Lotus Makeup India Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2019
By Meher Castelino
Fashion for men seems to move on a very stylish path for the coming season as was evident at the Lotus Makeup India Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2019 (LMIFW AW 2019) presented by the Fashion Design Council of India in association with Liva held at the Jawarharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi from 14 to 16 March, 2019.
Fabrics were a mélange of solids, weaves, prints and glitter; while the silhouettes moved from figure hugging to baggy. Western wear made a strong fashion impact, while Indian men’s wear remained steady with the basic kurta, sherwani, bundgala and bundi making an occasional appearance.
Colours were a riot of hues along with masculine tones that seemed to fit in rather well with the men’s wear colour charts. What was quite evident were the many genderless unisex collections that men’s wear designers offered with the intention of adding ladies wear to their sales turnover.
SUKET DHIR – FOR HIM AND HER
Full Gallery : Click Here
Award winning men’s wear designer Suket Dhir made a strong men’s wear statement when he won the International Woolmark Prize in 2015-2016. Since then Suket has worked with fabrics that have a woven story to tell along with great designing and impeccable finish. It was little wonder therefore that for LMIFW AW 2019 he turned his gaze onto women’s wear with his “He For She” collection called “Play” that had a marked unisex vibe. The silhouettes were masculine with a hint of femininity. Using brocade, mul-mul and silk, Suket added woven textures in hues that moved from indigo and sage to maroon and ochre. The brand’s favourite motifs of clouds, umbrellas, flowers and mango trees were visible throughout the garments. Colourful jackets for women with velvet trousers could easily move into men’s wardrobes, while the wrap around velvet smoking jackets in brown with black motifs would work for women wear too. The softly constructed uni-colour/printed suits for Her offered a stark sharply tailored look.
PAWAN SACHDEVA – DECODING STYLE
Full Gallery : Click Here
Pawan Sachdeva believes in crisp fashion for men and that is exactly what his “Decode” collection was all about. Playing with stripes in varying widths and colours, there was a mélange of asymmetric cuts with the belted silhouettes favoured. Colours were a contrast as neon tones of orange, green and yellow balanced rust, brown and black. Keeping the silhouettes easy and comfy with the pyjama style suits, turtle neck sweaters and hoodies Pawan slipped in female models sporting men’s wear, when he declared his androgynous designs could move easily between sexes. His showstopper was Bollywood star Radhika Apte who looked appropriately fierce in a deep, low lapel, black jacket with the words ‘Decode’ sprinkled on it, worn with a zippered, black, turtleneck sweater and side striped parallel pants.
ROHIT KAMRA – RAJASTHAN ROOTS
Full Gallery : Click Here
Staying true to his Rajasthan Roots Rohit Kamra unveiled his classic men’s wear that took his theme of “The Modern Maharaja” further for the coming season. As always there was regal opulence visible in the collection with Achkans, angarkhas, jodhpurs, Hunting jackets, breeches and bundgalas presented with sharp tailoring. Colours remained masculine with crème, beige, grey and black being in the forefront. Adding a bit of sparkle to the collection, Rohit brought in mirror work along with precious coral bead embroidery as well as coral and silver buttons. Bottom wear moved from churidars to dhoti pants and slim ankle length trousers. Adding a touch of unisex options, Rohit showed a black sherwani and bundgala jacket on women, teamed with cigarette pants and even had Guneet Monga as showstopper in a white embroidered sherwani and churidars.
MANOVIRAJ KHOSLA – PERFECTLY COLOUR BLOCKED
Full Gallery : Click Here
A Manoviraj Khosla collection is always a fun presentation and for the coming season his “Kaleidoscopia” line was just that. There was imaginative colour blocking without being garish; while the fun element was carefully integrated in the form of flowers and butterflies embroidery. Bringing together colours, prints and embellishments along with metallic foil motifs; Manoviraj aimed the garments at the trendy young millennial who wants to make a great causal style statements. Velvet and leather merged seamlessly for the different looks; while the relaxed tailoring at times highlighted the athleisure style. Bikers’ jackets, button less coats, one-button jackets with narrow lapels, track pants in bright hues of pink, orange, red, navy, mid blue, ivory and black completed the look.
DHRUV VAISH – RESTRAINED ELEGANCE
Full Gallery : Click Here
There is a restrained elegance in Dhruv Vaish’s men’s wear season after season that makes his creations eminently desirable. Called “Meld” the line inspired by modern industrial art, featured geometric prints and textures for the sleek silhouettes. Working with cotton and wool, Dhruv introduced satin for a touch of glitzy effect. Colours remained restrained with deep navy, purple and brown interrupted by yellow that gave the collection a more season less appeal.
The silhouettes moved from bombers and long coats to double-layered jackets, high waisted pants, smart shirts that offered an interesting mix of formal and casual apparel. Trousers were lean and ankle length with short one-button jackets making a definite fashion statement. At times the cuffed trousers could be cropped at the knee with the aid of zippers.
KOMMAL AND RATUL SOOD – SAVILE ROW PRECISION
Full Gallery : Click Here
Men’s wear by Kommal and Ratul Sood offered international inspirations that revolved around the classic Savile Row precision. The silhouettes were restricted to masculine forms but with a hint of adventure in the fabrics. A subtle mix of East and West was brought in the silhouettes as the kurta, bundi and sherwani along with jackets, shirts and bombers came comfortably together. The all-over printed suit with shirt, jacket and trousers in a single pattern was aimed at the daring male dressers. Some lavish embroidery on biker’s jackets and the asymmetric wine coloured bundi over calf length black kurta and churidars proved the designing duo aimed at pushing their creative limits. The dark masculine hues like petrol blue, grey, maroon and black with a few embroidered beads along with fabric insets, highlighted the garments and gave an interesting romantic touch to the men’s wear wardrobe. An occasional shirt with balloon sleeves worn with a printed waistcoat or an asymmetry kurta with a short bundgala revealed that the styles for the Indian male were moving on a very trendy path.
HUEMN – A FASHIONABLE HOMAGE
Full Gallery : Click Here
Kashmir is in the news and the state inspired Huemn the label created by Pranav Mishra and Shyma Shetty. With the beautiful state as a vision, the inspiration was the sneaker culture of the 1990’s for the unisex line that created just a faint division between men’s and women’s wear. Detailing has been Huemn’s strong point so the genderless collection had an athleisure vibe. The camo prints for waistcoat, loose shirts, and intense print-on-print for shirts and trousers, elasticated waistbands for pants, extended sleeves for sweater, shirts spoke the language of a slight fashion revolution. Keeping the silhouettes easy, the shapes offered comfort wear that had a marked casual influence and an option that offered clothing for both sexes.
SIDHHARTHA TYTLER – ROMANCE IN BLACK
Full Gallery : Click Here
While Siddhartha Tytler has been predominantly a women’s formal wear designer this time for the Autumn/Winter 2019 season he brought men’s wear on the runway and made a significant impact. The collection called “Shadow” was nearly in all black with touches of metallic glimmer and midnight blue. For men Siddhartha created velvet joggers, embroidered tulle shirts and stylish embellished evening jackets. Showcasing abstract designs for soft blousons, long line coats over glittering black shirt, jogger’s pants or a one-button jacket with shimmering lapels worn with baggy trouser, Siddhartha ensured that men made impressive fashion statements. An occasional biker’s jacket had heavy embellished sleeves worn with ballooning trousers; while the finale outfit worn by Bollywood actor Jim Sarbh exhibited long, knee-length glittering external flap pockets on trousers with a matching bomber jacket.
PARAS CHAWLA – MODERN STREET FASHION
Full Gallery : Click Here
For the label Naka Clothing by Paras Chawla his men’s wear called “Retro Cityscapes” had the 30’s street fashion inspiration for the military like jackets with multi pockets. In fact pockets were the mainstay of the collection as battle ready trench coats with checked pockets and trousers or short regiment style jackets. The cropped pants and the knee length coasts with numerous patched pockets, wide trousers and dungarees in checks and solids re-created the look of the era. The collection had a strong masculine flavour that brought back the strong dashing dapper look of decades gone by.
