India Fashion Week Highlights – March 2008 – Part 3

ROHIT BAL – Fashion Week Photos | Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week 2008 – Yahoo! India

ROHIT BAL Rohit Bal’s latest collection has been inspired by the tradition of wearing the eight metals together. ‘Ashta Dhatu’ as it’s rightly is complete with metallic hues like Gold, Metallic copper, Silver, Iron and lead. The silhouettes were kept very contemporary and international. The look of the collection is very dramatic and is very wearable. Bal created quite a stir in the last Fashion week with his collection ‘Siyahi’ and of course bringing the designers on the ramp. Some elements from the previous collections have also been incorporated to show a unique fusion.

I thought Rohit Bal designs were the most Theatrical. It seemed he was more into the Show. The Drama.

He showed some hoop skirt that were done in a totally different way. They sure weren’t wearing it this way in the 19th century…LOL

The skirt below looks like it is made out of gum wrappers. You know how we use to make bracelets out of gum wrappers at camp. Am I the only one who did that? I really like the look of it. The texture it gives it.

I like this jacket although I wish there was a closer look at it. I think the jacket and the skirt, although very different, seem to work juxtaposed next to one another. And as I said in an earlier blog about India Fashion week, the mutli layers, in this instance in the skirt, remind me of
layers and layers of colored tissue paper that were cut to make
decorations, like a flower.

Reminds me of the dress Christian created on Project Runway for the Hersey challange. Don’t you think so?

Another dress that reminds me of Christian. This one reminds me slightly of the Dress Christian made for that HIgh School girl in the Prom Dress challange except I like this dress more.

I love the skirt part of this dress. The copper swirls are just fabulous.

I like the sari part of the dress but not the shirt that goes with it. I would have preferred a light shimmering rose shirt, the color of the roses on the sari, to go with it.

VIKRAM PHADNIS – Fashion Week Photos | Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week 2008 – Yahoo! India

VIKRAM PHADNIS The first day first show of the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion week saw designs from Vikram Phadnis. The designs were very contemporary graced with a mix of vibrant blues browns. Dull orange and pastel green were also a fresh change. Phadnis is a popular bollywood designer and is has adorned many big names of the glamour industry.

It seems Vikram Phadnis was the theatrical headdress designer of India Fashion Week. The headress that he seemed to use throughout the show reminded me of a black metal version of Betty Rubble’s hairdo from The Flintstones…..Anyone else agree with me? Or do you have a better description?

I love this shirt/jacket. The pleating. The cinched in waist. I also like the skirt but not as much as the jacket.

I like this dress. But I especially love the inverted pleats and the bold color that peeks out from them.

GAURI & NAINIKA – Fashion Week Photos | Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week 2008 – Yahoo! India

GAURI & NAINIKA Gauri & Nainika offered us a look inspired by the chic that could be found in Paris after the WWII when the Grand Couturiers made women’s dreams come true again. The collection comprised essentially feminine dresses in body curve enhancing dramatic silhouettes. The designers showed slim-fitted pencil cocktail dresses and flowing evening gowns with eclectic folds, subtle drapes and sensual layering of fabrics.The waist was generally narrow and contrasted charmingly with the wide flowing, sometimes even trailing-behind skirts. A colour palette which would have been loved by Grace Kelly contained blushed pinks, acid greens, blood reds and classic blacks.

Dresses seem to be GAURI & NAINIKA’s specialty for this show.

Modern 21st century dress

The two dresses below are interpretations of a dress I could see Audrey Hepburn or Grace Kelly wearing were they alive in the 21st century.

The three dresses below all use the similar pattern and sheer netting material to give us versions of party dresses. Two cocktail dresses and one evening gown.

Which one of the India Fashion Week March 2008 designers or looks was your favorite?

India Fashion Week Highlights – March 2008 – Part 2

I explored further some of the designers that showed at India Fashion Week. Below I highlighted a few of the designers I liked and some of their designs that really stuck me.:

First let’s start with my favorite designer of India Fashion Week: PUJA ARYA

PUJA ARYA – Fashion Week Photos | Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week 2008 – Yahoo! India

PUJA ARYA ‘Guzel’, Turkish for beautiful – true to the title the Puja Arya’s collection was very feminine. A story of harmonious clothes where Rajasthan meets Turkey is emphasised by abstract motifs set against contrasting rich tones and hues of blacks, tile blue, orange, off whites and subdued gold in traditional bead work and sequence patterns. The garments were made fluid by the flirtatious sleeves in the gowns and dresses. Silhouettes revived the memories of the 60s at the same time were very contemporary as models showed off jackets, dresses in short and long lengths, quilted long skirts and quilted coats. The sarees were gorgeous and the prints from the inspiration along with dull gold and mellowed sequence work made them exotic.

I love this dress and the jacket. I would totally wear this for spring. Look at the great detailing on the jacket. The pleating, the buttons, the collar.

I love the unexpected color combinations used here. I don’t think you usually see this in Western designs. I also like the pattern on the bag and the bag itself is cute.

I am sooo in love with this coat!! The colors used,the silhouette, the inverted pleats…..Will someone buy it for me PLEASE!!

Lastly she showed several different takes on the Sari. On the left I love how she mixed textures and colors in an unexpected way. I would totally wear that Sari.
On the right I like how she used tie dye and sequins. Both of these could be kitsch and together even more so but I think she was able to make both work to create a beautiful garment.

PRASHANT VERMA – Fashion Week Photos | Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week 2008 – Yahoo! India

PRASHANT VERMA ‘Giant’ is Prashant’s tribute to the incomplete yet perfect mythology of James Dean. His work reflected an aggression of the youth yet retained an elegant spirit of a blossoming flower that dies young. The designer showed a multi-coloured, wide expanse of a fusion of style elements and carefully planned detailing. The silhouettes were fitted, baggy, balloon hems as well as floor length dresses. Fitted pants and wide leg pants both blended in the collection. The colour palette was picked from paint splashed on the walls of yesteryears. Blues, greens, orange, reds, blacks were all teamed with embellishments around the waistlines and necklines.

Here he uses the material from the dress, I highlighted in the first blog where I reviewed these shows, to make a coat. I love the explosion of color.

Another example of the technique or pattern he used, that I talked about in an earlier blog, of using a large face on the material. I like how he placed the face and I think it is a different idea which I appreciate. I like how he used it better in the dress on the right.

I like the pattern and material of this dress. I also like the top part but I’m not crazy about the asymmetrical hem.But that is just me. Anyone like the hem?

India Fashion Week Highlights – March 2008

India had a Fashion Week. How out of it am I? I had no idea they had a fashion week as well. I know I should get my head outta the sand or my eyes off of CNN and see what the rest of the world is up to. So here is my chance and maybe yours to look at some of the clothes. I thought some of the outfits were interesting. Then again some were typical of the Indian style ie the sari (the draping and the silhouette), sequins, lots of gold jewelry. What I did like about the Indian style is there use of color. Bold vibrant color. It makes the clothes look alive and inviting. Here are some that I liked:

I just like the Orange Jacket on the right in this picture:

India Fashion Week … pieces from the collections of Nitin Bal Chauhan and Prashant Verma. Photo:Reuters

I REALLY like this dress.

India Fashion Week … Prashant Verma’s collection. Photo: Reuters

I like the one on the right in the back that looks like it was made put
of gum wrappers. Designed in the way we use to make bracelets or
picture frames for out family while at summer camp. Anyone else but me
do that?

India Fashion Week … Rohit Bal’s collection. Photo: AFP

I like the mutli layers sleeves on the dress on the left. It reminds me of layers and layers of colored tissue paper that were cut to make decorations, like a flower.
I also like the Multi color pattern on the dress on the right. Bright colors mixed with earth tones. The pattern reminds me of those optical illusion pictures that draw you in and start to make you cross eyed.

India Fashion Week … pieces from the collections of Rohit Bal and Prashant Verma. Photo: Reuters

The dress to the right was reminiscent of Marion Cotillard’s Gaultier dress at the 2008 Oscars. Mermaid/fish scale look. Don’t you think?

India Fashion Week … Rohit Bal’s collection. Photo: AFP

Here are some more links to other sites that reviewed India Fashion Week:

Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Autumn-Winter ’08

Hindustan Times

Take a look and let me know what do you thought of the fashions of India?

Oscar 2008 – Part 3 Hair The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

If you go by the hair trends shown at the 80th Oscars, I’d say a revival of the hairdos of 1940s & 50s is coming. Curls are in. We’ve moved away, almost in totality, from straight hair. Curls either in a chin/neck bob length or a side parted longer wavy Veronica Lake look were all the rage. These hair styles are the ones that caught my eye.

As I did with dresses, I breakdown my views on which hairdos I thought were good and which were bad and ugly.

Good

I adored Katherine Heigl, Julie Christi, Keisha Whitaker and Amy Adams’ hair. I’ve always been a fan of the look from the 40s and 50s and I think these styles look fresh.

Updos
Updos that have all the hairs in place or with hairs all over the place were a nice as well. I felt Heidi Klum’s updo was stunning. While Jennifer Gardner’s updo with loose pieces framing her face was beautiful in a more casual way then Heidi.

Hair Accessory

I thought Kristin Chenoweth hair accessory was attractive. As a woman with a lot of hair, I’m always looking for eye-catching hair accessories.

Hair Color

Ruby Dee’s Oscar look proved L’Oreal wrong. You don’t need all over hair color to look your best. I found her hair stunning. She proves that an older dog can teach a younger dog new tricks 😉 When I go greyer, I’m totally gonna try this look.

Bad

I Hated Calista Flockhart’s hair even Harrison Ford (her date) was looking at her hair with a face that said “WTH!”….LOL

Oscar 2008 – The Good, Bad and Ugly – Part 2 Color – The Bad & Ugly

The 80th Oscar awards have come and gone. I’m here to tell you the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. In Part 1 I wrote about the dresses I liked. Color was big at this years Oscars. Red, black and Metallic. But some of the celebrities made some bad choices.

The Bad & Ugly

Red
There were aspects of Julie Christie look that I did like but the short red dress was not one of them. She designed this dress along with her stylist/costume designer Tanya Gill.

Black
There was nothing about Tilda Swinton look that I liked. She arrived on the red carpet in a black washed silk draped evening gown by Alber Elbaz for Lanvin that was just bland and unoriginal. It looked like a piece of fabric thrown over her. No sewing. Just thrown…..ugggghhhly

Another woman whose look I didn’t like was Daniel Day-Lewis’ wife Rebecca Miller. There was just too much going on with the lace skirt & sleeves was attached to a black velvet bodice held up by red fabric on the shoulders!…Just TOO much. I also thought the fit in the skirt was poor. It seemed to hug her midsection too much accentuating her tummy.

Sequins
The last faux pas were the ladies who wore sequins. In part 1, I wrote about the women who wore sequins whose look I loved. These women’s looks I did not like. Sequins are a hard thing to carry off. They should usually be used sparingly.Faye Dunaway in a gold sequin long sleeve scoopneck sheath gown by Pamela Roland was an example of using too many sequins.

Also not to my liking was Adrienne Frantz, best known as a Soap Opera Actress, gold sequin mermaid dress. While she may have looked like a female oscar, it was just TOO many sequins for me.

Nancy O’Dell’s dress while not as bad as the two ladies above still used a bland shade of silver with sequins on the front and on the high side slit. I just thought it looked tacky.

Just Bad

In the just bad category was Michael Moore’s date/wife/mother dress looked like a prom dress or a bad sorbet southern belle bridesmaid dress.

Thanks goodness Katherine Heigl didn’t have to wear this thing in the movie “27 Dresses.”

Oscar 2008 – The Good, Bad and Ugly – Part 1 Color – The Good

The 80th Oscar awards have come and gone. I’m here to tell you the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. First I’ll start with the Color Trends and what I liked.

Good

Red

Everyone this morning is talking about the abundance of Red on the red carpet. Katherine Heigl, Heidi Klume. Helen Mirren, Ruby Dee, Miley Ray Cyrus. It really is a beautiful color and so many people wore it well. Catwalkqueen made a compilation picture of some of the best:

Rami from Project Runway would have adored Anne Hathaway’s rosette-trimmed gown from Marchesa. Look at the detailing on the shoulder:

Katherine Heigl on the red carpet in a red silk Georgette Escada column gown with one-shoulder design and draped and pleated bodice.

My two favorite Red Dresses:

Helen Mirren’s custom-made Georges Chakra garnet duchess satin gown accented with Swarovski crystal drop sleeves and back was especially designed for the event. It may have been my favorite dress of the evening.

Although Heidi Klum red silk taffeta bustier gown with drape detail by John Galliano Haute Couture was an AMAZING dress that probably only a supermodel could pull off. Look at the open back with the high neck. It was Fierce as Christian from Project Runway would say.

Black

Also represented in abundance was Black. Jennifer Gardner, Nicole Kidman and Hillary Swank all wore Black gowns. Catwalkqueen made a compilation picture of some of the best:

** NOTE: Penelope Cruz’s dress was very dark navy that read black in many pictures.Nicole Kidman had a beautiful glow and a tiny baby bump to go with her Balenciaga dress accented with L’Wren Scott necklace.Jennifer Garner looked beautiful in Oscar de la Renta.

My favorite Black Dress:

I was a HUGE fan of Hillary Swank’s black Versace gown. She made a slight alteration to the Atelier Versace gown – making it a one-shouldered version.

Metallic

The one trend I noticed that no one talked about was Metallic. Either in the color of the dress or some sequins added.

Metallic Color

Renée Zellweger was lovely in a Caroline Herrera silver hand-embroidered lace gown with Cartier jewels.

My 3rd favorite metallic dress was worn by Keri Russell. It was a stunning a strapless champagne organza bustier evening dress by Nina Ricci.

And an unindentified woman on the red carpet with Wolfgang Puck was in a beautiful silver dress.

My Two favorite Metallic Dress:

Best Actress winner Marion Cotillard wore a Jean Paul Gaultier mermaid-inspired gown with Chopard jewelry, including a champagne necklace layered with brown diamond bead necklaces. It was really striking looking.

Keisha Whitaker was my 2nd favorite. I loved her dress and her hair and her makeup. The woman just knows how to look put together.

Sequins

Sequins also made a strong appearance last nite. Jennifer Hudson, Adrienne Frantz, Nancy O’Dell, Keisha Whitaker and Cate Blanchett all had sequins adorning their dresses. Some a little; some a LOT. Some I liked a lot. Some I liked a little (very little). So little you might equate it with serious dislike (look to part 2 for that review 😉 )Cate Blanchett Dries Van Noten dress on the red carpet was an example of a dress that used sequins to complement the dress.

But a better example of sequins and also my winner for most improved form last year was Jennifer Hudson. Her white Roberto Cavalli dress was sooo much better than her Oscar debacle from last year. You remember that Oscar de la Renta dress. Here are her 2008 and 2007 dresses side by side:

That 2007 dress just proves that even Andre Leon Tally, Vogue and fashion stylists can be wrong wrong wrong….Ouch

Here is a closer look at the details of her 2008 Roberto Cavalli dress:

Special Note

Of special note should be Cody Diablo in leopard print and sequins. Just the description sounds like it could have been a mess; But her Dior by John Galliano leopard print silk chiffon gown with jeweled detail wasn’t as bad as the description makes it out to be. Not one of my top picks but I gotta give the girl kudos for an awesome script, original style and great spirit.