CULTURE

GLITZ & GLAMOUR
Her clothes are a seamless work of art
Smriti Kak

Not a stitch out of place is how designer Vijaylakshmi describes her work. “I am a perfectionist and cannot compromise on quality,” she asserts. The designer is known in the fashion circuit for her immaculate finishes.

“This is perhaps because of the fact that I grew up in Gwalior, where they pay attention to the insides as much as outside, I make it a point to have well-finished insides as well.” Her apparels are appealing and consummate.

The designer likes to treat her clothes as a work of art, like a canvas on which her designs take shape in the form of appliqué. “I am fond of all kinds of art and craft. And I try to imbibe the art and the craft forms into my clothes.”

Vijaylakshmi was inspired to start her own line by her son Ripu Daman. Once Ripu said to her mother, “Mom you wear such good clothes then why don’t you start designing for others. Prior to that I was busy managing my art gallery, Art Indus in Santushti Shopping Arcade, which is about four years old now.”

Deep knowledge of Indian textiles is Vijaylakshmi’s strength. “I have been collecting textiles for years now as I have always been interested in clothes.” The designer was approached by Sandeep Khosla to design for their line, Jashn. “I have been supplying to Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla for their prêt line Jashan under the label, Indus, for the last one-and-a-half years. Now I have launched Tex Indus, where I do mostly fusion clothes.”

In her recent collection, which was unveiled in the Capital, the Indo-western silhouettes had movement in her deigns. Inspired by nature, the presence of birds and butterflies in bright colours are reminiscent of a painting. The designer makes her lines and angles of designs delicate and feminine.

“I want to inculcate as much of art and craft in my clothes as I can. Also I want to create clothes with an antique feel, incorporate the contemporary clothes with old finery,” says Vijaylakshmi.

The launch of Tex Indus, an Indo-western line (the Lotus Pond) by Vijaylakshmi, saw models Indrani Dasgupta, Udita Goswami, Aparna Kumar and Lou Gill walk the ramp in clothes oozing femininity. There were the Tex Indus saris, in bright winter hues of flaming oranges, greens and reds, a sequence on trendy short kurtis with straight pants and classy kurtas with churidars. The highlight was elegantly crafted designs in appliqué that created an aura of a serene pond full of floating lotuses. For the future, the designer has sewn her plans with the same ingenuity as her clothes. “I am looking at more stores across the country and also looking at the overseas market. 

There have been queries from the European markets and am also looking forward to some tie-ups,” says the designer, who attributes her workaholic tendency to her introvert inclinations.

Winter wows

Designer AJS has unveiled his winter collection for men. The collection is a mix of ethnic as well as contemporary.

According to the designer, the new collection brings forth the message of style in a bold new way and is all about power dressing dedicated to western ensembles.

The jackets are presented in a well-balanced collection, using materials like suede linen, faux elephant skin, faux snakeskin and fleece. The suits are a tribute to power dressing again, with colour palette varying from black, beige, grey and green.

Stay-on colours

Chambor has introduced flowing lipstick stay-on colours. These lip colours are available in sleek packaging and are lightweight.

The lipstick comes with a twisty brush-tipped fluid lipstick and is drenched with vitamin A. Available in 10 colours, the lip colour claims to moisturise the lips.

For women

Scullers have launched the Womenswear Corporate Colours collection for the winter. Designed for the women in materials like crepe, denims and rich cotton, there are three major colours of the season — green, red and moody indigo..

Green has free flowing, full sleeved tops in ecru, light green, olive, while red has a micro honeycombed surface texture for a crisp and elegant feel. Moody Indigo is a cool sophisticated look in soft denim.

Freelook has also launched a winter collection for both men and women. A new range of jackets in imported fabrics like tanala, leather cord and bonded fabric is a part of the collection.

Mosaic 2002

‘Mosaic 2002’, the annual inter-college festival of Institute for Integrated Learning in Management, included a fashion show, showcasing the talent of aspiring designers. The panel of judges included fashion designers Payal Jain and Vijay Arora and models Ramnik Paintal and Jayashree Tahiliani.

The girls from Miranda House stole the show and walked away with the best team trophy. On display were clothes both of the contemporary and traditional kind.

Jewellery mart

The extravaganza called a ‘gold souk’ is all set to dazzle the city. India’s first exclusive jewellery mart, Gold Souk, will open its doors at Sushant Lok - I in Gurgaon.

Gold Souk offers a tempting shopping ambience and the best in jewellery available at a single convenient location. 

It strives to bring together reputed retailers from all over India and showcase the best of Indian and foreign jewellery brands for the Indian customer as well as the international buyer.

The jewellery mart will offer an ideal forum for the most effective interaction within the jeweller’s fraternity, including the designers, master craftsmen, retailers and wholesalers on the one hand and customers on the other.

The mart will offer hallmark jewellery and a complete international shopping experience and ambience by providing an array of choice of design, variety and quality. 

Souk is the brainchild of Aerens Infrastructure & Technology Ltd, a part of Aerens group of companies.

The mart features a world-class security system at all times. 

This includes close circuit cameras, highly advanced outlet identification swipe cards, smoke detectors, intrusion delay devices and infrared movement detectors.