India's gigantic fashion mela is back!
Lakme Fashion Week x FDCI's March 2023 gala got going this week, at Mumbai's Jio Garden, unleashing a flood of distinctive designs that will see us through scorching summer days.
The first day of the fashion week, which will conclude on March 12, saw four aspiring GenNext designers crank up the fashion merry-go-around with a masterclass in the philosophy of less-is-more/simpler-the-better dressing.
Nothing lavish, unconscionable, Bollywood-esque or zyada glamorous. Nope. The theme stayed rock steady on sustainable styles that will stand the test of time and many seasons of wear. Worthy goals.
A few of the best KISS looks captured by Rediff.com's Hitesh Harisinghani.
HIRO
IMAGE: Time to part ways with the infinity blouse and say
namaste to bralettes in quaint shades, with underwire support and options to ward off the heat.
Watch out for washed denims in mellow hues.
Photographs: Hitesh Harisinghani/Rediff.com
IMAGE: As rugged as it gets and yet be drawing-room ready! With just a casual sprinkle of sequins, these freakily different but tasteful unisex separates hope to put structured athleisure on the fashion map in their own eccentric way.
KOAI
IMAGE: Sappy florals are out, leaves and stripes and botanist kind of pencil drawings are on the scene! Yet designers still seem a tad extra obsessed (Jeez, why?) with flirty, flowing, feminine silhouettes.
IMAGE: Print-on-print finds a new voice when worked into retro styles.
Note the sobriety and muted mood. No one is trying to be a prancy peacock.
KOYTOY
IMAGE: Prints for men. Cute metallic pouches dangling from the neck. Tropical unbuttoned shirts. But genderless, pronoun-free clothes a woman could slip into with equal ease and not look over manly... That's designer Kunaal Khyaan's GenNext troupe.
IMAGE: Hot beach boy: Let the rising mercury offer you the best op to express your inner chill vibes with separates that roar: 'Tropical escape'.
RUDRAKSH DWIVEDI
IMAGE: The name says it all Scintilla. Yup, scintillating.
IMAGE: Designer Rudraksh Dwivedi's outfits weren't meant for lean frames and stick-thin models. And his brand of glamour inspite of sequins and daring cuts had subdued sophistication.
IMAGE: The quartet of young designers, left to right, Rudraksh Dwivedi, Hiral Jajal (HIRO), Kunaal Khyaan (KOYTOY) and Anugrah Chandra (KOAI) receive salaams as the curtains go down.