The Fashion This Week

For the last four days I have been at an event which is widely being presented as Asia's biggest fashion trade event. Eight out of ten times my eyes feel as if someone has poured molten lava into them, looking at the level of craft which out on display. If this is what is the best that the country can present than our country is seriously in creative famine.

I am aware of the tremendous pressure each designer is under to create and present a new collection each time and there are a lot of instances when someone may not be able to. Fair enough, but it just so happens that this is my tenth fashion week in the country and barring a few instances, which I could count on my fingertips of astounding talent, it has been a sad scenario.

Each season I hope that we will see some great fashion, which may not be like a McQueen or Galliano but atleast somewhere on its way? All that we can do is hope.

The Fashion Week!

It's here and it's bigger than before. For all the latest look at my twitter updates on the right. Detailed analysis and images a little later, will all be here.

Alendander McQueen: The Hooligan of Fashion

 

16 March 1969 – 11 February 2010

The man who famously sewed 'I'm a Cunt' in Prince Charles's jacket at Savile Row, the man who put Kate Moss as the world's first holographic projection - just because she couldn't be in his show, the man who was over the top but deeply inspired by world culture, the man who is perhaps best remembered for his theatrics and impeccable tailoring, the man who was pure genius is no more. Fashion has died yet again.

As words leave me, here is a look at his genius down the years:

spring/summer 2010 - Darwin's On the Origin of Species

 

Autumn/Winter 2009

 

 

The critically acclaimed autumn/winter 2008

the spring/summer 2004 show was the hit of the season; based on the 1969 film "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?", with models duetting down the catwalk for a dance marathon. 

  

 the spring/summer 2008 collection

  

Floral embellishments adorn another unusual creation from his spring/summer 2007 show

 

The new face of lace: an ethereal, Miss Havisham-style lace gown is paired with an antler headpiece, from autumn/winter 2006. The surreal juxtaposition is classic McQueen.

  

  

  

KFW

Someone recently just told me about KFW. I thought Kolkata Fashion Week, it turns out KFW now means something else too - Kerala Fashion Week! Am not even going to begin by saying the usual yet another fashion week speech, because at this point that seems like such a rhetoric. Shocked? No. More like disgusted! I mean am all for Indian tradition and heritage and protecting the old and reviving the vanishing, but come on, this is  bit too much you'll have to agree?!

So still wondering why am venting about this ridiculous proposition? Here is a look, for your eyes only - don't say I didn't warn ya...

 

  

  

  

 

Jury? What that?

So then another season. Autumn|Winter 2010 is here and the race to the season has already begun. In the league of fashion weeks in India, today perhaps this is the oldest and the biggest at the moment. Almost every designer dreams to be have a prime slot on the seasonal schedule - which more often than not are difficult, political and ofcourse expensive. Usually there is a lot of activity at the venue; models, media, celebs, wannabe's and ofcourse the desiners all trying to put their best foot forward and viying for attention.

Usually I enjoy the fashion weeks, it's about fun, friends and fashion for me, although lately at Wills its only about Friends. The fun and the fashion has gone out of the window pretty much. And this season it seems that even the fashion is on its way out. Have just recieved an invite to the model auditions. Like each time. But then looking at the jury panel I was a bit surprised: Ashish Soni, Anjana Bhargav, Payal Jain, Vinod Nair, Niki Mahajan, Rahul Khanna, Asha Kochhar, Aparna Bahl.  Barring Ashish(who I love to bits) and Asha I don't see anyone worth their salt on the panel (nothing new). But the rather surprising addition is that of a prominent journo. Now I don't have anything against him, he is perfectly sweet guy. But what is a bit weird is that everyone knows he is the biggest fash-politics guy that there is!! And worse that instead of being free and fair is paid for and unfair!

I know that we in India love to ape the west - where there is a fashion journo on the panel - but this particular addition is just scary.

Sigh!

For all those girls who want to still come to the auditions, here is the address:

Venue: Sunil Sethi Design Alliance, 209 Okhla Industrial Estate, Phase-III

Date: 2nd February 2010


Time: 1.30 PM onwards

PS: If you're coming to audition, remember to carry your lunch.

Afterhours

Dear Reader,

I dont know who you are or if you actually even read what I type in here. But I know that you exist, because my little map of the world traces you to your city each time you visit me. I know I havn't been writing much lately, which is a bit sad on my part, but fashion wise there isn't much what is happening here as of now.

I normally don't visit new fashion stores,  its no point really, its the same garments and the same fashion statement which the designer is trying to make in their studio. Besides, there aren't any stores in the country which actually take fashion seriously-in terms of their decor or the window displays. They all stick with the tried and tested formula-give the customer what they want, not perk them up and treat them intelligently and give them something they 'might' want.

But all that is set to change with a new store which opened recently and of which I had the chance to visit. After hours in Hauz Khas Village is such a store which has single handedly taken upon itself to change the way we see fashion stores in the country.

Established by 6 designers themselves, there is no middleman to cheat them of the money which they will make from the sales. Also absent is the same boring mannequin displays with sales women who run around you all the time. Spread across three floors, with a quaint lake as the view, the store sells very quirky one of a kind pieces, with a made to measure area on the top floor. There is also a section for  beautiful yardages for your home and furniture pieces which are made on special orders.

So next time you are in the heritage village on this side of Delhi and feel the urge to spend some money on designer outfits which arent available anywhere else in the country,  drop by at Afterhours.

Designers at the store: 11:11, Azara,Mayank Mansingh Kaul, Morphe, Pèro and Peter D’Ascoli.

Mon-Sat 11 am to 7 pm
A-18, Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi
afterhours.in, info@afterhours.in

The Kingdom of Love

At the dawn of the contemporary Indian Fashion Scene...there were just a handful of designers. The first ones who came out of the fancy design institute - NIFT. Most of them went on to be stalwarts of the nascent industry.

JJ Valaya is one of them. He is someone who built his empire of fashion on excess and rich fabrics, designs which were inspired by royalty and the wealth of Indian kings. Wearing his outfits became a matter of pride for more brides and grooms at weddings as they wanted to project the image of being rich. JJ soon became stuff of legends as ge went deeper into his roots to fish out inspirations and some long lost traditions of making outfits and styles.

And then came a series of interesting designs which perhaps fell flat on the ground. Men in skirts. By no means I love a gorgeous hunk in a kilt but not the long flowy skirts which are so reminscent of the ghagra traditions. It began from a season and then went on to a repetitive nature of JJ's clothes. Now each of his shows are not complete without any of them..what began as a fantasy Kingdom of Love is today the crazy design guy who makes outfits for God knows who!

What I really want to know is who buys these weird outfits? Why does he make them? If you will notice JJ no longer shows up in any fashion magazine or is hardly ever talked about as a prominent designer.

What the hell happened?