Durga's journey through India ended on the ramp, with Shobhna and Vijay Arora's Fall/Winter collection 05. Naturally, Bengal's Kantha was the favoured form of embroidery.
Inspired by Goddess Durga's travels through various regions of the country - starting in Mumbai and then north into Dharamsala and finally to the holy city of Varanasi, the line was simple, yet effective, aesthetically correct, wearable and contemporary.
The husband-wife team kicked off with a simple and elegant line of menswear. Open buttoned shirts with subtle kantha work on them. Colours like ivory, pale pink, black with stripes running through most of them were worn with flat front trousers.
The women came out wearing painted denims, paired with long tunics in varied fabrics and colours. A definite Oriental presence was felt in the kurtas that had long slits and hand-painted flowers in red. Obi belts heightened the effect. "The inspiration for the flowers came from tankha paintings found in Buddhist monasteries," Vijay Arora said.
Soft silver embellishments over the kantha work gave the garments a very sensuous and feminine feel. This was the perfect setting for the next segment of sarees.
While several bright colours were used - they were treated in a very contained manner. Traditional colours like oranges, reds and turquoises were used to full effect. A particularly striking ensemble involved a red sequined bra top worn under a floor length green jacket.
{{/usCountry}}While several bright colours were used - they were treated in a very contained manner. Traditional colours like oranges, reds and turquoises were used to full effect. A particularly striking ensemble involved a red sequined bra top worn under a floor length green jacket.
{{/usCountry}}The collection was very soft and understated and was extremely high on wearablitly. Some of the churidar-kurtas seemed to come right off the rack. A sensible collection from a talented designer duo.
THE OTHER VIEW: Shakti on ramp
Malvika Nanda/HT City
The accent towards Bengali culture in 'Anant' by Shobhna and Vijay Arora was obvious. Titled Durga's Journey, the fall-winter collection was dominated by dark colours, depicting Shakti. The menswear had shirts with kantha embroidery. For women there were short kurtas, saris and salwar kameezs with embellishments. Soft crepes, tussar, linens were highlighted with mukaish, block prints, parsi gara.
Rate-o-meter
Wearability: 7
Presentation: 6
Front Row: Sunil Mittal of Bharti, Rakesh Thakore, Vinod Kaul, Raseel Gujral, hotelier Sandeep Gupta, Hemi Bawa
Buzz factor: 6
Late-o-meter: 20 minutes