Batman's Gotham, the Arctic, and androgyny on the ramp at Wills India Fashion Week!

Ananya Bhattacharya

Delhi: Batman`s Gotham city, the frozen ends of the earth, the masculine and the feminine: all of these saw themselves on the ramp on the third day of the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Spring Summer 2013. Designers Alpana & Neeraj, Arjun, Rahul Mishra, Gaurav Gupta and Namrata Joshipura treated their viewers to a lovely evening, replete with nature on the one hand and technology on the other. The conceptions found themselves adequately translated on to clothes and all the designers left viewers ecstatic at the heady display of creativity that ensued on the ramp. Alpana & Neeraj, whose Spring Summer 2013 collection embraced the poles of the earth, presented creations which were extremely extraordinary. Snowflakes, white ice, dazzling blue meltwater lakes, neverending-wintry blacks and greys, crimson that mirrored the setting sun and the dusky skies - all found themselves stitched on to clothes and presented a delight at the show. The Artic and the Antarctic were brilliantly represented by the designer duo, and natural phenomena were beautifully carved on to clothes. Creations displaying shadowy still spectrals, enlarged views of snowflake patterns, trims resembling frozen twigs are some snippets of the creativity that Alpana & Neeraj had presented on the third day of the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Spring Summer 2013. Arjun Saluja`s collection, aptly titled `Rishta`, explores the exceedingly complex facet of life called androgyny. The utterly paradoxical and simultaneously compatible union of the male and the female selves found themselves exquisitely represented on to shapes, silhouettes, fabrics and colours. The undercurrents of darkness, intensity, defiance of normal convention in the flattering definitions of the women on the ramp: all made for a delightful watch. Androgyny, a recurrent theme in Arjun Saluja`s creations, yet again, ended up being much admired at the ongoing Fashion Week. Designer Rahul Mishra had chaste hand-woven Kerala Mundus, organic Khadi textiles and strong graphics in store for the ones present at the show. Mishra’s Spring Summer 2013 collection, named ‘Weave, Sew, Yield & Bloom’, saw models displaying creations ranging from warm ivory to black and coral. Thrown on to the fabrics were dashes of neon, which left a long-lasting glow on the minds of the viewers. Overlap jackets, tunic dresses, asymmetrical wrap dresses, off-shoulders, Khadi jackets, palazzo pants were all showcased on the ramp, and how! Moving on to Gaurav Gupta, whose Spring Summer collection for 2013 brought science on to the ramp, is indeed a man who deserves to be thoroughly appreciated for his endeavour. The designer has named his creations ‘In a Cathode’, and much like the phrase, showcased designs which left people numb with surprise. Acidic colours, tonic pinks and oranges, shocking blues were craftily sewn together on to graphic cottons; lending the each creation a fluidic, clay-like feel. To the eyes, Gupta’s collection was sheer bliss. Iridescence, fluorescence, phosphorescence and the like, all found immense portrayal in the designer’s attires, and would definitely be instrumental in ushering in a bright, glowing spring this time around! Those that believe that Batman, Catwoman and Gotham have no existence beyond those Marvel Classics and The Dark Knight films need to have had a rendezvous with Namrata Joshipura. The dark night outside, and the dark knights inside: Joshipura’s ‘Gotham’, her Spring Summer 2013 collection, displayed the nexus between fiction and fashion. Hence the ramp was miraculously transformed into a vision of sorts, and the numerous ‘catwomen’ walked about in creations ranging from ivory lapel dresses to siren print playsuits, peplum tops to sharp Clementine dresses, rock wrap dresses to black Gotham trousers – Joshipura conjured up Gotham City on the ramp. The third day of Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Spring Summer 2013 was high on the drama quotient... Stay glued to this space for more on the event! Follow @nanya116