Still recovering from all the attention and reaction from my earlier post, I am back with my two cents on Day 2 of Lakmé Fashion Week. I am thinking I should savour every bit of this review as I am highly doubtful I will be invited the next season :P

All those sighs of disappointment from Day 1 turned into prayers of sorts as Nimish Shah (Shift), Yogesh Chaudhary (Surendri) and Wendell Rodricks made for a much better day at Lakme Fashion Week Winter Festive 2012. Although there were some disappointments (more about that in a bit) but the day kicked off well. The first show was by Aartivijay Gupta, Nikhil Thampi and Yogesh Chaudhary. I missed it trying to buy a phone to be able to tweet (I feel out of breath when I can’t tweet during fashion weeks. And even after missing the show I couldn’t decide which one to buy :P). I saw Yogesh Chaudhary’s video and visited each one’s stalls at the venue for a closer look at their clothes. Yogesh Chaudhry’s pacman inspired garments  were well, fun. I loved the concept, jumpsuits and the black & yellow saree and I still felt that he could have pushed it a little more. I would have loved to see him run wild in the ‘Miss Pac-in District’ and play with warmer colours. Oh and his pac-man accessories deserve a special mention, so adorable!

The next show was by Nimish Shah, Payal Khandwala and Roma Narsinghani. I can safely say that Nimish Shah’s show pretty much restored my faith in the mad routine of watching fashion shows  the wait (outside and inside the venue), the wine, the dressing up etc. Phew! :P His collection was oh-so-vintage! His pleated skirts (they’re my absolute weakness) and knitted mini sweaters made me go ‘oh-I-want-to-wear-that-and-head-to-Paris’ every now and then.

 

 

Payal Khandwala’s ‘Sadhu and Samurai’ collection’s first piece on the ramp was so Haider Ackermann-ish in styling that I got a little too distracted to pay attention for a little while. I love her draping sensibility but now I am craving to see something new. She can easily write a book on how to wear a piece of cloth in the most stylish way. I will totally buy it. I loved her Summer Resort collection and was hoping to see a new take on her signature relaxed silhouettes.

 

Coming to Roma Narsinghani’s collection, I didn’t understand it. The next show was a much anticipated one. Stylist turned fashion retail portal diva turned designer Pernia Qureshi and Komal Sood. Pernia’s Pop Up Shop’s Facebook page constantly bombards us with her pictures of her attending Dior and Chanel shows at Paris Fashion Week, she has styled India’s current style icon Sonam Kapoor and is always beautifully turned out so the least you expect is some visual candy on the ramp. I was expecting brilliant styling and was let down in terms of finish, fit and presentation. I came across as a total bitch when I tweeted “Pernia should go back to attending shows in Paris and posting pictures about them” while some fashion editors totally lapped it up :P Considering Sonam Kapoor threw an after party for Pernia, she’s obviously into her clothes.

Drashta Sarvaiya showcased some pretty pieces inspired by Gustav Klimt’s paintings. While Babita M and Priyadarshini Rao’s Chairworthy Collection (yes, believe it) left me very very confused but Wendell Rodricks’ Timeless collection more than made up for them and then some.

I am going to use simple layman terms like ‘brilliant finish’ and ‘amazing stitch’ to praise Wendell Rodricks‘ collection because he really shows us that brilliance is not dependent on the snobbery of what you know. It’s all about what you do with what you know. Using water (Himalayan, to be precise) as his inspiration, he created some beautiful, fluid silhouettes (how many times have I used the word already??!!) in gorgeous colours. Ponchos with sari like hem, crepe silk maxi with coloured  patti, scooped one-shoulder tunic, asymmetrical top teamed with satin sharara trousers and crepe tunic with rose petal organza neckline, a black crepe silk tunic looped to create pockets… we saw all that and more. Take a look.

So yeah, the three designers made day 2 absolutely worthwhile. I missed out on a lot of ‘talent box’ shows due to time and distance constraint… which is a permanent issue I have been told. Also the Talent Box venue/MSA/tent whatever you want to call it, is literally like a box… tiny and over-packed (you don’t need passes for those shows, which is a great thing if you have space). Anyway, all the hardwork (standing in heels for 12 hours, making sure you don’t get drunk on free wine  and trying to remember the names of all the people you met is bloody right hardwork) day 2 left me so so tired that I skipped day 3. I am going to skip to day 4 in my next post. Oh I also can’t wait to write about Delhi Couture Week. Do leave your comments below :)

 

* All pics in this post and the earlier post courtesy: Lakme Fashion Week