LFW's darling fashion moments

Rajesh Pratap Singh
Giving the mundane a new cocoon, Rajesh Pratap Singh rummaged through leftover khadi and reused denim from his past collections, and recycled plastic bottles to drum up a novel thought. The result was something like a master class in pitting the banal against new ideas of tailoring, expressed via rowing blazers, baggy trousers, untucked shirts, long jackets with patchwork and, shoes designed from surplus indigo T-shirts.

Amit Aggarwal
Like an Instagram feed, almost every outfit carried gripping detail, from metallic textures to the heady upcycled mish-mash of negatives of bindi sheets, sipping straws, nipped stockings, sequin waste and Patola saree scraps. In one like-worthy sweep, he turned the pro-environment aesthetic into a groovy statement.

Saviojon Fernandes
As we continue the shift from excess to less, there is nothing as liberating as Goa designer Saviojon's wardrobe of ordinary things, treated with a little irreverence and a lot of personality.

He found a nifty way to comment on how we wear clothes today by manipulating an unadventurous shirt style into dreamy summer dresses. He turned convention on its head with back-to-front shirt-dresses, and sliced chemise overlays over easy shift dresses.

Tarun Tahiliani
Tarun Tahiliani's wickedly opulent streak merged with the divine urgency of affordable clothes. The substance behind the pared-down fantasy, to represent India in a very modern way, found expression in his stylish separates that beckoned wearers to mix and match - draped blouses, embellished scarves, waistcoats and tunics with attached capes. The DIY styling of pairing a shirt, not choli, with an embellished skirt or pleated saree was reminiscent of Payal Khandwala's Fall/Winter 2016 showcase, though.

Nupur Kanoi
It was a sensory overload of colour, print, pattern, texture, sequins, shimmer and shine. In a confluence of African tattoo designs and Indian bandhini, sarees were fast-tracked to fabulousness. Wispy wrap dresses had a swirling cowl detail on the back, and maxis were draped over sporty racer-backs.

Narendra Kumar
Narendra Kumar's Millennials collection was proof that he hasn't lost his knack for witty, incisive surprises. The spotlight was on a cast of new characters from Generation Z (aged 18 to 34), who are pushing for genderless clothing.

A welcome antidote to tired ideas of power dressing, the on-trend athleisure unisex range of bomber jackets, suits and ties, cropped trousers, jogger pants and long shirts dazzled between jungle prints and khaki, punctuated with sparks of aqua.

Kareena's Return
The pregnant actress walked the ramp at five months, and she walked again for Anita Dongre 46 days into being new mom. Kareena Kapoor Khan's nerve was muah-deserving.

Eka
"Some books are so familiar, reading them is like being home again," Jo March from the Little Women says about Shakespeare.

Rina Singh's sunshiny collection of chintz blooms over the softest of cottons with crocheted hems and lace detail, felt like home. The forgiving silhouettes borrowed from her earlier bestsellers, and included duster coats, boxy dresses worn with roomy culottes, paneled summer dresses and cropped trousers.

David Abraham & Rakesh Thakore
Abraham & Thakore's clothes spoke about fashion's craving for individuality, completed by a look that didn't take itself too seriously. The neo-dandy-themed collection had some nifty jackets in variations of bandgalas updated with shirt collars, at-ease two-toned Nehru styles, combat-ready kurtas with patch pockets and epaulettes worn over roomy patchwork denim trousers."Perhaps, working with sequins and feathers would have meant more money in our banks," David had once cheekily remarked about the brand's preference for handlooms. Here too, they took centre-stage with hand and machine-manufactured kantha, boro (Japanese for tattered rags) and pojagi (Korean wrapping cloth).