Turkish Empire recreated on ramp

New Delhi, Feb 20 (IANS) The famous grand bazaar of Istanbul with sights of Turkish harmony played a perfect backdrop as veteran designer JJ Valaya presented his collection seeking inspiration from Turkey's Ottoman Empire, while actress Kangna Ranaut walked as a showstopper here in the grand finale of Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Sunday night.

Among the human montages stood a magnificent structure reflecting the architecture of the multi-cultural city of Istanbul.

The show, which opened with a musical act by international artist Volga Tunca playing darbuka (goblet drum), was divided into four sections with some scintillating performances -- showcasing different crafts of the Ottoman empire.

"The show was divided into four different parts of the Ottoman empire. So from wood, leather, fabric and then to ceramics, there were various crafts inspiring the collection which you saw on the ramp. The fabric that Kangna is wearing is a special fabric hand-woven in Turkey," Valaya said after the show.

Valaya's collection was named "Azrak", meaning rare and uncommon. Starting with monochromatic colours like ivory and black, the collection went on to arts and crafts based forms like mother of pearl inlay, Turkish miniatures, Inzik ceramics and exotic birds and graphic calligraphy.

The collection included a range of jackets, tunics, dresses, skirts, lehengas as well as saris.

Unlike other shows, Valaya chose to keep 12 showstoppers, including Kangna, who have long been friends with the designer. Among the showstoppers, some of the well-known names were Rohit Bal, Suneet Varma, Sikh dancer Navtej Johar, Jamie Stewart, Nafisa Ali's son Ajit Sodhi, and Navin Ansal.

"Actually we had twelve showstoppers from diverse fields like dancers to designers. The idea was to get real people and show clothes on people who have a sense of character," he said.

Kangna was seen wearing a white long dress along with a long embroidered jacket, accompanied by heavy jewellery.

"It wasn't difficult to put an attire together for Kangna as her sense of style is very different. She has a style of her own and her outfit was reminiscent of the era we were very inspired by," Valaya said.

The choreography of the grand finale was complemented with musical styling by Gaurav Raina of Midival Punditz. The show saw some amazing performances by belly dancer Ekaterina along with Ziya, who brought the house down with her non-stop spins.

A similar theme of Turkish Ottoman empire was adopted by designer Tarun Tahiliani in his off-site fashion show during this edition of WIFW.

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