INIFD created a grand show at the joint phygital seasonless FDCI x Lakmé Fashion Week with the presentation of the 31st batch of two talented GenNext designers with eight garments each on March 17, the first day of the joint fashion week.
“Maazi”
A gold medallist in Fine Arts from Jammu University and graduate from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, Wajahat Rather’s love for crafts and textiles stemmed from his hometown in Kashmir. The work of the famed darners of Kashmir, whose skills were the basis of the collection, was the inspiration for his label ‘Raffughar’.
The “Maazi” line recreated memories of the past and brought to centre stage the paisley motif in all its glorious beauty. This was unveiled through a thought process of glitch and metamorphosis in the form of embroidery, as the paisleys appeared in pixelated motifs that changed into barcodes.
Bringing to the forefront the traditional Pheran with a contemporary twist in the silhouette for summer, Wajahat added delicate hemlines and toor trousers, along with block printing to highlight the look. Particularly striking was the ivory hand-woven Merino fabric jacket worn with block-printed Khadi trousers.
The intricate embroidery in navy/black on the back as well as on the two front pockets added a classic touch to the garment. The stylish shawl collar of the knee-length jacket worn over a simple white long-sleeved, mandarin-collar shirt completed the look. The black kurta with comfy sleeves and a cascade of white embroidery on the yoke, had a trendy feel when worn with cropped, black, printed, Khadi trousers.
Detailing like small, extended, shoulder flaps, minute piped edging, and layering of various sheer or opaque Pherans over long-sleeved blouses and trousers; brought variety to the collection. Gathers appeared under yokes to give an interesting silhouette to the Pheran, while scarves were a stylish addition either on the head or around the neck.
The colour story remained muted with ivory, grey, and brown highlighted with the intricate embroidery and fine fabric texturing.
Comfort was the keyword in Wajahat’s collection when the long-sleeved kurta with textured, yoke appeared with a pair of baggy salwars. When it came to embellishments, Wajahat kept his emphasis mainly on the yoke, shoulders, or other strategic parts, to turn them into the focal points of the garments.
Crafts In The Forefront
A graduate of the National Institute of Fashion Technology Kolkata, Rahul Dasgupta’s men’s wear line was aimed at the trendy, ethnic dresser who aims to push his fashion sensibilities to stylish limits.
Rahul started his studio and ‘Label Rahul Dasgupta’ in August 2020, during the lockdown, after gaining valuable designing experience with the labels Morph and Ruceru. The collection was born during quarantine when the sea with its peaceful lapping waves; set Rahul’s inspiration into creative mode. The line of ensembles moved just like the rolling serene waves till they reached a stylish horizon.
Putting an emphasis on surface development techniques but with traditional methods of crafting, the look was relaxed, elegant, stylish, and yet totally practical. The frayed detailing, intense ribbing effect on the garments and the rippling of fabrics on the kurtas, brought forth a new dimension in men’s wear. The colours moved from grey to blue, black, brown and finally ended in a crescendo of bright red.
Keeping Shibori as the primary traditional craft technique on cotton dori and cutout selvedge of fabrics, Rahul merged these to produce eye-catching fabrics on organza and cotton.
The dramatic bundi over an ivory, striped, silk kurta and narrow pants had intricate texturing. The mix of Shibori and selvedge of fabric was cut and dyed, then detangled and later stitched together to create a great masculine look.
Another stunner was the cotton dori dyed in Shibori, for the jacket that was lined elegantly with Shibori and worn with a silk organza bagalbandi style kurta. Sherwanis remained at times true to the classic silhouette but were textured luxuriously and teamed with narrow trousers. Detailing appeared on the waist and sleeves of the sherwani, while flap pockets added an intricate touch.
The horizontal and vertical ribbed and pleated detailing for the black, sheer shirt brought stylish fashion sensibilities to the forefront. The cascading ripples on the yoke of a very Avant-Garde sherwani with slashed sides and intricate texturing was a scene-stealer, while the final red, amazingly crafted, draped, millennial creation over a sheer kurta gave men’s wear an almost futuristic touch.
Rahul Dasgupta’s men’s wear line had a classic appeal but with a marked contemporary touch that will please the sartorial requirements of the stylish Indian man.