FUNK OR FUSION? RAMANI WINS BATTLE OF MS
Asmita Aggarwal (HT City)

It was sheer funk opposed to boring fusion. As Malini Ramani managed to get everyone’s attention with her flaunt-your-thong, transparent dresses, Mandira Wirk’s 32-inch lacklustre kurtas failed to enthuse the audience. Malini’s traditional zardosi embroidery on hipster pants won the battle for her with all the gypsy elements in the right place. Explains Chayya Shriram, “The collection is just like her – young, fresh and hip, with great appeal in garment construction and innovative cuts. I specially liked the jacket with ‘Beach Bitch’ written on it. Staying in Goa clearly shows in Malini’s clothes.”

As girls with cowboy hats and guns in one hand stole the show, they seemed to dull Mandira’s two-toned kurtas worn with flared straight pants. Malini’s collection spewed playful elegance and hippie, beachy fun, with big, bold leather belts and strappy bustiers with suede trimmings with ‘chokri’ written all over them.

Even the music carried forward Malini’s theme of total entertainment. As the designer herself says, “My kaftans are done in bandhinis, which are floaty and fluid. I’ve used our heritage like mirror and kantha work and given it a modern-try-it-now twist. Everything is wearable but it’s interestingly put together to catch your eye.”

If it is Malini Ramani, it has to be plunging necklines and low raiders, and the ramp saw both in abundance. From backless blouses to high-slit sexy dresses, it had it all – a complete antithesis of the conservative V-cut short kurtas Mandira attempted to make a splash in.

Somehow, the same chiffons looked more sensuous with Malini’s saris teamed up with golden bustiers than on Mandira’s drag asymmetrical dresses. As Afsana Cherian, a stylist with CNBC explained, “It got difficult to sit through Mandira’s show because she had nothing new to offer. And her so-called fusion wear was nothing to write home about.” Well that settles the matter!