Sunday 20 September 2015

Amazon India Couture Week 2015: Opulence and Bollywood

One of the best things about the flourishing of social media, such as Instagram and Snapchat, is that it allows us to follow events around the globe as they happen and keep up to date a lot quicker. Where even a couple of years ago, I would have to look online for events after they happened, now I'm able to follow more fashion news and events in India and Pakistan, and of course in London without having to be there.

So naturally, I followed all of the beautiful outfits of Amazon India Couture Week last month, which was a very luxurious affair with plenty of Bollywood stars present; as well as PFDC L'OrĂ©al Paris Bridal Week 2015 which just took place a few days ago in Pakistan (which I'll also be posting about!)

Anju Modi
I loved how colourful and traditional this collection was - apparently this designer's line was inspired by upcoming epic movie Bajirao Mastani which certainly shoes in the gorgeous detail of these outfits. The style of these are meant to be more Persian, which I loved because of how regal these outfits look.


Gaurav Gupta
Conversely, this designer went for a gold palette in various shades, with focus on the cuts of the dresses in layers, and on embroidery. Gupta also collaborated with jewellery company Outhouse to create special earcuffs for the model, which I thought was a nice touch. The cocktail-style dresses in this collection were quite elegant, with a few sari-gowns hybrids thrown in as well.

Kalki Koechlin was the showtopper for this designer, and looked very much like a princess in her layered pink outfit, which I thought she looked lovely in.


Rahul Mishra
This collection leaned towards formals and bridal trousseu pieces, with inspiration from the 'Tree of Life' theme, present through plenty of floral and parrots embroidery. I loved the richness of the colours in these outfits, simple yet summery which worked well together.


Debarun
This was another traditional collection which was inspired by the maharajas, which had plenty of colours, taking inspiration also from the classic 80s and 90s Bollywood colours  which looked vibrant together. I loved the rich colours and fabrics of this collection - idea as bridals or as party outfits!



This collection had two Bollywood stars as the show stoppers, Aditi Rao Hydari and Chitrangada Singh, both in different styles, showing a transition between old-style Bollywood through to the contemporary styles. 


Monisha Jaising
This was very much a modern, fusion collection - bridal meets sportswear and funky prints. I can't say I was a fan of all of these although I did like the quirky mix of prints and embroidery.


Showstopper Kriti Sanon completed this theme, with a gorgeously embellished lengha skirt mixed with a jersey top and embellished trainers! On the other hand, Pernia Qureshi was dressed in a simpler maxi dress with sparkles, which looked more contemporary.


Reynu Tandon
One of the things of the I really liked about this collection was the way gorgeous rich colours (I do love my maroons and aubergines!) and the way the dupatta was styles for each model, showing a traditional bridal look. I also liked the various flowy styles, although it was mostly lengha, there were a couple of shararas thrown in and dresses in a similar style.

Richa Chadda was the showstopper for this collection, looking like a Lucknow queen in a rich red and gold bridal, mixing rich prints and brocade with embellishment.


Rimple and Harpreet Narula
This was a collection which focused on a rich palette of golds, red and white, with plenty of intricate embroidery on beautiful A-line skirts and worked tops - very elegant and classic. The collection is apparently a homage to the days of the Raj, using fine craftmanship and royal insignias in the outfits.


Shilpa Shetty looked just as lovely in a gold lengha from the collection - I loved the gold-on-nude look of this outfit which worked well with the heavy embellishment.


Manav Gangwani
This is another collection which focused on vivid colour and florals, for a striking look. There were a lot of silhouette outfits, closely-fitted gowns to emphasise the figure and finished off with plenty of embellishment.


Kangana Ranaut was the showstopper for this designer, with plenty of sparkles in this sumptious gown. This was certainly for the modern bride who is looking for a little drama in their outfit, which Kangana certainly pulled off.


Rohit Bal
This collection mixed floral and animal motifs with Kashmiri inspiration, finished off with beautiful floral hairband. I love how unique these outfits looked, with each piece being a statement in itself, using rich colours and fabrics.


Varun Bahl
This was a lot more floral-based, with emphasis on the feminine in each outfit - appropriately called 'Song of the Flower'. The ramp itself was decorated with roses to add to this, and each outfit has beautiful flowers worked in. I really liked the pieces of this collection, which I thought were a lovely alternative to the usual gold embellishments you usually see on bridals.


Sabyasachi
This was one I was looking forward to seeing, and it is one of my favourite collections of AICW because of how rich the outfits looked, and how intricate the details looked. The designer collaboated with Louboutin to create a series of shoes for the catwalk, which were just as richly embellished, while outfits were mostly gold and black with a spot of red to signify the famous soles!


Manish Malhotra
The designer closed the show with a collection of rich flowers and colours to celebrate his 25th year in fashion. Entitled 'The Empress Story', featuring gowns which ranged from metallic silver and vintage gold to rich reds, rose pinks and chocolate browns. There wer also plenty of flower and bird motifs in embroidery, which finished off the looked in a unique way.


Aishwariya Rai Bachan finished off the finale in a gorgeous maroon and gold ensemble, looking stunning and chic and every inch the 'Empress' of the collection.

Images source

I really liked the range of colours and styles of this collections, and it was interesting to see how many designers were going back to the traditional, old-era looks as well. I loved the different interpretations of these, and it'll be interesting to see how many of these will filter down to the high street shops - especially as a lot of these will be available for the public to buy in coming months.

What did you think of these - which designer was your favourite?

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