#AIFWAW17 Grand Finale

It’s been a great week for fashion at the #AIFWAW17, but like all the great things in the world, it had to end. Here are our updates from the last day of this fashion extravaganza #AIFWAW17 Grand Finale, held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi.

It was a good day for menswear with NEXA dedicating a whole show with 6 premium designers showcasing their collections for the 2017 man, in an attempt to break into the fashion market for men. The theme was the NEXA colours- black, white and chrome and each of the designers interpreted it in their own way, which made the show very interesting indeed:

Rohit Kamra’s Black or White presented an androgynous look created for a ‘Modern Maharaja’, which took a lot of inspiration from the designer’s Jaipuri background. Featuring reinvented Jodhpuri jackets and breeches, this collection was truly dashing. The showstopper for the collection was Richa Chadha who shone in a reinvented pant-suit that was really powerful.

Pawan Sachdeva offered new silhouettes in his black and white collection, TREG, which was both fluid and effortless.

Sahil Aneja’s carefully assembled collection was edgy yet comfortable, made for the man who is not afraid to be stylish. Dino Morea was his showstopper and the model looked very quite cool in this collection that was meant to anybody a streetstyle star.

Luxury streetwear brand Nought One by Abhishek Patani took inspiration from military black-ops team uniforms in his collection, ‘Mayday’. We loved how his showstopper Anushka Manchanda added some spunk to the show!

The Showstoppers Lineup

Dhruv Vaish’s collection ‘Noire’ was an experiment with the colour black in different textures, layers, shades and silhouettes. Shades of white and chrome peek out to add highlights to the very comfortable to wear yet bold outfits.

Kommal and Ratul Sood took a lot of inspiration from architectural lines and shadows in their collection, Skylight, for looks that perfectly tailored and structured for the urban man (and woman too!).

Sustainability in fashion was a broad, overarching theme that was explored quite a bit through this year’s #AIFWAW. We saw several attempts to understand and interpret the trend through handloom and traditional fabrics. The International fashion house, H&M, known for their affordable yet stylish clothes added a whole new dynamic to the field of Sustainable Fashion with their exclusive line, H&M Conscious, which we got to look at for the first time yesterday. This line consists of well designed, ‘special-occasion’ clothes that are made of BIONIC® fabric, a polyester recycled from shoreline plastic waste. This presentation, represented by Dia Mirza was monumental in showing how even the best clothes can be environmentally conscious.

Other notable collections of the day included one by the label Munkee See Munkee Do. This collection was simple and laidback, with silhouettes that are modern and easy to wear, for a woman who has come into her own in terms of individuality and style.

Ilk by Shikha Grover and Vinita Adhikari focuses on details in their collection, ATTN, inspired by military colours. They reinterpreted the camouflage print of army uniforms in florals and also used a lot of strong cuts and silhouettes for a look that is powerful but still feminine.

The label Guapa explored the theme of randomness by putting together a hotch-potch of patterns and fabrics to create designs that are beautiful and so filled with colour. This was an attempt to send a message about diversity and how being inclusive of all differences would also result in a beautiful cultural mélange.

A show like the #AIFW needs to have a grand ending and they definitely saved the best for this finale.  Fashion superstar Tarun Tahiliani known for his Avant Garde creations took the stage for this, sharing the spotlight with his once upon a time protégé, Amit Aggarwal, together putting out collections that are fashion forward, spellbinding, fluid and so very extraordinary.

Amit Aggarwal used upcycled vintage saris and other recycled materials in his collection that redefines couture. The textures, shapes and colours created a mood of sheer elegance and grace, inspired by the topographic differences in places he travels. The designer juxtaposes natural landscape with the best of human architecture for a result that is a joyful celebration of evolution.

Tarun Tahiliani closed the show with his groundbreaking collections for the global Indian woman. He brought out the best of fall in his colours and embellishments. The designer paid close attention to details like the drapes and the fits and flares in his impeccably engineered collection that was inspired by the nomadic tribes of India, with accents inspired by Mughal art and armoury motifs.

We’ve had a good time at the #AIFWAW shows this year, and we are inspired for the coming seasons. The biggest lessons we’ve learnt: sustainability can be fashionable, you can be creative with handloom and vintage is always in, we just can’t wait to try these trends out!