Return of romance
Nilima Seth

THE monsoon is regarded as the most romantic of all seasons. It is also supposed to be the worst season for the fashion industry to be launching any new collection. And whoever thought that at best designers could only be taking chances with rainwear, will have to think again.

For this year, at least five major Indian couturiers have come up with some exciting clothes, designed exclusively to capture the spirit of the season. In a sense, they signal the return of romance, which could become a dominant trend in Indian fashion for the rest of the year.

While Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla are sticking to their trademark embroidered styles, Ritu Beri is celebrating her return from Paris with a set of very youthful, western dresses. Ravi Bajaj, for a change, has kept off women’s wear and is experimenting with some very practical men’s clothes.

Then there’s the exuberant Suneet Varma romancing the rain with an array of colourful chiffon and georgette sarees, churidar kurtas and long tunics, whereas Tarun Tahiliani is at his usual staid self with an exquisite Indo-western line of formals.

But then, nobody is going on an overdrive in ornamentation or projecting an ostentatious look. Even Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, despite a known fetish for embellishments, are restrained this time and have worked with subtle tone-on-tone embroidery.

Even their choice of colours is far from loud as their short tunics and lehnga-choli ensembles in georgette silk are in unusual shades of beige, blue and aquamarine. The only exception is a western party dress in red with black embroidered leaf motifs and studded with crystals.

Western wear shows up with Ritu Beri and Ravi Bajaj as well, with the former focusing on women and the latter on men. Ritu’s collection makes an innovative use of zippers in trendy pants, mini skirts and sexy corsets in denim, bright corduroys, army fatigues and gold/silver faux leather.

Clearly, it is her play with bold, funky prints that sets these dresses apart. Trousers bearing a collage of faces of pop icons, a top featuring the grid of a crossword puzzle and red T-shirts screaming "Help Me!" in white are obvious manifestations of the youthful, romantic spirit Ritu seeks to convey.

In contrast, Bajaj explores all possibilities of menswear from formal sherwanis and blazers to semi-casual churidar-kurta and bush shirt-trouser combinations. The accent here is on detailing, the finish and maintaining a fine balance between the modern and the minimalist.

Perhaps the only departure Ravi has made from his usual style of tailoring is that he has kept the fittings loose to give the impression of free-flowing silhouettes. And with his selection of orange shades and white dots on black for shirts, he succeeds in projecting a romantic look for the season.

Tarun also concentrates on menswear, drawing inspiration from the Mughal and Oriental traditions. Their blending with western styles is not very perfect.

But then, with all the deliberation on construction and improvisation, he scores on the strength of his colour palette — ivory, beige, turquoise and black. For once, Tarun finds little use for crystals, beadwork and cord. Even embroidery is at its barest minimal.

However, it is ultimately Suneet who comes up with the most vibrant and from all indications, the hottest collection this season. Appropriately titled ‘Rapture’, it celebrates love in a variegated range of red, turquoise, green, orange and yellow prints.

Elegantly crafted out of ombre chiffon and georgette, the sarees and bustiers, loose shifts, backless cholis, lycra churidars and pants are coordinated with shoes and bags. But then, there’s one problem — you wouldn’t have the heart to step out in the rain with any of his outfits! MF