Big bang opening for couture week

Will you be a goth dulha, or a geisha bride? HDIL India Couture Week, a 6-day fashion extravaganza will decide. Why wait a week when we can bring you this insider's view to the trends that will serenade the ramp, and how actors plan to outsmart their rivals not through box office returns, but ramp attendance

The last time the Bachchan family walked the ramp, Abhishek Bachchan dressed in a flamboyant sherwani in shades of Indigo and purple, swaggered in, and was ready to take a bow before a bevy of models draped in gold net saris seductively stopped him each time, compelling him to walk the ramp no less than eight times. Father and superstar Amitabh Bachchan, who could have made do with a more subtle sherwani than a blazing gold one, closed the show before walking the ramp one last time with Abhishek and daughter Shweta Nanda.

The partners-in-design make no bones about shunning Indian fashion weeks that are held a dime a dozen. But a couture week makes sense in the chaos and clutter, they believe. "It's a totally new collection, with India at the vortex. Its unashamed appeal lies in Indian silhouettes. You won't find a frock here," Sandeep laughs.

Chikankari surfaces again but with a spanking new twist, and is at the epicenter. Other highlights include Sonar (drawn from Satyajit Ray's book and film, Sonar Kella, about a fantasy palace constructed from gold). Another line is an ode to the nomadic Rabadi tribe from Kutch. Here, patchwork of multi-coloured resham embroidery adds excitement to simple silhouettes, while Shabb presents a rare combination of Gothic style and fine luxury.

Who? Manish Malhotra
Expect: Resort take on bridal wear
"I represent glamour, and there's no shame in it. I'm not going to intellectualise my clothes anymore, nor attempt Western wear unless it's a sponsored show. As a designer, creating pretty clothes, representing pure luxury works for me," says a candid Manish. The tinge of self-realisation will manifest itself in Destination Wedding, bridal wear served with a resort twist. Manish's clothes have juggled the impossible task of being traditional while harbouring contemporary attitude. Priyanka Chopra's popular sari in Desi Girl is a case in point.

Model Bhavna Sharma in a Manish Malhotra saree showcased at Couture Week last year. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

The range promises to bring fun and sexy back into wedding clothes, with tapered ghagras and saris with dull sequin work and threadwork setting the tone. The non-conformist colour palette of sand, grey, corals, pink, aquamarine blue and green ensures the collection isn't trapped in season and can be worn all year through.

Who? Suneet Varma
Expect: Jodhpur Palace on a clutch
Suneet Varma's alliance with US-Based haute couture label Judith Leiber, will bring two of his passions together on ramp. Inspired by palaces across the world, the Judith Leiber collection includes 20 pieces. The
coveted bags flaunt imagery and architecture of Jodhpur palaces arrested in a blurry reflection in a lotus pond.
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Model Alicia Raut wears a Suneet Varma outfit at last year's Couture Week.
Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

The tedious inlay work of the Taj Mahal and the ostentatious Hyderabad's Nizam palace, finds place too. With so much drama making sweet noise on accessories, Suneet has decided to keep the clothes, quiet and sensual.

"The line is called La Belle Epoque (A Beautiful Era). Silhouettes and headgears are inspired by the 1895 to 1913 era. Expect a lot of black and gold in velvets something I haven't worked with before."

Here comes the gender bender

Who? Monisha Jaising
Does: pret. first try at couture
The road forked into two one that said she should attempt a couture collection for the first time, and another that took her down the path of designing menswear. Since Mumbai designer Monisha Jaising doesn't do capricious, she shrugged and picked the former. That Couture Week was scheduled in the city she loves, killed any further conflict. "Doing menswear, which I am actually interested in, would mean going back to my design books and reinventing how I think, sketch, cut and design. It needs time. The transition from pru00c3u00aat, which I've been at for 20 years, to couture, was relatively easy," says the veteran who confesses to feeling like a jittery debutant all over again.

Monisha presented two pieces at the 10 year retrospective held during the recently concluded Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai, where she used menswear fabrics to create sexy bustiers for women, with blazer pockets. Her Couture Week collection is expected to be an extension of the same thought. pic/Bipin Kokate

It's less than a week before her show kicks off, and although Monisha's calm persona says she is only discreetly distressed, her cell phone (an old Nokia model she is no hurry to let go) rings incessantly, with assistants hounding her for a string of approvals. The designer, who started out in the company of the late Rohit Khosla and Tarun Tahiliani in the 1990s, has maintained a steady pace, conjuring seemingly fuss-free clothes that metamorphose into chic designer wear once you slip them on.

And while there are enough contenders to take credit for the kurti, it was Monisha who originally sliced the length of the drab kurta, infusing sex appeal into ravine-like necklines embellished with stonework. The sublime
salvation a woman experiences in a Monisha Jaising kaftan worn over her bikini, while sipping on a chilled Watermelon Mojito in St. Tropez, earned her the tag of resort wear expert.

Monisha hopes to make a similar impact with her couture collection, Resort to the Red Carpet in 30 Minutes. "I'm not excited by bridal wear at the moment. But couture needn't necessarily translate into that. By definition, it means 'made-to-measure', and that's the concept I have worked my collection around."

A trend that's the rage abroad, partly thanks to the recession gloom, borrowing clothes from your boyfriend's wardrobe is the idea that's tickled her this time. Monisha decided to pick aloof fabrics synonymous with menswear, ranging from blended, Herringbone and pinstripes, over done-to-death nets and georgettes, to create sensual dresses and gowns. "I'm taking street fashion a couple of notches higher, bringing it to the level of couture. Men's fabrics need to be typically tailored. Instead, I've used them as drapes, with slivers of tulle and chiffon sparsely embellishing them."

Who? Manav Gangwani
Expect: Gowns, elaborate lahengas
A month before the event, Manav Gangwani had a harrowing time trying to reason with his karigars in Delhi who were bought out by competition. Eventually, he had his way. Last year, he was perhaps the only designer who had fun with silhouettes and wacky headgears, to complement the extravagant theme of his show. This time, he guarantees another visual treat during a show he's titled, A Tempestuous Affaire. "For me, fashion is about inner sensuality. Clothes have a profound effect on a woman's persona," he says.

A Manav Gangwani creation from his new collection

Expect graceful Anarkalis, churidar kurtas, gowns, and elaborately embroidered lahengas "both, contemporary and traditional to suit the modern Indian bride".

Who? Varun Bahl
Expect: Origami drapes
When you greet him while he is in the middle of trying his hand at Origami drapes, all you get is a brusque, "Hello", chased by the admission, "I don't know how Japs do it, man!" Delhi designer Varun Bahl is going crazy over creating the "psycho Geisha Indian bride". His show will see models walk the ramp wearing lahengas with kimonos. "Unlike pru00c3u00aat, couture gives you the liberty to experiment without getting bogged down by the rules of continuity," he says about his solo womenswear show.u00a0

Model Tinu Varghese at Varun Bahl's show at Couture Week last year.
Pic/Nimesh Dave

His double show with filmmaker Karan Johar on the last day of the 6-day event, promises to offer men a wearable and sophisticated wardrobe. "There won't be any drama. Just glamorous clothes. It's been a 50-50 association, and I think Karan and I have done a good job."

You won't find them in Film City next week
As if nagging parents weren't enough, come next week, and some of the biggest names in Bollywood conspire to inspire a few more Indians to tie the knot, wearing what else but bridal couture.

Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt

SRK walks for Karan
Any new venture launched by filmmaker Karan Johar is far from complete without close friend and superstar Shahrukh Khan. So when Karan debuts as designer in association with Varun Bahl, he has Khan walk the ramp with wife Gauri. GenNext actors Ranbir Kapoor and Imran Khan will keep the couple company. "I haven't felt the need to use Bollywood names for my shows. In fact, my knowledge about films starts and ends with Karan Johar," says Varun, matter-of-factly.u00a0u00a0

Salman walks for charity
Box office heavyweight Salman Khan flexes his might and goodwill to bring contemporaries Aamir Khan, Sanjay Dutt and Saif Ali Khan to share the ramp with his on-off ladylove Katrina Kaif, at a show in aid of his foundation, Being Human.

Bachchans for Abu-Sandeep
Other than the Bachchan family, Hrithik Roshan with wife Susanne Roshan, Tabu and Vidya Balan will walk the ramp. Sandeep says he's not worried about star power chewing into serious fashion space. "I'm not worried about superstars grabbing the spotlight off our clothes, not in the world we live in today."u00a0

Bebo for Manish
Manish Malhotra, the crusader of sensuality in chiffon, will have Kareena Kapoor dazzling the shutterbugs. The Bollywood costume designer's show will see Saif in row one. Why not have Rani as showstopper after all the weight she's lost? we ask. "Maybe I'll ask her too," he shrugs.

Kareena Kapoor

On ramp
>>Shahrukh Khan
>>Kareena Kapoor
>>Ranbir Kapoor
>>Imran Khan
>>Gauri Khan
>>Hrithik and Suzanne Roshan
>>Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan, Shweta Nanda
>>Tabu
>>Vidya Balan

Front row
>>Saif Ali Khan
>>Jaya Bachchan

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