Day two good

While most shows on day two left the audience impressed, complaints about the venue didn’t cease.

On the second day of the delayed Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week on Friday, things seems to have fallen in line.

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The afternoon marked a scintillating showing by designers Pankaj & Nidhi from the repose of the regulars at showings. They came out with graphics and architecture in silhouettes that were pleasing to the body and in black and white. Morphe by Amit Aggarwal on the other hand chose to be in the company of high tech look.

Vineet Bahl deviated from his usual ‘pretty’ clothes and decided to do something different such as the military jacket and gold ivory silk chiffon panel dress. Pashma, the label that brought the much-desired warmth to the ‘autumn/winter’ theme, had some chic cashmere and silk blend collection with stoles and caps. Rehane made it a point to introduce some golden shimmer in her young collection.

Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna and their label ‘Cue’ have by now become one of the most stylishly dependable names in the fashion industry today. Their collection had some of the most stylish garments in clean and straight-line formats that were pleasing to the eye. Sanchita too had her signature style in her collection — it was well put together.

Shantanu & Nikhil came out with an entire line of eveningwear bordering high fashion looks. Black interspersed with bright reds in dresses and gowns were the highlights. Payal Jain’s lineup of jersey and handloom silk dresses was pleasing. They were pretty, chic and high on wearabilty. Rocky S’ showing of Indian wear marked the end of day two. Earlier in the day were also showings by Joy Mitra, Preeti Chandra, Tanvi Kedia (some pretty outfits) and Virtues by Ashish Viral & Vikrant.

I am still not sure about the new venue being the ideal. The show area, I must confess, looked okay — with its runway with extra length — but, the rest of the basic amenities coupled with a dusty surrounding area were a let down.

Sidelights

It’s a masquerade
Part innovative and part scary — Cue by Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna had models with faces entirely covered. “We wanted to keep the focus on the clothes, and not on models’ faces. They had a gala time backstage, chilling for two hours because they didn’t have to worry about hair and make-up,” the duo said after the show.

Fights, camera, action
There was plenty of drama backstage as models, furious at not being paid the desired compensation for the first day, which got cancelled, threatened to walk out until the matter was resolved. “They wanted 100% compensation, but we’ve agreed to pay them 50%,” said designer Rohit Gandhi, after FDCI president Sunil Sethi was called to intervene. However, even afterwards, models were heard complaining, calling the settlement “unfair”.

Koena’s prem kahaani
Actress Koena Mitra, who walked the ramp for designer Joy Mitra in the Capital, says her work may be in Delhi, but her heart is with her Turkish boyfriend Mete Meral. Rumours have it that Mete’s keen on Koena settling down in Turkey, but the Bengali babe has no such plans. “When you fall in love, you don’t plan that ahead in future. I am what I am because I am an Indian. At the moment we are happy in this long-distance relationship,” she said.

Front running Vivek
Actor Vivek Oberoi was spotted sitting at the front row during the show by designers Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna on Friday evening. “It was simply fabulous. I specially flew down for this. They are like family, and my my best buddies in the Capital,” he said.