Bridal collection, Bollywood dominated DCW

Delhi Couture Week (DCW) was not without its fair share of glitz, glamour, style and Bollywood tadka. If the third edition was high on wearable designs, a bevy of Bollywood beauties like Katrina Kaif, Madhuri Dixit and Sridevi added that extra zing to the five-day event.

The fashion extravaganza that concluded Sunday had as many as 11 top-notch designers splashing the ramp with vibrant colour, style and a mix of old and new design aesthetics, with focus on bridal collection.

Though the designers were not very keen to talk about business aspect, they said the aim is to make wearable clothes and bridge the gap between ramp and rack.

Designer Varun Bahl flagged off the event and presented a collection with less focus on embroidery and more on wearability. With lehengas, saris and anarkalis in the darker tones in fabric like silk net, chiffon and silk velvet, he attempted to "merge evergreen classic feel of old India with modern dressing styles".

"Today's generation want something that are light to carry and yet look elegant and that's what I wanted to focus on the collection," Bahl told IANS.

If Bahl was low on embroidery, ace designer Manish Arora was high on needlework. Returning to ramp after a gap of three years, he chose to present a retrospective of his collections shown at Paris Fashion Week over the past few years.

The inspiration for all his garments was "India and its great culture".

"The collection consists of some my favourite pieces that I showed in Paris. All the pieces have been handcrafted and have meticulous embroideries and embellishments," he added.

From a mix of ultra-feminine skirts and dresses to streamlined pencil skirts to cigarette pants, Arora's collection was a visual feast for style conscious people looking for freshness.

Generally couture means high price tags, but designer duo Ashima and Leena Singh say they go by the clients' budget and requirements.

"Our couture wear range depends on the budget of our client. If a customer wants something in certain price bracket, we are there to give them. Couture today is not meant only for high end customer," said Leena.

Anamika Khanna and Gaurav Gupta also hogged the limelight by showing different interpretation of sari, which boasted of a modern touch.

Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor, who was present at their show to cheer for them, liked it and said "it was so incredible".

"They have taken something that was so traditional and so beautiful and presented it in a modern way, which I think was so wonderful. I think they both gave the sari a different outlook altogether. I am incredibly grateful that I could see something like this today," Sonam told IANS after the show.

If designers managed to woo fashionistas with their collection, Bollywood divas wowed them with their 'adas'.

If veteran actress Sharmila Tagore brought elegance on the ramp as a showstopper for designer duo Ashima-Leena in a red sari teamed up with a long jacket accesorised well with a "potli" (bag), Hindi films dancing diva Madhuri Dixit scorched the ramp when she took 'devi' avatar for Anju Modi and hit the runway in an ivory coloured heavily embroidered lehanga teamed with black choli, maroon dupatta -- not to miss the sindoor on her forehead.

Madhuri's senior Sridevi too came in full force and sashayed down the ramp for finale designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee. The actress, who is making her Bollywood comeback with "English Vinglish", looked gorgeous in a heavily embroidered cream lehenga and she too wore it with a full-sleeved black blouse.

One couldn't miss Bollywood extravaganza at Manish Malhotra's show. If Katrina Kaif and Vidyut Jamwal walked the ramp for him, filmmakers Karan Johar, Madhur Bhandarkar, Satish Kaushik to newcomer Alia Bhatt to Hrithik Roshan's wife Suzanne occupied the front row to cheer for their favourite designer.

Another highlight of the fashion week was the announcement of joint collaboration of Indo-Dutch fashion by Jan Taminiau, one of the leading couturiers from Netherlands.

Co-initiated by the FDCI foundation, HTNK Fashion recruitment and consultancy foundation and House of Denim, the programme is titled "Dutch Fashion Here & Now India".

The three-year collaboration will see two designers from Netherlands collaborate with two names from the Indian fashion fraternity to showcase a collection at later date.