The best of Italian innovation and design was on show as the new Fiat 500byGucci hit’s UK shores for the first time last night.

The Fiat 500byGucci has been exclusively customized by Gucci Creative Director Frida Giannini in partnership with Lapo Elkann and Fiat’s Centro Stile.

The new Fiat 500byGucci has taken customisation to the next level by also developing a range of ready-to-wear and accessories to appeal to the most discerning style influencers.  The collection includes travel accessories, small leather goods, drivers, tracksuits, bombers, driver’s gloves, sunglasses and a watch, which will be available in select Gucci stores.
 

June 29, 2011
facebook   

The Latest
Divyam Mehta

His affair with crafts and textile began at a very early age…
Alchemy India Fashion Show

The British Council invited designer Gaurav Jai Gupta’s label…
Talbot Runhof Resort 2012

The collection is a haunting mix of colors and textures…
Isharya Jewelry in India

An International label conceived by Radhika and Gauri Tandon…
500 by GUCCI

The best of Italian innovation and design was on show as the new Fiat…

 

Blog
Milan Men’s Fashion SS 2012


Video

SITE MAP ABOUT US CONTACT US ADVERTISE WITH US NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES MAILER ARCHIVES RSS FEEDS

In about a few weeks from now fashion in the capital will get hauter! As Delhi Couture Week is all set for its second edition this year, we analyze the importance of a couture week among various other fashion weeks that keep our designers busy round the year. But if you are yawning at the thought of attending just another fashion week, well then take Fashionfad’s crash course.

HAUTE COUTURE DECODED
French for “high sewing” or “high dressmaking”, Haute Couture refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted garments. It is made-to-order for each customer, and it’s created from expensive and high-quality fabric which is sewn with extreme attention to detail and finished by the most experienced and capable seamstresses, often using hand-executed techniques. 

COUTURE, SACRED IN FRANCE
In modern France, the term Haute Couture is protected by law and is defined by the Chambre de commerce et d’industrie de Paris. Their rules state that only “those companies mentioned on the list drawn up each year by a commission domiciled at the Ministry for Industry are entitled to avail themselves” of the label Haute Couture. The Ministry for Industry of France gives the liberty to use the Haute Couture label only to those designers who can deliver custom-made clothes to clients, own a designer workshop with at least 15 employees and showcase collections in front of the press at least twice a year.


 
‘HAUTE COUTURE’ IN INDIA
Now that you are well versed with the Western sensibilities of Haute Couture, let us now examine what does this term mean in India. Though the Ministry for Industry in Paris has given this prestigious status/label to only 10 couturiers, FDCI gave us 13 in the first edition of Delhi Couture Week.

While couture in India is still essentially bridal wear, Indian fashion is progressing towards evening wear, festive fashion and the likes. Designer Suneet Varma, who showed a spectacular collection at the Delhi Couture Week last year, had said that every woman who buys some brocade and matches it with a saree, and then hands it over to a tailor, is actually getting a custom-made dress for herself, which is what couture is all about. He defines Indian couture as “Indian textiles, silhouettes and embroidery with a twist. Everybody has good sarees in their wardrobes but handing out style tips, thinking out-of-the-box is all part of couture. I showed 10 sarees on the ramp, each one of them draped differently, one as a toga, other as a sarong, etc, bringing a Western sensibility in a traditional Indian garment.”

While JJ Vallaya, another king of couture says, “I started my career with couture and it gives me a deep sense of satisfaction to design individual style. Although, the perfection of West cannot be denied, India still holds its own when it comes to couture with its legacy of rich craft and deep sense of history.” Vallaya adds, “Couture shows give designers an opportunity to tell a grand story.” At last year’s Delhi Couture Week, JJ Vallaya’s collection was the story of a fictitious courtesan, and the show revolved around a dream of hers, where she goes through a series of emotions.

Designer Reynu Taandon feels that a couture collection is as important for designers as their prêt line. “Couture collection caters more to national buyers. So the way prêt-line designers have the Wills Lifestyle Fashion Week as a platform to show their creativity, which is also very important to establish our hold in the international market, Delhi Couture Week brings us closer to our domestic buyers,” says Reynu.

Designer Puneet Nanda of Satya Paul thinks that couture is an exclusive art of clothing. He adds, “Couture boutiques are high-end boutiques that tender mostly branded items and whose customers too belong to the upper stratum of the society.” While designer Tarun Tahiliani explains the significance of couture in a whole new way. “The entire world views the Indian wedding as a spectacle that is unparallel to any other culture. While the choice of how these should be celebrated remains individual, this experience means culture, textile, jewellery, tradition, and modernity in a synergistic blend that is relevant for today’s lifestyle. As clothes play an important part, the exclusive collections showcased have been designed to be utterly luxurious, exquisite and delicate in workmanship and details,” Tarun had said in an interview.

The audience at couture weeks in India comprises of buyers (both domestic and foreign), celebrities and socialites, and there is no doubt that Couture Weeks are gaining momentum in India as a platform for spreading awareness and for trading in both international and national. According to designer Neeta Lulla, “Such Couture Weeks help greatly in terms of sales as the client base is largely brides-to-be and their family and friends, who are keen on buying heavy embellished Indian couture garments. Therefore, couture weeks play a very crucial role in creating awareness amongst buyers about the latest line for a couture designer.”

INDIAN COUTURE’S INTERNATIONAL APPEAL
As we know that the West is quite obsessed (if we may use this word!) with everything Indian, how could Indian couture be left behind. Over the years we have seen many international celebrities donning traditional Indian clothes custom-made depicting their sensibilities. We have seen Princess Diana wearing a beautiful salwar-kameez by Ritu Kumar back in the ’90s, Elizabeth Hurley wearing a Tarun Tahiliani saree at her wedding to Arun Nayar along with many more celebrities sporting Indian attire, which only proves further that Indian couture is a hit abroad. Even cricketer Brett Lee walked the ramp in a churidar kurta pyjama with an embellished sherwani by Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla at last year’s Delhi Couture Week.

Talbot Runhof unveils its 2012 Resort collection, Temperaments of Nature, all inspired of a trip to Lanzarote.

The collection is a haunting mix of colors and textures, weaving dramatic landscapes, sandy beaches and clear cobalt sky to blaze throughout the succulent palette of fabrics.

It comprises of a mural of shiny black stone overgrown with foliage and flora printed on a satin finish cotton stretch, ashen grey printed stone washed stretch satin and dandelion printed cotton stretch. A florid kaleidoscope of teaberry, turquoise, sky, emerald and mandarin printed on stretch crêpe satin and a panorama of magma and lava exploding on silk stretch taffetas reflects the beauty of the land in the collection.

Combining business with pleasure, sharp sexy power dresses of navy pinstripe, navy wool crêpe and wool georgette, offer a perfect dressing for the fashionistas. Easy cotton and silk dresses, pants and tops for poolside party or the beachside bash, cool breezy cocktail dresses for the sundown sangria, long flowing georgette and crêpe satin gowns for that sultry soirée under a starry starry sky are other separates of the collection.

The British Council invited designer Gaurav Jai Gupta’s label AKAARO to showcase his Autumn Winter 2011 collection at the Alchemy Festival held at London s Southbank centre recently.

Akaaro showcased its Autumn Winter 2011 titled “:1.6”,based on GRECIAN concept of DIVINE PROPORTION which is defined as the golden ratio of 1: 1.6.

The collection visually explored the idea in the form of color, scale and mood. Fabrics were all hand-woven and were designed with wool, silk, cotton, stainless steel for specific silhouette using ancient Indian weaving style of Tangail on a traditional handloom with paper cards. All the dyeing has been done in open vessels by hand. With dual reference of Golden ratio in nature and architecture explorations were in form of pleating, gathering, paneling and scale. The garments are living entities of this reality; they are about easy transitions from traditional to contemporary. The approach is subtle yet logical and controlled.


The out-of-the-box designs expressing fantasies and dreams…

The out-of-the-box designs expressing fantasies and dreams stand for fashion designer Felix Bendish. The young, skilled and creative, Felix is a bachelor in commerce but his love to create beautiful things made him to pursue a three years of graduating course from L.S Raheja Institute of Fashion and Design, Mumbai.

The designer launched his eponymous label in 2001with its own in-house design studio in Mumbai with a dream of creating beautiful clothing and accessories. Over the time Felix went on to design for Bollywood movies and his personal clientele including who’s who of society.

Having a passion of designing Bridal gowns to Indo- western fusion wear, every piece created by him ensures of quality craftsmanship, finish and flawless workmanship in couture embroideries.  Besides his extraordinaire designs Felix mingles his understanding of International trends with Indian taste and sensibilities.

Felix’s signature style is defined by the elimination of excess along with strong Asian influence. It’s a mixture of classic, traditional and historic designs standing for high fashion. The designer feels right kind of garment should go in the hands of the right kind of wearer. The inner complexity of a person is what inspires the designer most to create the beautiful pieces. Not afraid to experiment, Felix’s unusual designs are what make him stand apart from his contemporaries.

The label Felix Bendish retails from its flagship store in Santacruz, Mumbai.

You can get Felix’s designs at:

www.felixbendish.com

June 28, 2011
facebook   

The Latest
Felix Bendish

The out-of-the-box designs expressing fantasies and dreams…
Colour Blocking Trend

In order to be stylish most of us prefer to play safe and stick…
Papagayo

This season Vizyon has traded in the painterly floral prints to…
Nizam by Vikram Phadnis

The Indian diaspora of Toronto were taken on a fascinating…
Top 10 Luxury Marketers

Luxury brands are increasingly relying on social media to reach…

 

Blog
Milan Men’s Fashion SS 2012


Video

SITE MAP ABOUT US CONTACT US ADVERTISE WITH US NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES MAILER ARCHIVES RSS FEEDS

New talents take centre stage as the Lakme Fashion Week’s model auditions in Mumbai finds nine new face for this year’s Winter Season.

Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) in its contribution to the fashion industry had invited new and aspiring models to showcase their very best at the winter season’s audition rounds at the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai on June 27, 2011.

The model auditions served as a platform to launch new and untapped young talent, as it provides a foundation for emerging super models in their making. There were 9 models selected out of 118 models from across the globe, including Indian models that went through few rigorous selection rounds. The criteria for selection were based on their attitude, confidence, poise and individuality. Meeting these criteria were aspirants Mitali Rannorey, Nijhum Patra, Sweta Dolli, Xamira Mohlmann, DianaLoboda, Karen Lima, Keren Silveirra, Mariia Cherniakovych and Noelia Barreiro.

This season there was also large participation from models of foreign nationalities. The jury had the names like stylist Anu Ahuja, designer Aki Narula, supermodel Monikangana Dutta, show director Marc Robinson, photographers Prasad Naik & Vishesh Verma, Anil Chopra, CEO of Lakmé Lever and Anjana Sharma, Director of IMG Reliance.

The model auditions have become an integral process each season to discover and infuse new talent into LFW. “This season we have seen a good mix of domestic and international talent and are pleased to have selected nine models amongst them. These nine models have got what it takes to be a part of India’s most recognizable fashion platform. The selection procedure was transparent and we are proud to pick the best of the lot,” signed off Sharma.

In order to be stylish most of us prefer to play safe and stick to the basics. But if you are one of those who love to experiment with colours, then hold on girl because this year is for the fashionista in you. The weather has slowly starting to look better as bold and daring colours dominate the runways this season. So go on mix your yellows, blues and greens and step out in style as the Colour Blocking trend, the hottest trend this season, is back in a big way.

But first things first, what exactly is colour blocking? Well, it is a technique of combining two or more blocks of colours in an ensemble. This could be for a T-shirt, jeans/trousers, tunic, a dress and even shoes and handbag. It simply means – creating an outfit by putting blocks of solid colours next to each other. It can include bright colours, monotones, muted colours, and complimentary as well as contrasting colours. Clothes, handbags, accessories, shoes et al can all feature colour block designs or can make up different blocks of colour to be put together for a Colour Block outfit.

To recreate this style, you should first become well acquainted with the more successful portrayals of Colour Blocking. This trend requires a basic knowledge of the colour wheel and a quite a lot of guts too. You must always keep in mind that while Colour blocking an outfit, use colours that support and complement each other. You can start by blocking eye friendly combinations like yellows and greens, blues and red, pink and purple. After you have mastered these combinations, then only move a step forward and block stark contrasts like purple, orange and green, etc. You can also consider tint and shade when Colour Blocking. Shades are colours mixed with black while tints are mixed with white. As the amount of white and black that you add in your outfit varies, it creates different results.

This trend was seen in the collections of all the big designer brands and it is really big with celebrities as well with the likes of Rihanna and Cheryl Cole spotted Colour Blocking their outfits. If you still aren’t convinced that this is the hottest trend this summer, then we can give you another reason which would definitely make you want to slip in multi-coloured hues. So here it is girls – you can easily use this trend to hide all the flaws of your body. We believe all you girls are all ears now! Well, as you all must be knowing that dark colours have a slimming effect, so you can Colour Block your love handles or those arms full of baby fat with dark shades and keep the rest of your outfit light coloured. Believe us, it really works wonders.

A word of caution: do not combine more than three to four colours. It is not that it does not look nice, but this look will turn out to be very ‘ramp’ish. Moreover, the more colours you use they will keep cutting your body here and there making it not a very pretty picture.

If you are willing to shell out a little moolah to get the runway like results then refer to luxury brands like Gucci, Christian Dior, Fendi, Tim walker, Diane Von Furstenberg, Louis Vuitton, Jean Paul Gaultier, Manolo Blahniks, Marc Jacobs, etc. And if think that’s way too steep for your pockets then many high-street brands like Zara, Debenhams, etc will come to your rescue with chic options for this trend. You can buy items that come already colour blocked, or you can do it yourself by pairing brightly coloured separates together as I’ve done in today’s look. So girls, don’t be shy to experiment. It is a really fun trend to sport this summer that gives us an opportunity to pair colours which we won’t even think of combining otherwise. So, go on and have fun blocking colours.