Urvashi Kaur’s ZIRAN for WIFW SS’15, is a collection bursting with sub-Chinese vivacity, finding its inspiration in the nomadic folk of Xining, China, so far unspoken, unseen and unaccounted for. As people far removed from Mainland China and all its popular connotations, her sartorial sojourn attempts to pay homage to their unmistakable honesty, inherent rawness, cultural evolution and free-spirited irreverence.

Indigo as her base palette, the designer infuses Ecru, naturally occurring Jute colors, and less ferocious color palettes to break the overwhelming tendency of the dark tones. Pop colors of Orange, Yellow, Pink and Turquoise; find presence across the collection as subtle accents through the use of tassels, pom-poms, tapes and ribbons.

A deliberate move is the experimentation with horizontal stripes, and the introduction of plaid, both of which are subjected to an anything but traditional translation. Engineered placements of Shibori, Block Prints and the tie and dye technique spill over from previous collections, with the infusion of batik and circular motifs.

A whooping amount of mind-throbbing fashion houses were seen on day 8 of the Paris Fashion Week. Chanel, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Valentino, Iris Van Herpen, Shiatzy Chen, Paul and Joe and Alexander McQueen were some of the giants who showcased their respective ready to wear creations on the runway.

Speaking of Chanel, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac and Valentino, terrific trio came up with what is known to be the most extraordinary collections of all times. Structured and oversized silhouettes embedded 3D check embroidery, applique traditional prints and geometrical prints listed among the embellishments. While Chanel and Valentino preferred a comparatively sober and vintage scheme of colours like basic violet and navy blue to name a very few, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac showcased the fondness for a bright scheme of colours including pastel orange, lemon yellow and shiny white.

The day progressed with Iris Van Herpen, Shiatzy Chen and Paul and Joe, the collections of whom were more simplistic and minimal yet complemented with a dash of elegance. The former’s creations were more inclined to formal and partial semi-formal wear. While Shiatzy came up with more bling and metallic finishes, along with an exuberant colour scheme including Lucite green, sky blue, baby pink and strawberry ice to name a few. Besides, for the label Paul and Joe, the designer curated an exclusive collection of day wear ensembles with some free flowing silhouettes and soothing to the eye surface prints and designs.

As Alexander McQueen steeped forward to put the curtains down for the day, the entire ambience of the evening took a full circle turn. High amount of drama and mysticism hit on the runway with a completely dark and dull collection. Surprisingly however, glimpses of light pastel pink, onion violet and dull grey could also be spotted. Gothic yet applique surface prints, enlarging silhouettes, and cross-cuts footwear proved to be the highpoint for Alexander McQueen’s spring summer 2015 ready to wear collection.

The charm of the French fashion week now approaches its end with its grand finale on 1^st October. Grandeur celebration along with the highly famed fashion labels on the runway, are amongst the top expectations of the onlookers.