18 July,2010 07:50 AM IST | | Shweta Shiware
This Tuesday, Pearls Delhi Couture Week kickstarts in the capital, and fireworks have already lit up the sky. Shweta Shiware brings you the latest buzz on the 6-day style celebration
Mumbai-Delhi war continues
Until India decides to host Swimwear Week like Brazil and Miami, Couture Week moving to Delhi is the final nail in the Mumbai-Delhi fashion rift. HDIL India Couture Week joined hands with FDCI in September 2008 to make India the third country (after New York and Paris) to host Couture Week.
Sabyasachi Mukherjee's Couture Week show promises to be "20 times
more grand" than this opulent Bridal Sutra collection he showcased at
Lakme Fashion Week in October 2008. PIC/ Shadab Khan
After just two seasons, the location has moved to Delhi with a brand new identity -- Pearls Delhi Couture Week (scheduled from July 20 to 26 at The Grand hotel). "To be fair, couture had turned into a Bollywood thing. How can you have Couture Week in October, bang in the middle of the wedding season? I am happy it's moved to Delhi," says trousseau expert Tarun Tahiliani.u00a0u00a0
Sunny Dewan, managing director HDIL, still has advantage-India in his favour. After all, his event is called 'India' Couture Week. "Every distinguished designer showing in Delhi has shown at HDIL India Couture Week; India's first Couture Week. They have assured me that they will continue showing with us," states Dewan.
While Sandeep Khosla pledges his "heart and soul" to Mumbai, he says venue options make Delhi a better choice. "The luxury mall culture has taken off in the capital. Mumbai is still establishing itself. Yes, we have Palladium, but it's hardly dedicated only to luxury. When you have a high-street brand like Zara next to a God-knows-who rubbing shoulders..." chucklesu00a0 Khosla.
Fellow participating designers Manav Gangwani and Gaurav Gupta vote for Delhi as the couture capital. "I love Mumbai. But Delhi is the fashion capital, and I am glad Delhi will finally get to see couture," is Gangwani's take.
Gupta thinks Bollywood takes the attention away from the essence of couture. "A lot of stars don't even have good taste. India needs to take a grip over fashion before Bollywood does."
Tahiliani will be missing
Who: Tarun Tahiliani
Couture Week makes its long overdue debut in the capital, but the force behind India's burgeoning bridal market, marks a leave of absence. "I'd have been fine even with an 11 am slot at Couture Week, but I had already committed to Emporio. My show is a continuation from last year," says the Delhi designer about the four-day Bridal Couture Exposition that features only one designer along with luxury brands Swarovski, Bentley and Forevermark Diamonds. "I have to run my business. I am not here to keep the world happy. But imagine being called a megalomaniac!" he laughs.
But TT's assisant makes an entry
Tahiliani was on the NIFT jury, and offered the young lad from Adilabad a job with his label in 2000. That was before Raakesh Agarvwal started his own label in 2007. The 30 year-old will showcase Couture Salon, offering complete couture and demi-couture fashion solutions on July 25.
Sabya returns to Delhi
Who: Kolkata designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee
The entire collection and the sets have cost him a cool Rs 3.5 crore.
Mukherjee's first collection at Lakme India Fashion Week in Delhi in 2002, instantly catapulted him into India's design wonderboy. But since then, Sabya chose to showcase his work at Mumbai's fashion week instead of the Delhi-based Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week. Fast forward to 2010, and the geography changes a bit. This season marks the return of the genius to the capital, with a show that kickstarts the week-long couture carnival on July 20. "I've been looking forward to doing a couture show, but my movie and fashion assignments didn't leave me with time. Seventy per cent of my business stems from bridal wear; it's my bread and butter," admits Sabya.
It will be a full-on bridal show, he promises, on a large scale, featuring 39 pieces for women and 16 for men. Bollywood stars Vidya Balan and Rani Mukerji will make a front-row appearance. Aptly titled Aparajito (the
invincible), the show will display pure craftsmanship and the power of Indian textiles that have withstood the onslaught of fast fashion.
Couture means: "Anything that's backed by research, thought and a point of view that's not generic. The problem in India is that unless it's not embellished to the point of looking grotesque, you don't consider it couture. Couture doesn't have to be bling. Couture can only emerge from a country's history."
Abu-Sandeep out of Mumbai last year, in Dilli this year
Who: Abu Jani & Sandeep Khosla
The two designers pulled out of HDIL India Couture Week (Mumbai) in October 2009, 48 hours before their show was to open, creating quite a controversy.u00a0u00a0
Known as much for their remarkable revival of Chikankari as for their volatile temperament, Abu-Sandeep will be closing Couture Week on July 25. "We have stood by the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) since it supports the Indian fashion fraternity. That's why the decision to show in Delhi," says Khosla.
Their show titled, Almost 24 will be devoid of bridal wear. The focus instead will be on Indo-Westerns featuring Abaan (multi-coloured floral thread embroidery), and patchwork of resham embroidery synonymous with the Rabadi tribe of Kutch.u00a0
Couture means: "An ultimate fantasy. It's individual and stylish."
Gaurav Gupta debuts in Couture
Who: Gaurav Gupta
It was only a matter of time before young Delhi designer Gaurav Gupta dazzled the audience with his surreal couturism. The Central Saint Martins graduate was awarded the Future of Couture award by the mayor of Rome at the Alta Roma, Alta Moda in 2003. "It was a conceptual collection with art pieces," he recalls about his collection that featured a jacket broken into pieces and held together by the glue of embroidery.
His collection for couture week will personify fantasy on clothes. Think Kate Blanchett's Galadriel character from Lord of the Rings, he says. Bridal wear and Oscar gowns will be interspersed with "fun couture pieces".u00a0
Couture means: "More thought, drama, mystery and fantasy. Couture demands obsession to the craft."
