There is something uplifting about watching a fashion show replete with colours, charged on further by musical beats you can't help but tap your feet to. Anupama Dayal's show followed by Patine's at Amazon Fashion Week 2018, Day 1, was that and more.
As the light's dimmed and a rendition of the song Khwaja Mere Khwaja, originally composed by A.R Rahman, began to play, I could sense the excitement of fellow fashion enthusiasts like me grow. Up came the phones, ready to capture anything that managed to inspire them, blocking the view of first time fashion week goers like me, who were still trying to be polite and not get in anyone else's way.
The inconvenience seems to be felt only until the models begin to walk in, though, in garments the designer is showcasing for the very first time.
The second show at Amazon Fashion Week Day 1, began with Anupama Dayal's collection. The Sufi-esque music playing in the background was to accompany her range of white resort and loungewear, made in flowing silhouettes. The initial garments were replete with white chikankari work followed by garments drenched in intricate sequins motifs. At closer glance, one would realise that these motifs consisted of patterns designed to look like daggers, slender swords and soaring kites; something the designer felt expressed the essence of Lucknow, a city that has inspired her Autumn/Winter collection.
As the music switched up and one's feet began to tap faster, out came a gamut of colours one wasn't really expecting after all that white. Anupama Dayal's second range of garments for her collection was a melange of colours. As the white got replaced by pinks, reds and yellows, the thread work got replaced by prints - still adhering to the same pattern of daggers and kites.
After Anupama Dayal walked the ramp to take the final bow for the show in a white saree with motifs similar to the garments from her collection, it was time for the Patine show to begin.
Patine's collection was entirely different from the show that preceded it. The colours from the Patine collection consisted mainly of khaki, black and grey, still made vibrant, by the colourful thread work that adorned each garment. This collection, unlike Anupama Dayal's, featured more structured silhouettes, and seemed more befitting for the Autumn/Winter collection, owing to the fabrics used and the nature of the garments.
Anyone who watched this show was sure to have gone back with ideas aplenty about what Autumn fashion is going to be all about.
