental edge with structured blue gathers running down the spine, was a suit by designers Riddhi and Siddhi. 

Outfit by Manish Malhotra

Anita Dongre style

Colour-blocking

Anita Dongre, Payal Singhal collections wore this trend beautifully. Payal started with a silk mul colour-blocked gown and moved onto a black printed crepé one-sleeve long kurta with churidars. Manish Malhotra’s fabulous hues of Rajasthan and Kutch came alive on the runway as models swirled around wearing creations in rainbow tones of deep green, dark beige, tan, burgundy, shocking pink, red, navy, and mustard dappled with mirror work and interesting colour-blocking. In Kanika Sachdeva’s line colour-blocking appeared in brown, dusky pink, beige, tan, grey, olive green, dull yellow, deep purple and dull blue. Using nappa, nubuck, suede and crackle; the trims were the highlight in dull silver or gun metal finish. 

Shruti Sancheti's creation

Sabyasachi Mukherjee Creation

Contemporary meets traditional

Experimenting with sartorial style directions from the land of dainty kimonos, Sailex allowed the traditional Japanese ensemble as well as the quipao and the cheongsam to set his creativity into motion. Combining the beauty of Jamdani weaves and hand-embroidered techniques, Soumitra Mondal’s “Bunon” collection offered a contemporary line but with strong traditional touches. Shurti Sancheti’s purple pleated wide pants teamed with a cropped top, tucked kerchief hem smock, wrap lungi with diagonal top, asymmetric closure layered tunic and a coloured kurta under a pinafore were refreshingly modern but fused in traditional fabrics.

Ritu Kumar Creation

So, are you ready to get your closet to reflect some of the charming trends of this season?!