December 18th – 20th, ITC Maurya Sheraton, New Delhi – Fashion with grooves, what else would you call a chivalrous upsurging extravaganza of music, art, sculpture and of course fashion. A global property, the Chivas Studio was launched earlier in New York, London, Madrid and Sydney, thus travelling the globe it presented its India edition, four city event, from Bangalore, New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, with celebrated artists across creative forms such as Prabuddha Dasgupta for photography, K.S Radhakrishnan for sculpture, Amaan and Ayaan Ali Khan featuring Gino Banks and the Maske trio from Australia for music.
This much awaited conjuncture of the weekend with a new edge and groove to fashion, catalyzed a unique platform and brought together connoisseur from their respective fields. The inaugural affair was kindled in the lawn of ITC Maurya with opening of an exhibition by K.S Radhakrishnan, of his master pieces in figurative sculpture with bronze casting, and an enthralling photographic frameworks by Prabuddha Dasgupta, a self taught photographer who grew up in the cultural chaos of post- colonial India. K.S Radhakrishnan on his latest union with fashion said, “It is an experiment to bring our art closer to a different flavor of audience. Prabuddha and I have been lending our artistic expressions to a very similar kind of people so this was an interesting opportunity to explore fresh vision.”
As the evening drooled the starry night had geared up for definitive perfection of fashion shows. In the meanwhile the confluence had already toasted a drink or two at the Chivas bar designed in an evening garden. The show area a projection of ultimate luxury and design welcomed in to an elliptical ramp and a little extra spread of the walkway for the models. The arched walkway created a chequered mesh pattern out of different sizes of rod that allowed a translucent vision of a feminine flare walking behind the purdah before she enthralled the ramp. The designer quotient for the first day was lighted with the creations of Ashish N Soni and Gauri and Nainika. Styled in serious and corporate focus Ashish N Soni drew the right lines in commitment to what is modern in terms of fabric, textures, embellishments, shapes and finishes. The first day seasoned to a futuristic closure with intense glamour in exuberant hues and sharp dramatic shapes sans any embellishment by Gauri and Nainika. The collection transcended underskirts, corseted bodices using luxurious wools and duchesse satins prowling tons of femininity.
The next day of conjuncture created ripples with mixologist Max Warner flying in from UK to oversee the cocktail menu and Chivas Regal ‘signature serves’ on offer. Redefining luxury was jewellery designer Seema Mehta, who created a Special Edition bottle for the Chivas 25, with 35 carat round brilliant diamonds, cut emeralds and a woven gold mesh embellished with signature florals. Fashion exorbitant for the second day of the event was none other than the Goan designer Wendell Rodricks and the order of no-nonsense decree was from the kingdom of JJ Valaya. Wendell’s design marvel sourced inspiration from birds on wing with graceful swoops, plunging dives and fluttering movements for a line of aspirational garments. Layered with feathered strokes and breezy fabrics it was an all white line. The kingdom of Valaya delivered a collection, antidote to the gloom and doom of 2009 and served unabashed glamour, elegance, volume and oodles of optimism.
The sunlit Sunday brunch was a host to creations of Malini Ramani and Surily Goel at the roof top view of ITC Maurya. Malini chose to create costumes inspired from gypsies of faraway lands of Marrakesh, Peru, Mexico and Rajasthan. The collection brimmed with embroideries and rich gold stone embellishment on silks, jerseys and velvets. Reflection of style was Surily’s collection as it embraced metallic accents with a palette ranging from pastels, navy blues and blacks in geometric silhouettes and drapes with colour blocking. The most intense and passionate experience of the three day extravaganza was the evening performance by Amaan and Ayaan Ali Khan saluting the true strings of culture. Sarod met drums and classical pop when they came together to jam exclusively for an enthralled audience who got carried away in the musical symphony. An unmatched celebration of fashion and design commenced on the grand finale as Anamika Khanna’s textured layers and Rohit Bal with his majestic interpretation of India’s glorious past sashayed down the ramp. The taste which began with cutting edge neat lines of Ashish N Soni was drawn to a tasteful pallet with Wendell and consumed to a delightful finish with Rohit Bal.
