Indian designers a hit at South African show

Rohit Bal, Malini Ramani and Tarun Tahiliani drew loud applause from South African spectators.

Indian designers Rohit Bal, Malini Ramani and Tarun Tahiliani were part of a mega fashion event in South Africa and drew loud applause from spectators.

Local Indian television programme Eastern Mosaic hosted the Indian Summer Fashion show by leading Indian and South African designers at the SA Fashion Week in Sandton Convention Centre.

Fashion pundits scrambled for one of the limited invitations that saw 500 guests applaud the designs of Bal, Ramani and Tahiliani from India and the local talents of designers Vino and Marianne Fassler.

This was the first time Indian fashion was showcased at the prestigious annual event here Sunday.

Bal's elegant collection had shades of cream, with a preference for tassels and gold embroidery fit for royalty. He said: "I believe in elegance and understated options, and that is always reflected in my designs, which work everywhere in the world."

Tahiliani, who has participated in events in Durban and Limpopo in South Africa in recent months, showed his penchant for rich, earthy colours with gold embellishments.

"I love South Africa, and I want to come back in a few months to see Cape Town as well," he said.

"There has not been too much inspiration yet in terms of South Africa, but it is coming in terms of the animal prints, some of the horns, and a lot of the beadwork that I'm seeing I'm now going to start using in my work. In fact, in my new collection for spring, there are going to be a whole lot of African t-shirts."

Fassler, whose colourful work in traditional African and Indian prints featured full-length outfits and drew some of the loudest applause from the audience, said it was probably because "my fashion is not very serious and great fun to look at - it's playful".

"I'm very inspired by India and I was delighted to participate here. They asked me because I often have Indian and African elements in my work, so it tied in with the theme."

Commenting on the work of Indian designers, Fassler said: "(They have) wonderful craftsmanship, beautiful fabrics, different diverse designers, I really enjoyed it."

Ramani's collection showed a preference for rich, earthy colours with large floral gold motifs with glitter, while local designer Vino had wired headgear with an African touch prominent in her work of loose feminine, flowing lines.

Presenter Imraan Vaagar said: "Part of Eastern Mosaic's efforts over the past two years was to find a lot of synergy with established shows and events which exposes our product to a broader audience."

"Because fashion is such a popular aspect of the show, an association with SA Fashion Week was very logical."

Commenting on the participation of the Indian designers, Vaagar said they had expressed a keen interest as soon as he approached them.

"Because each country has its own designers who stand out from the mainstream, it's nice to see what other countries are doing, especially in countries which have ethnic exploration in their clothing."

Vaagar said there has already been a great deal of interest from Indian designers to get involved again next year.

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