Favourite Looks from India Couture Week 2016

Every fashion week brings a plethora of new designs and trends that are sure to leave you spellbound.

Just like other incredible fashion weeks, the much-talked-about India Couture Week 2016 just got a wrap up and has charted out the course of fashion for the upcoming wedding season.  The five-day extravaganza laid some solid fashion trends in haute couture. The eclectic designs and mesmerising silhouettes marked the prominence and dominance of India’s fashion in global domain. Let’s have a sneak peek into the latest trends in Indian fashion.

Bardot blouse

Bardot tops or cold-shoulder tops are not restricted to western wear only as the Indian couturiers have beautifully weaved this ultimate fashion trend into contemporary Indian wear.  None other than the most celebrated designer Manish Malhotra introduced gorgeous bardot blouses along with the heavily embroidered lehengas. The ace designer showcased his collection named ‘The Persian Story’ that included some of the breathtakingly beautiful dresses.

The regal collection had the old-world charm and the effects of royal Persian architecture.  The combination of heavy embroidery, velvet fabric and bardot style silhouette of the blouses made the entire collection, a dream come true. Also Deepika Padukone being the showstopper enhanced the grace of collection with her never-ending charm. She wore a stunning red highly embellished lehenga with red off-shoulder blouse which romantically exposed her toned shoulders and carried it with all the poise. This indeed was one of our favourite looks from this year’s India Fashion Week.

Pop Hues

Anita Dongre is known for her out of the world designs. Everything from the choice of fabrics to colors and to embroidery makes a statement. This year too Anita presented her collection named ‘Epic Love’ which included some of the finest dresses for the forthcoming wedding season. Her signature ‘gotapati’ work when blended with bright pop hues, created a lethal combination. 

The lehengas in striking red, hot-pink, eye-catching orange, sunshine yellow and electric blue caught everyone’s eye.  Apart from this gorgeous trend, we witnessed a lot of dresses with fringes like fringe blouses, fringe-edged saris etc.  This really made the entire collection a perfect marriage of Indo-western.  Anita does know how to make an eye-ball popping collection and it was indeed on our list of favourites.

Serene in White

Today’s bride does not shy away from experimenting with her bridal attire. From colours to fabrics to silhouettes, they don’t mind trying new concepts. Keeping this in mind, designers too give wings to their imagination and bring out fresh and all new designs.  We witnessed gorgeous bridal wear in pristine whites, creams; ivory and beige rule the ramp at this year’s India Couture Week. With lot of detailing and white as the base colour, the collection truly stood out. If you are someone who likes to break the monotony and take the road less travelled, the bridal wear in ivory and gold is your go-to choice. Names like Rahul Mishra, Rimple and Harpreet Narula and Anamika Khanna presented a real ethereal muted hued collection and made everyone appreciate the understated yet crowd-pleaser ensembles.

Ruffles & Tassels 

The high-voltage five-day long fashion festivity had so much to offer that it became literally impossible to choose the best among the rest. Day 4 of India Couture Week unfolded some of the spectacular trends. Designer Gaurav Gupta and Varun Bahl presented their splendid collection that refined the contemporary fashion. The highlights of the day included use of sheer fabrics for blouses and saris. The pastel hued sheer fabrics were used to create some stunning blouses with floral motifs. Even the net saris with floral motifs looked divine. Also his progressive designs included unusual silhouettes with fluid drapes that let everyone talking.  

Another trend that caught our fancy was the extensive use of embellished headbands by the models. The bejewelled headbands in varied designs and styles added to the overall grace of the garment.  It added the much needed sparkle and gave a finishing edge. Also the trend of aesthetically using pearl tassels and fringes on saris and gowns caught our eye. The modern silhouette with vintage tassels made a perfect garment.   Last but certainly not the least, on the list of our favorite was the ruffle gowns.  Strapless ball gowns with romantic ruffle detailing looked chic and sophisticated.  The international trend of ruffles was given Indian tadka by adding it to the sari gowns.  The elaborate ruffled gowns looked dramatic as the models walked the ramp with panache.

Mirrorwork and Black Magic

Day 5 of the fashion week was a pure bliss for any bride-to-be because the vast display of majestic lehenags and other bridal wear was every bride’s dream.  Designers RohitBal and ManavGangwani brought forward their bridal collection which was high on aesthetics. The heavily embroidered, thoroughly embellished and intricately designed bridal wear was a delight to look at.  A lot of mirrorwork, Kashmiri kani work and zardozi work on heavy fabrics were to be seen. Deep-hues like maroon and black ruled the ramp. Showstopper Kangana Ranuat made heads turn wearing one of the best creations by Manav Gangwani from his Begum-e-Jannat collection which was a deep maroon lehenga with off-shoulder mirror-work blouse.

Talking about the celebrated designer Rohit’s collection named ‘Kehkashaan’, it was sheer opulence. The royalty of the entire collection was hypnotic and never-seen before as models sashayedregal things like tiaras, hand-carved walking canes, crowns, belts, sashes, capes, bejeweled footwear etc.And the way they carried the fierce expressions on their faces did complete justice with the royal collection. RohitBal like his every collection essayed a new colour palette for this season, black being the dominant colour. Models wore wonderful garments like lehenags with cape jackets, anarkalis with robes and bandhgalas with jodhpuris, all in black. Not to forget the touch of royalty came with the wide range of headgears.  All in all, calling it an awe-inspiring collection won’t be an exaggeration.

India Couture Week 2016 took us on a ride that portrayed influence of different cultures on fashion under one umbrella like Islamic influence, inspiration from Russia and Persia, heritage and legacy of Mughal era, the royalty of Rajasthan and much more and its effect was truly spell-binding. Many new things in the world of fashion made an effortless entry and old things got a revival make-over. Amidst all the glitz and glamour, the magic of fashion was at its peak!

Anita Dongre – A Busy Bee Dressing-up Bollywood Starlets

Anita Dongre is one name Bollywood swears by. This gifted designer from Mumbai is known for her bold and colourful designs. Her creations are chic, classy and fearless with lots of colours and heavy embroidery works. She specializes in bridal wear as she brings out the best of both worlds by blending vintage craftsmanship with contemporary silhouettes.

She never holds herself back from experimenting with bright hues like pinks, sunshine yellows and royal blue. She has a signature style of using traditional gota patti in her ensembles that are high on aesthetics. Let’s trace down the top Bollywood dresses by Anita Dongre.
Royal Blue Lehenga wore by Dia Mirza
The very pretty Dia Mirza chose none other than Anita Dongre’s creation for her Sangeet Ceremony in 2014. Anita Dongre has always been a go-to designer for Dia Mirza. And she dolled her up for her Sangeet. The actress looked dream-like in her Royal Blue Lehenga with golden embroidery.

Royal Blue Lehenga Set by Anita Dongre

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Gota Patti Lehenga wore by Sonakshi Sinha

The talented Dabang actress Sonakshi Sinha, wore a gorgeous off-white and golden gota patti lehenga by Anita Dongre on her brother’s mehendi ceremony. Sona looked elegant in her attire with subtle colors perfect for a daytime function. This Jaipur-inspired royal lehenga is definitely among the top Bollywood dresses by Anita Dongre.

Brocade Cream Lehenga Set by Anita Dongre

 

Pretty in Pink Juhi Chawla
Anita Dongre’s fan-list also includes the name of veteran actress Juhi Chawla. The actress is seen wearing her creations many a times. But what caught our attention was this pink floor-length suit with heavy gota patti upper bodice. Perfect for a formal evening!

Pink Embellished Jersey Gown by Anita Dongre

Sunshine Madhuri Dixit Nene
Madhuri’s beauty knows no bounds. Whatever she wears looks fabulous on her. And when it is Madhuri’s beauty and Anita’s ensemble, it makes a deadly combination. This is what we witnessed when we saw Madhuri wearing a sunshine yellow suit with embroidered neck designed by Anita Dongre. Look it to believe it!

Icy Blue gown wore by Vaani Kapoor
If you are wondering what to wear for a cocktail evening, take a cue from Vaani Kapoor’s icy blue gown with plunging neckline. This Anita Dongre’s design is indeed a hit for formal dinners or cocktail parties. Don’t wonder if heads turn at this pale blue cool evening gown. Without a doubt, this gown makes to our list of top Bollywood dresses by Anita Dongre.

Sonam Kapoor in Hot Pink
Sonam Kapoor is a goddess of style. She is a true trendsetter and makes statement with everything that she wears. And recently, Sonam hogged the limelight as she donned Anita Dongre’s hot pink embroidered attire. She made the onlookers go wow! And why not, after all it was Sonam-wears-Anita’s creation moment!

Pink Net Brocade Flair Gown by Anita Dongre

Prachi Desai in White
As soon as Prachi Desai posed for the shutterbugs at Vogue Bridal Studio in her simple yet stylish Anita Dongre’s western dress, everyone admired her for her perfect choice of dress for the occasion. The actress flaunted a minimalistic white crop top with crocheted paired with a midi-skirt at the event. We loved her dress to the core and believe it to be one of the top Bollywood dresses by Anita Dongre.
Light Yellow Net Brocade Dress by Anita Dongre

Vidya Balan in Anarkali
Vidya Balan is not only famous for her acting skills, but also for her choice of ethnic wear. Be it a sari or a suit, she does complete justice to the dress. This voluptuous beauty was recently spotted wearing a white floor-length gotapatti embroidered anarkali suit by Anita Dongre. Do we need to say more?

Chic White Georgette Suit by Anita Dongre

Aditi Rao Hydari in maxi dress
Aditi’s latest outfit made us fall in love with this petite actress all over again! She wore a strapless ivory maxi dress at a soiree. This Anita Dongre’s creation suited her skinny frame like second skin. Her maxi dress screamed simplicity but with the touch of class. And those chand balis are to die for! Call it Aditi’s stunning looks or Anita’s finesse of design, the dress was surely a winner. And this is why it is among the top Bollywood dresses by Anita Dongre.

Timeless Gota Pati Gown by Anita Dongre

Karishma Kapoor in off-white anarkali
The ever-stunning Karishma Kapoor looked regal in her off-white and golden anarkali suit that she wore on Arpita Khan’s reception ceremony. She looked whimsical in Anita Dongre’s timeless creation.

Anita Dongre is one designer that ensures that a garment needs not to be over-the-top or too loud to catch the attention. It is the finesse; minimalism and simplicity that makes it stand out!

Image Sources: www.pinterest.com, vogue, www.fashiondaily.co.in, www.strandofsilk.com

Mother of the Bride - Indian Aunty Sarees

A wedding affair is mostly all about the bride. However, the mother of the bride ensures that her daughter does not stress out for her big day and irons out all the creases cropping up at the event. So this lady needs an outfit befitting a queen when she is bidding adieu to her princess.

The famous Indian designers like Neeta Lulla, Manish Malhotra, Ashima- Leena, etc. offer an amazing collection of Indian aunty sarees that the mother of bride can pick from. She can follow these guidelines in choosing one of the Indian aunty sarees:

Go Pastel

When her daughter is going for bold colours she can opt for paler hues. Very light tints of blues, greens, beiges, peaches and pinks are great choices for the mother of the bride.

The fabric can be sheer or opaque with crystal embroidery or applique work. The light tones of Indian aunty sarees do justice to the age of the wearer and glorify class and grace at the same time.

Hema Malini in pastels

Easy on Embroidery

Indian aunty sarees with lighter embroidery work on just the borders and the pallu is a nice choice for the mother of the bride. On these lines, the website Strand of Silk offers an amazing collection of sarees from the Indian designers, for the mother of the bride.

 

Neon Pink Saree by Anita Dongre

Gold and Off-white Saree

Like Mother, Like Daughter

The mother can match her saree with her daughter, by choosing a common colour theme. She can go few shades lighter in the colour choice. When the bride is going for lehengas with bare midriff, the mother can go for sarees in similar colour and same type of lighter embroidery.

Hema Malini with Esha Deol

Aishwarya and Jaya Bachchan

Tread the Tradition

The mother of the bride can go for the traditional Indian aunty Sarees like Kanjeevaram, Banarasi, Chanderi, Sambhalpuri, Bandhani, etc. Each of these sarees, uses traditional Indian weaves, prints or fabrics. The traditional Indian sarees always look amazing on elderly women and brings culture to the traditional wedding affair.

 

Paithani saree

Kanjeevaram Sarees

Blouse it Up

The Blouse for Indian aunty sarees should be one that gives coverage to the arms and adds drama to the saree. For leaner arms the mothers can go for sheer fabrics with borders and shorter sleeves.

For heavier arms a more covered look with opaques and embroidery depending upon the saree is a way to go. The veteran actress Shabana Azmi is seen a lot in full sleeves or three-quarter sleeves and she looks very classy wearing sarees with longer sleeved blouses.

Shabana Azmi at Lakme Fashion Week

Pull an Additional Pallu

An additional stole added to the other shoulder without pallu (saree pleats on the shoulder), with matching embroidery and colours gives a regal and commanding look. It adds dimension to the saree and takes it to a different level.

 

Waheeda Rehman with the extra Pallu Saree

The Indian aunty sarees are definitely a more popular and suitable choice for the mother of the bride over lehengas and anarkalis. The mother of the bride’s saree does not intend to take the limelight away but it subtly speaks for the woman behind the girl, who has begun a new journey in womanhood.



Image source: www.bollywoodvogue.com, www.designerblouses.co.in, www.indianweddingsite.com, www.metromela.com, bawree.com, bollyspice.com

Top 6 Bridal Outfits by Famous Indian Designers

When the special day of every Indian women arrives, they have to choose the perfect bridal outfit for their wedding day. Let’s have a look at some different ideas and inspirations from six leading Indian designers to help every future Indian bride to choose their personal style depending on their personality.

Desi Modern by Anita Dongre

For Anita Dongre, the bride in this case ultimately wants to look like a modern Indian woman. Wearing a lehenga with the conventional and traditional colour of red teamed with a trendy crop top style choli, will be a perfect option to represent the modern’s bride contemporary thought process. Here, the trend is more about the independent woman who is free-spirited, with a fashion style philosophy of a nonconformist.

Glam Girl by Arjun Kapoor and Anjallee

In the past, Indian brides were used to not making any personal decisions about their wedding organisation or even the outfit, because it was always the parents that selected everything for the special day. However, nowadays in a contemporary world,  and the new bride feels more classy and confident with her way of thinking. Also, now brides know everything about the latest fashion trends to choose their perfect bridal outfit, because they know exactly what they want according to their design sensibility. For this two designers, the perfect bride will opt for deep colours with a mix of different fabrics, various motifs and floral embroidery.

Global Bride by Monisha Jaising

Here, the bride is more about feeling young and sexy in her ensemble. Her perspective of life is free-spirited, so the outfit will be a mix between two cultures and lifestyles of the west and east countries. The bridal outfit can have 3D embroidery, eccentric design and digital printing techniques and fabrics, but for the moment this kind of outfit is extremely unique and has hasn't  been seen until recently in Indian bridal fashion.

Quirky Bride by Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla

The bride designed for by Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla wants to reflect through the ensemble, her love for couture and her creative personality and spirit. Obviously, this contemporary woman wants to look at her best for her wedding day, but she also wants to feel unique. For this to happen, the bride must opt for vintage techniques in her ensemble, such as crystals, sequins, mirror work and zardozi. She will look classy and elegant in her traditional silhouette full of bright colours.

Royal Choice by Ritu Kumar

We all know that the bride of today has a perfectly clear understanding of fashion and class. She also knows a lot about technique and colours. Knowing that she’s more open-minded, she can choose an avant-garde piece by wearing a three-piece bridal outfit made up of a kurta and dupatta. To stand out in the crowd. It will look great teamed with a gold net and tanchoi silk brocade with turquoise and green stripes of patched silk.

Girl Power by Neha Modi

Here, the bride by Neha Modi is more about femininity, she looks delicate, shy, fun loving and graceful. This woman can wear an ensemble that enhances the feminine curve of her scooped back and elegant neck. The embroidery has to be perfectly placed, and will add all the drama. It’s better to opt for a lehenga with soothing shades like green, rani pink or turquoise.

Anita Dongre: A Powerful Fashion Businesswoman

Anita Dongre is nowadays one of the most famous Indian Designers. She built an authentic fashion empire with three design labels: her signature label Anita Dongre, AND, Global Desi.

Recently, she has been nominated for the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award by Ernst & Young. 

How did she become a businesswoman of Fashion?

Since, she was a child, she always wanted to become a designer in the fashion industry. She used to spend time in her grandmother’s house in Jaipur and she was seduced by Rajasthan with these colourful markets, architecture and the people. The place created an impact on her and a love for design and fashion. Just after graduating from SNDT College in Mumbai, she started supplying ready-to-wear to small stores in the city.

Then, she began to create a collection of clothes that she really liked. Obviously, the collection resounded with the young women who were open to experimenting with new outfits: western outfits. However, like every new designer, she encountered some problems with the shops that she supplied to - a lot of them were not open to the concept and the collections. So, she decided to start her own business. This Indian designer began to work at home designing for friends and supplying to little shops until her father offered her the possibility to start a small factory of her own which had grown more and more.

For Anita Dongre, the most important was creativity because it means constantly re-inventing and innovating herself and her creations, while keeping her signature design aesthetic. Her ideal fashion design is understated elegance and always offers the consumers “accessible luxury” inspired by Indian things and techniques, and by Rajasthan.

To succeed, she always stays organised, creative, and runs her fashion labels like one would run a corporate business - taking into account that fashion is very dynamic, with new trends and new styles coming every day, so she has to be a step ahead in the game. Also, another important key of success for her is to be passionate about what you do and to remember that creativity is constantly work in progress.

Anita Dongre has been successfully doing it right by opening a flagship in Mauritius and expects to realize her dream project - to move the brand headquarters to a bigger facility in Rabale, Navi Mumbai. This would make her company the first Indian fashion house to have its own centralised production hub.

Bollywood Actresses and their Social Commitments

Who said that Bollywood Celebrities are only interested in themselves?

Indeed two weeks ago they attended an event organized by Nikhar Tandon in Mumbai to raise funds for cataract surgeries and medical camps, moreover a part of the proceeds will be developed to the Maharashtra Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. The host of the event was the founder of Samyedana Foundation, created in order to support under-privileged children. In this case the show was about artworks made by different artists, including Nikhar herself.

Among the guests present, some caught our attention for their sober and good-looking outfits. One of these was Karisma Kapoor dressed in a white shirt and floral pants, enhanced by high heels and open toe Louboutin shoes paired a statement necklace. The outfit was completed with a simple hairstyle constituted by a fishtail braid.

Other actresses opted for monochromatic outfits, for example Aditi Rao Hydari choose a long black kurta and embroidered pants designed by Anita Dongre, complemented by golden heels and a clutch in the same colour, finished by a beautiful necklace. The makeup was really simple and she looked chic and elegant.

Also the outfit chosen by Lisa Haydon was Black, even if it was a little bit more eye-catching because of the stripes on the dress. The chiffon top featured roses around the neck softening her outfit.

Completely in contrast with them, Parineeti Chopra opted for white trousers and same colour top paired with nude open shoes. Finally Gauhar Khan, the famous Raw Star, was wearing a black high- waist skirt and a white sleeveless top, obviously with black pointed heels. A puff hairstyle completed her outfit.

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Latest Indian Fashion Trend Predictions for 2015

We’re now in 2015 and are soon to be entering the crazy fashion season which includes hundreds of shows across a number of cities, showcasing an influx of new fashion ideas and trends. This can be slightly overwhelming in the fast pace of the fashion world, especially within the ever-evolving Indian fashion sector. But don’t panic, we’re here to help!

This year will bring a huge variety of new and exciting Indian trends that can be worked into almost everyone's wardrobe, whether you are looking for a casual day outfit or stand-out evening attire. Here are our top 4 trend predictions for this year,

Colour Blocking

2014 saw an influx of neutral tones and toned down hues swarm the runways and high streets, but colour seems to slowly creeping back into the limelight. The colour-blocking trend is one that has come and gone many times, but this year we’re seeing it come back with a point of different to keep up with the latest Indian trends; layering! By layering up contrasting colours it creates bold and stylish look that can be worn in variety of ways to suit peoples personal styles.

Feminine Sheers

Sheer has also been a popular trend in the past but this year we’re seeing it take a feminine turn. In the past the sheer trend is been somewhat edgy in it’s aesthetic, but this new sheer trend takes on a feminine embodiment in the form of stylish evening dresses and gowns. This trend can be worn as a daring skin bearing look or teamed with other garments such as underskirts as a classy layering technique.

Gold Embellishment

Black is a trend which will never go out of fashion, and what better way to embrace it than with a stylish gold embellishment. 2014 was the year of bold and basic trends with minimum detail, but 2015 is always seeing an influx of pattern and embellishment. Black and gold are definitely the colours of choice within the latest Indian trends for 2015; a match made in heaven!

Fringing

Tassels and fringing is a trend that has been on and off for a while now, but mainly within festival fashion. The 2015 trend is all about dressing up the fringing look; think evening gowns and girly dresses. Bright colours are also a key part of this trend, forget the natural brown and nude tones of 2014, and go for bright and bold hues for a quirky and stylish look!

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