Valaya declares War

Imagine war, bombs, bloodshed and flesh?. And now imagine JJ Valaya?s designs on this concept! Sidhi Chadha has more.

The second last show on day three of India Fashion Week saw a house packed of guests, fellow designers and the media (of course). Reason? Delhi-based JJ Valaya launched his new collection ‘Valaya Quantum’.

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The show started on an extremely dramatic note when models thumped on the ramp with gold and silver paint that brought out the aggressive mood.

Now, it may sound colourless and devoid of life, but JJ's outfits turned out to be just the opposite. Inspired by war in a morbid yet beautiful way, the colour palette had burning oranges, light browns, turquoise and greens.

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Valaya aimed at making his collection look fearless yet fun and succeeded well in doing so. He explains it as much: "It cannot be jaded and boring. The very spirit of fashion demands fun in its own unique way."

Rate-O-Metre: Wearability: 5 Drama: 10 Curiosity: 9.5 Presentation: 8 Late-O-Metre: 20 minutes Front Row Attendees: Manish Malhotra, Suchitra, Parmeeta Katkar, Sylvie, Ritu Kumar, Peter Punj, Manish Arora Buzz Factor: 9.5

Full of passion and vibrant colours, models sashayed on ramp wearing Swarovski embellished long trench coats, asymmetrical floor-length skirts teamed up with bustiers, short skirts in velvet, jeweled halters, abstract printed churidar with shirts.

There was also a lot of layering in his collection like shrug, tunic, shirt and a muffler. Though all of these worn together made little sense. And one could watch designer Manish Arora get into a giggling riot that wouldn’t stop.

Detailing with Swarovski crystal on fabrics and techniques remain the quintessential highlights of this collection of the designer's 51 pieces. Valaya is known for his confident construction, as he played with fabrics such as linen-silk, georgettes, lycra, brocades and chenille. Structured jackets and achkans and beaded cholis looked the best.

Accompanied with the ensembles were varied accessories like mang tikka, big chunks of neckpieces in stone and metal bangles that added to the fervour.