The FDCI Delhi Couture week ended on Sunday night with the much awaited show by lauded designer Sabyasachi’s titled ‘New Moon’. And with his latest collection he made sure he broke all previous moulds that he may have been type-casted into. Many popular faces were also spotted at the show, right from power couple Shashi Tharoor and Sunanda Pushkar, to Shabana Azmi, Ritu Kumar, and producer Boney Kapoor who came in support of his wife Sridevi.
The evening started on a sombre note with both Manav Gangwani (who showed his collection earlier last evening) and Sabyasachi requesting the audience to maintain one minute silence for photographer Prabuddha Dasgupta who passed away yesterday.
The show began with the show are converted into a complex set, with an old world Victorian feel to it, (resembling Sabyasachi’s studio). The wall planted on the stage was covered with wallpaper, had old photographs hung on it, a huge mirror, animal trophies, candelabras on a mantelpiece, crockery sets, blue pottery pieces, brass lampshades complementing some antique wooden furniture. Dim yellow bulbs hung overhead covering the rest of the show-area. But before the proceedings got underway, the designer headlined the show with his star crush – Sridevi – and her director from their upcoming film ‘English Vinglish,’ – Gauri Shinde – both wearing saris designed by him. The designer has styled for the film as well. “I have been a Sridevi fan since childhood. Rani (Mukherji) or Vidya (Balan) I can call friends, but Sridevi I can’t really call a friend you know. She’s from a different generation and we have grown up seeing her as a superstar. I still don’t know how to behave around her; I constantly worry about what to say to her, I have to mind my p’s and q’s a lot around her,” gushed the designer.
Models then sauntered on to the stage adorning minimal makeup, hair pulled back in a bun with geeky glasses and a bindi. The collection was elegant, exuberant yet very disciplined. The clothes comprised of a lot of Russian needle work on lehangas, silk voluminous skirts, full sleeved blouses, Nehru collars, net and velvet saris, high-waist pants, translucent backs etc. The huge bows on the back of many outfits were extremely stylish.Some specific elements that found prominence in the collection was the use of boutis from Provence, zardosi from Agra, Bangladesh’s kantha work, Rajasthan and Bengal’s block printing, Chintz from UK, delicate Pashmina embroidery from Kashmir and Toile de joy from France. “The collection was not very ethnic. Normally when you look at my collections, they have a very strong ethnic vibe and people were slotting me for the longest time. So this time I decided to rebel, because there is a lot that I can do. The collection still has the Sabyasachi DNA, it still has the chunky bangles, the headband, the eyewear without which I absolutely cannot style. But having said that, this collection used a lot of Indian techniques, everything actually technique wise, but the application wasn’t Indian,” elaborated the designer, adding that his influences were dominated by 1920’s and 40’s and also his travels, “The collection has been inspired by a lot of my travels and I travel to a lot of artsy places.” The collection, according to the designer, is strongly evocative of the discipline of New York, classic nostalgia of the British Raj in Kolkata, the decadence of Berlin, the romance of Paris and the bohemian flair of Barcelona.
Now that DCW is over, the Taj Palace’s staff and FDCI officials can finally breathe and snooze for a bit before the Wills Fashion Week starts. We know Sabya would. “Now that it is over, I feel tired and just want to sleep after having some Khichdi. My comfort food,” he smiled and signed off.
Text by Treesha Datta