IN A LOUDER KEY: BAL
Prasad Bidapa, John Abraham and David Whitbread

Blood-red roses in febrile bloom on a glistening techno-shine PVC jacket, classic in proportion; glazed chintz jeans in white rampant with cabbage roses stomping by. Then came ambivalent motifs morphing with screensaver languidness, the Bal logo clinking faintly but ominously on low-slung chain mail and vinyl belts. Heat transfer motifs, copper zardosi and foil printing played counterpoint to classic pinstripes, chevron and chalk stripes providing a subtext that maybe a banker could wear. That’s the Bal genius.

Headless dress forms lined the stage, and mock-rock biker boys stomped, preened and glowered at photographers at head ramp. Standard–issue Michelangelo images plastered to torsos and for a new slant on androgyny, ghungroos to foreheads. Snub-nosed Peshawari sandals in red, yellow, blue and pink accessorised perfectly.
The hall was packed, he made them wait, he made them cheer, will he make them wear? The answer is a very probable yes. Gudda’s the industry’s answer to Raj Kapoor. Who else to lead the crossover from trend to Friends Colony if not the big Bal?

Roses on leather jackets may seem outré: but idealised biker gear is adaptable for affordable mass-market winter dressing here. (With the gobsmacking motifs: surely that’s what JNU students and clued-in truck drivers will buy if Bal’s price is right. And if it is, this could the new winter uniform in apna desh.)

Never mind the gay iconic nods to James Dean, Brando and Tom of Finland, here’s what every Prince Charming could be wearing to Cinderella’s Bal. And Gudda himself at show’s end did a victory bump-and-grind as flashlights, family and friends erupted in approbation.

Anant: Shobhna & Vijay Arora: A Roar And Away
Curious if not arousingly so. Menswear exactly like last year’s and the year before that. But then, a women’s line that captured what Indian prêt should really be. The idea was simple, fitted churidars worn under shrunken kurtas and both in fabrics that included stretch denim and sheer muslins in white, hand-painted effects and leheria. The resultant silhouette made legs seem endless especially since the kurtis looked like little tunics. The effect had immediacy and translated well from AM to PM in delicate colours heightened with bugle-beaded tassels.

Sunsilk Hair Show: Been Hair Done That
Hair is about presentation right? So, after all that remote-expressioned catwalking, the Sunsilk Hair Show on Saturday evening was a welcome bit of tamasha. The theme was Bollywood hairstyles from the swinging sixties onwards, and there were impersonations of everyone from Helen to Hrithik and Nanda to Govinda.
The audience loved it and all of livewire compere Sajid Khan’s jokes. The international style of presentation at Fashion Week is all very well but lest anyone forget, we are like this only.

Deepika Govind: The Deep End
She worked with khadi, tencelling it to a new softness and introduced a menswear line this year. High Street friendly, she offered a simple silhouette in monochrome blocks of graphite, white, and indigo. These are clothes the guys will love. For the girls, it was stuff like wrap-around pants in a delicious pomegranate pink woven out of a fabric she developed with an unusual dyeing technique. Her silhouettes could be slimmer but she obviously knows the bottom line, even if that’s not exactly buns of steel in Indian customers.

Jattinn Kochhar: A Man For All Seasons
He showed winter, he showed spring, he showed monsoon. You could stock an entire shop with just his clothes. (All that tulle does take up a lot of shelf space, though). Jattinn’s been in the market so long he knows variety is the spice of a line. The club kids who jump out of the back window, steal the keys to Papa’s Skoda and Mummy’s eyeliner will love him. As Papa and Mummy probably did in their time too: now that’s all seasons!