A Designer Lehenga - Past to Present

As well as being a very popular and stylish item of clothing it is a well known fact that the designer lehenga has a very rich history because its origin can be traced back to the medieval period when the country was under Mughal occupation.

The lehenga is actually regarded as a form of skirt very similar to the one worn by people from Scotland, but is clearly vastly different in design! Over the years it has undergone major modifications because of the changing preferences of the users and now comes in many unique forms and designs.

 

The lehenga is generally adjusted at the waist and consists of different types of excellent craftsmanship that has catapulted it to be one of the most prominent ethnic wears in the current fashion market.

A Designer lehenga is one of the most important ethnic garments that has seen its popularity soar in present time, and is now also worn by a number of Bollywood celebrities not only on set but in their everyday lives. At times most of these designs are made keeping in mind the actress who is going to wear it. Hence, each Bollywod lehenga is as unique as each celebrity. Bollywood lehengas come with the most exquisite and exotic embellishments fitted on the finest of fabrics.

Deepika Padukone recently stole the show when featuring in Delhi Couture Fashion Week, wearing this amazing blue embellished Lehenga.

Some of our favourite designer lehenga’s at the moment come from Siddartha Tytler. Constantly experimenting, innovating and bringing in new styles, Siddhatha’s designs are always moving quickly with the trends.

His lehenga designs are beautifully unique and interesting and come in a variety of bright colours and bold prints. His designer lehenga’s are very modern and contemporary which definitely makes them stand out from the crowd.

If you want to shop the latest styles from Siddartha Tytler's collection of Designer Lehengas have a look at indian bridal wear!

Top Picks from Indian Designers - Siddhartha Tyler

Siddhartha Tytler is a young indian designer with attitude, style and urban flair, offering an excitingly, eclectic array of style for the urban fashion victim!

His father wanted him to become an engineer while his mother thought he’d make a good architect. But, by the age of 16, Siddartha Tytler had decided that he wanted to be a fashion designer. He was fascinated by the designer creations that he’d seen in New York during a vacation and wanted to design clothes like Versace and Armani.

According to the Indian designer “Novel silhouettes, innovative structural elements, new fangled patterns, ‘wear-ability’ and originality are the essential elements in every creation at the Siddartha Tytler studio". When creating one of his pieces several factors come into play: changing trends or the inspiration by elements that exist as part of our everyday lives.

                    

Siddhartha believes in unconventional elegance for a woman who knows herself and exudes confidence. Hence, there is an undeniable femininity in all of his women's wear lines. The menswear line is geared towards the metro-sexual male; stylish and sartorial.

Constantly experimenting, innovating and bringing in new styles, Siddhatha’s designs are always moving quickly with the trends. A non conformist, Tytler’s ensembles are a cut above from what is available in the market. “ I love creating drama with cuts and colours to maintain the exclusivity of my garments” is his take. Which we love!                 

As Siddhartha puts it, "These are clothes you can wear to work, party in, or just wear to feel great about yourself. These are clothes for people who are going places".

Highly stylised and well-researched, Siddhartha's extraordinary attention to detail is witnessed in the sharply defined silhouettes of his line. We personally love the intricate detail showcased in each one of his garments. Making women look good is what Siddharta Tytler does best, form fitting or free-flowing, the silhouettes emphasis the natural curves of the body with a focus on surface ornamentation and appliqué. Never one to ignore bling, his forte is crystal combined with gorgeously detailed thread work.

                

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Collection of Jewellery by Designer Anita Dongre ''Pinkcity''

Anita Dongre, one of the best known and powerful Indian designer among the Indian fashion fraternity, has been leading a huge successful business for years. Indeed she is at the head of three labels: AND, ANITA DONGRE and GLOBAL DESI.

We could all think that she reached the limit of her ascent and that she has enough to manage but she is full of ambition. After designing clothes for every kind of market she recently added jewellery to her creations by launching a new collection of gold handcrafted jewellery called ‘’Pinkcity’’on 13^th of August 2013. 

It is a line of Jaipur-inspired jadau jewellery designed by Anita Dongre and produced by Pradeep Jethani of Jet Gems, a jewellery designer with more than 27 years of experience. She explained that it was natural to associate with Jet Gems first because of the unparalleled expertise of Pradeep Jethani in crafting intricate bespoke jewellery and also because they share the same philosophy about beauty within perfection and precision.

 

Designer Anita Dongre with Designer Pradeep Jethani 

The name "Pinkcity" and it concept is inspired by the traditional legend of a princess in search of love who will find her prince only when a Pink Flamingo arrives. So the collection transcribed romanticism and dream, representing love and engagement and is also reminiscent of the charm and grandeur of the royal Moghul era.

 

 Painting of the Mughal era 

Each piece is handcrafted by high skilled craftsmen of Rajasthan using traditional techniques of their state including Jadau and Meenakari, one of a kind of works on the surface of metals and all with designer Anita Dongre’s aesthetic. Tradition and modernity - we can recognise the specific signature of this unique designer.

She explains, "the idea first struck when I started my menswear line two years ago, because I wanted to make my own buttons. "We started with jaali buttons, then pieces with interchangeable colours where customers could switch from about seven shades from pink and turquoise to cobalt blue’’.

The women collection is ‘’Nayantara’’ and includes Necklaces, Jhumkas, Cuffs, Bangles and Polki. The men one is ‘’Anshumat’’ and includes buttons and cufflinks. Both ranges are set in 18k and/or 22k gold, what can dazzle a connoisseur’s eyes.

Let's have a look : 

Did you like these jewellery ?

Indian Designers: My Top Picks for Autumn/Winter 2014

Indian designers are currently thriving and we are seeing a wide variety of styles and designers being brought into the limelight and displayed both on the catwalk and online.We have chosen a few of our current favourite Indian designers at the moment that we feel are perfect for this A/W!

Our first pick is Meera Mahadevia, she is perhaps the best kept secret in the international luxury handbag market. The brand began 27 years ago as a customised design accessory for celebrities and socialites across the world. Till now her designs have been only accessible to those who were lucky enough to grace the red carpet, but today her creations are showcased across India in a number of high-end fashion boutiques and online stores. 

Anushka clutch

A Meera Mahadevia luxury handbag comes in an eccentric and extremely varied range of stunning styles and designs, and are often made up of a distinctive blend of brass and copper embellished with wood carvings, marble inlays, silver engravings, semi-precious stones, antique frames, and spiritual emblems. Each handbag is said to be detailed to a fine precision, and all by using the most basic and artistic manufacturing tool of all time: the human hand! 

                                                 

                                                                  Pochette clutch

                                                
                                                 
                                              Stylish blue and golden clutch

                                                    
                                                 
                                                Maharani gayatri devi clutch
                                               
Our Second pick of one of our current favourite Indian designers is Myoho. Myoho designs have been recently described as a ‘seamless confluence of ethnicity, femininity and subtlety’, which we think describes the designs perfectly!                                   
                                          
                                                
                                                              Red floral pattered dress

Myoho designs are easy, relaxed and organic and have a beautiful range of elegant and wearable looks for any occasion. Although the designs have a clear traditional influence, they also have a modern and contemporary twist which creates a very high fashion and up to date appearance.

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Designer Anita Dongre's Collections on Celebrities

We can all agree that Designer Anita Dongre is at the head of one of the most successful Indian fashion business and she is part of an elite group. With her strong passion for style and fashion and also Indian heritage, she worked hard and was able to stand out from other designers by creating her own unique style. Indeed, she created a company with her own labels: AND, ANITA DONGRE, GLOBAL DESI. 

Her understanding of changing trends and also the 21st century woman needs permit her to create her fashion which ensures that every Indian woman feels confident in her creations. In this way, Anita Dongre conquered the tastes of all kind of people and in particular, of celebrities. Moreover, being one of the most powerful women in Indian business and with such a career, we can imagine that she had a lot of opportunity to deal with famous people. Indeed her inexhaustible creativity make her collections reach runways, awards shows, global red carpets, international catwalks and more great events.

Here we have some examples of some of the most leading Indian and Bollywood celebrities donning Anita Dongre's collections,

 

 

Bollywood Actress Dia Mirza walked for the Designer and danced on the ramp at Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2014. Dressed with a lemon lehenga, she showcased Anita Dongre’s collection called 'Varanasi Weaves' - a tribute to traditional Indian fabrics.

Indian actress/model and former Miss Great Britain, Preeti Desai in an elegant cotton jacquard dress by Anita Dongre at Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Ressort 2014.

Indian film actress Urmila Matondkar in a block printed jacquard gown by Anita Dongre.

Indian actress Sonam Kapoor on the sets of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, an Indian television reality show, wearing an embroidered jacket made by Anita Dongre.

Neha Dhupia for the promotion for her upcoming movie, Ekkees Toppon Ki Salaami, wearing an Anita Dongre dress.

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Designer Anita Dongre's Life - A Success Story

There is no denying that designer Anita Dongre is one of the most popular and successful Indian fashion designers. Indeed she has been at the forefront of the Indian fashion scene for over 20 years, but how did she succeed and get so famous?

 

First, as she always loved fashion and style, she studied designing from SNDT, Juhu - a leading Indian fashion school in which she graduated in 1983 - and Bcom from Narsee Monjee. Then to realise her passion for design, she and her sister Meena Sehra, acquired two sewing machines in order to create and supply clothes to a boutique called Saks which was frequented by Bollywood stars. She made a line made from linen for the boutique which agreed to sell her collections. It was a success and Saks wanted more of her creations and this is what launched her career in the world of fashion. And then for few years Anita Dongre not only supplied to famous boutiques in major Indian cities, but also in other cities all around the world.

 

After these experiences she finally decided to create her own label with fresh ideas. The boutiques thought that it will not work, but she travelled several times and had seen that trends were changing. She wanted to design something that urban women can wear and the only way to do it were to retail by herself and so found her own business.

Supported by her sister and also her brother who left his job to join them, thus the company And Designs India Ltd. (ADIL) was created in 1998 and the ascent to success started here. 

 

 

In mid-1999, the label “AND”, which offers a collection of western wear, was launched as an answer to the growing needs of the Indian woman. Today the label remains and has evolved to keep pace with its clients’ changing lifestyles.

At the core of the fashion industry she was able to realise one of her dreams and launch her couture design label “ANITA DONGRE”. It was launched in 2000 at IGEDO, an international forum.

Anita Dongre is the only Indian Designer chosen to showcase her collection at the Finale of the IGEDO Spring Summer Fashion Show. The signature label includes different sub-label that cover varied needs in the market: TIMELESS, IINTERPRET, GRASSROOT, MENSWEAR and recently launched PINKCITY which is a line of jewelry. 

The last of ADIL’s high fashion brands launched in 2007 it is called “GLOBAL DESI”. It is inspired by Indian heritage of colours, fabrics, prints etc.

Anita Dongre's inimitable creations have reached award shows, global red carpets, international catwalks and the pages of many other events. She acquired the loyalty of everyday kind of people and also several celebrities such as Shraddha Kapoor, Anuradha Mahindra, Juhi Chawla, Neha Dhupia, Urmila Matondkar and more.

 

   

  Lakme Fashion Week 2013 and 2014 respectively

   

Anita Dongre at Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Ressort 2014

 

And now more than a designer, she has been ranked among one of the 50 most powerful women in business. With her dreams in mind she worked with passion and perseverance and has built what we can call an empire.

 

If you want to see more about Anita Dongre, click here!