Dhotis get a modern twist on ramp

New Delhi, Oct 19: Mumbai-based fashion designer Anita Dongre went against convention to showcase contemporary white Indian dhotis for the modern woman on the fourth day of the spring/summer edition of the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) Saturday."I love white dhotis and caps and I used to wear them in my college days," Dongre told IANS post her show.

"I fail to understand why people wear jeans and tight trousers when the heat is so strong during summer. They should wear something loose and comfortable and for me, a dhoti works best. There is no need to emulate the West and wear those clothes," she added. Dongre`s dhotis were stitched and made in either cotton mull or viscose jersey. These were teamed well with mostly tunics, kurta tops and linen shirts - for the young and modern woman. Originally from Rajasthan, Dongre incorporated a lot of Rajasthani culture in her prêt line Iinter Prêt. She used bright colours like yellow, indigo, blue, red and dark green with traditional dyeing techniques like bandhani, leheriya and block prints. She also used caps to dress up her models. "I always advocate caps to people for the summer as it keeps your head cool," she said. Apart from these, she also showcased two saris with sexy blouses in a combination of blue and red and even had a few long evening dresses. The other attraction at Dongre`s show was a line-up of Bollywood actors including Shabana Azmi, Boman Irani, Sharman Joshi, Chitrangada Singh and Sanjay Suri, who came to promote their forthcoming film "Sorry Bhai". She dressed the actors in white. While the men walked the fashion runway wearing white suits, Chitrangada and Shabana wore a long dress and an ethnic white-silver salwar kameez respectively. "I love white and so I dressed them all in white," said the designer, who has also designed for their film. IANS