New Delhi: Priyadarshini Rao
 At
the end of the garden, the cobbled path leads into the forest, and beyond the
wooden bridge that goes over the babbling brook, is a clearing where the flowers
grow in wondrous colours, butterflies flitter about and everything is beautiful
under the warm afternoon sun. It is to such a place that Priyadarshini Rao's
collection belongs. Full of innocent joi de vivre, Rao's work evoked a sense of
simplicity and timeliness in its expression.
The
long, layered a-line skirts in georgettes and silks were teamed with crushed
silk blouses and worn with ankle skimming coats were feminine and gamine, as
were the yoked patchwork dresses with draw string necklines, rinkled over
shirts, and antiqued light weight velvet tunics. The colours were bright and
warm- fuchsia, orange, sapphire, turquoise, mauve, sage, slate and butterscotch.
Delicate thread embroidery in spontaneous floral patterns was used to embellish
the skirts and dresses, alongside the use of the tie-n-dye leheria patterns, and
feathered appliqués.
Pretty, feminine and playful, a
collection that evokes simple yet magical moments.
Day 2, Show 2, April 28th
2004
Puja Nayyar
 Sometimes,
fashion extends itself beyond the domain of design into the realm of art. Puja
Nayyar's collection made a very strong statement about war – the unimaginable
horror it leaves in its wake, its absolute futility, and the physical and
emotional destruction it causes. It was a complex collection, with each ensemble
composed of multiple pieces layered, tied, buttonholed, bandaged and harnessed
together.
Fabrics like faux fur, fleece,
cottons, web-like mohair knits, rexine etc were given disturbingly distressed
treatments like ruching, quilting, pleating, patching etc and even though the
collection was made almost entirely in white and ivory with only tints of steel
blue, salmon and gray, it appeared aggressive and aggrieved at the same time.
Identifying silhouette shapes
was close to impossible with Nayyar completely redefining all established
parameters. There was a total absence of any symmetry and identifiable shapes
and the garment's exploded, imploded, rearranged their shapes and reassembled
themselves into compound forms. Skirts, shirts, vests, jackets and pants were
vaguely identifiable.
Accessorized with oversized
bags in unusual shapes like boxes, bullets, bombs, and binoculars, the
collection truly represented the sensibility and sensitivity of an artist at
work.
RR
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Day 2 at LIFW
