Shop for Change and Anita Dongre’s AND announced groundbreaking new partnership to mainstream fair trade across India. Anita Dongre’s retail brand AND is leading the way in the Indian fair trade movement as the first major retail chain to launch a clothing range made with Shop for Change Fair Trade certified cotton.

The collection of tops and dresses comprises of 21 vibrant designs and will be available in range of colours across 16 AND stores plus select Shoppers Stop, Central, Lifestyle, and Pantaloons stores. The cotton is sourced from Chetna Organic Agriculture Producer Company, where Shop for Change has certified just under 3,000 farmers in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa.  The entire range is made of 100% Shop for Change Fair Trade certified cotton.

Anita Dongre, Creative Director, AND said, “Working closely with Shop for Change gives me the opportunity to make a difference. Having visited fair trade farmers in Andhra Pradesh with Shop for Change, I see the importance of introducing this concept into the fashion industry and hope that my fellow designers will also bite this fabulous bug. My new fair trade summer collection is attuned to the fashionable mindset of young Indians. And I’m pleased to announce that AND’s followers can look forward to an even wider range of fashionable fair trade styles in the seasons ahead.”

Shop for Change Fair Trade, a not for profit organization which builds on successful international models of fair trade certification, was established by Traidcraft Exchange (UK) and International Resources for Fairer Trade (India) and is funded by the European Union and Dutch Foundations ICCO and Hivos.

Designer Anna Sui has teamed up with Leg Resource to create a collection of tights inspired by her runway collection. Leg Resource also produces lines for designers like Anne Klein and Betsey Johnson.

Sui first debuted the hosiery collection during her F/W 2010 runway show, where the tights beautifully matched the patterns used in the looks.  The collection features feminine prints, graphic patterns, sheer metallics and metallic prints on nylon or thinly knit tights. Retail prices for the collection range from $20 – $40 and will be available at major department stores, specialty retailers and the Anna Sui NYC store in August.

Rocky S, the young and talented designer, he renewed the way fashion is operated in India and has several labels under its wing; ranging from high fashion prêt to accessories and fragrance. He would grace the grand finale on 12th May 2010 for the Indian Premier London Fashion Week, London.

 The collection that he is going to showcase at the IPLFW Grand Finale is an affluent zenith of rich and sumptuous lehengas, graceful saris, modish chudidar kurtas and lavish sherwanis. It is adorned with tasteful Silks, Jacquard, Chiffon, Georgette, Satin, Crepe, varied blends of exceptional brocades, Velvet and skillfully textured fabrics in a combination of rich radiant colours reminiscent of burgundy, olive, maroon, burnt orange, rust, with a base of grey and beige.

Rocky S this time draws inspirations from Rajasthan and Istanbul. The clothes are flowy, panels ornamented with embroidery of sequins, bootis and a tad of gota; some are draped and bejeweled with antique gold and exotic broaches. The ensemble is adorned with a lot of block, digital, and flock printing that has a matt finish and awfully feminine.

Asha Gupta, owner of the brand Vinayak, launches her spring summer collection of traditional Sarees with long jackets. She introduces exclusive collection of women’s apparel including sarees, suits, kurtas, and lehengas.

 For the bridal range the collection has mixed banarsi fabric with nets and georgettes and used Jaipuri stone such as emerald and ruby stone along with feroza stone, pearl and cut-dana. The sarees have a combination of intricate temple and mango designs which are both elegant and grand.

Lehenga is made by stitching different colours of Kinkhab together in kali style. There are three borders on the lehenga. Two borders have the motif of peacock as a border with the lampa border in between them. The border on the chunni is the same and the jal is of ara tari work with small motifs of peacock between them.

Talking about the new collection, Asha Gupta, said, “This time we have worked on georgettes and chiffons which are naturally dyed and have different jacquard and short effect. These sarees are so light to carry and also look very trendy. We are doing light work on them and therefore embroidery on them is mostly of sequins, pearl, ari, gota, resham and cut-dana.”