It was a satisfying day – the Day 3 at PCJ Delhi Couture Week 2012. Anju Modi’s Indian Couture and Manish Arora’s Global Couture were exhilarating. Thanks to Manish, we got a much-needed break from saree, shararas and lehengas.
I strongly suggest my colleagues and peers to discard ‘press release’ so that one has an open mind to absorb a designer’s creation and the story behind it. The opening visual of Anju Modi’s show of boats on Hoogly river gave a hint of things to come. Then walked in Nayonika Chatterjee with open hair streaked with vermilon in a red-bordered white ensemble that was undeniably Bengal. Anju’s take on the traditional Bengali Laal – Paad (Red Bordered) saree was an intelligent adaptation of a traditional element in her creations. Loved the serene appeal of white and the freshness of the textile that Anju Modi used. Tangail, Jaamdani and Dhakai sarees – a must in every Bengali lady’s closet was deftly used as fabric to create those beautiful flowy lehengas. Sorry Anju the remix number of Tagore’s epic song - ‘Ekla Chalo Re’ was jarring to the ears.
Manish Arora showed in India after a really long time. As expected the set was elaborate and quirky with multi-hued fluorescent dots swarming the arena. It was great to see his avant-garde creations live as I didn’t have the privilege to be at Paris during his shows at Paris Fashion Weeks. Arora showed a retrospective collection consisting of pieces from his collections over the past few years. Faux-fur pieces, skirts in Mongolian wool, moulded dresses with 3-D embroidery, sequined body-suits, kitschy pop-art and graffiti splashed dresses were a treat to watch. And yes, can’t ignore the fab Nicholas Kirkwood footwear that were custom-made for Manish Arora.
When Lady Gaga was in India for the F1 Indian Grand Prix, Fashionscandal posted that she would have done better if she would have opted to wear Manish Arora instead of Naeem Khan to showcase an Indian Connect. Here is the link to my post on the 30th October, 2011:
I do not know if Lady Gaga read our post or her stylist did but I was mightily happy to see Gaga in ensembles from Paco Rabanne’s Spring/Summer 2012 Collection, which was designed by Manish Arora for Paco Rabanne at the 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards.
Manish Arora had Philip Treacy design Flying Saucer Hats, with slits for the eyes and Nicholas Kirkwood designed Crystal Heels. Incidentally Paco Rabanne was infamous for his interest in Paranormal Phenomena. For the final sequence Manish sent out models dressed as flowers from the future with massive circular metallic collars.
Cheers to Manish Arora and also let me bask in the glory of the fact that Fashionscandal’s advise being given heed to by Lady Gaga (though it may just be a coincidence 
!