The 29th Batch of four amazing Gen Next designers presented by INIFD enthralled the audience at the opening show during Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2020. The Gen Next programme since its inception in 2006 has been the most desired platform for designers to make a grand entry into the Indian fashion industry. Internationally renowned names like Rahul Mishra, Masaba Gupta, Nachiket Barve, Kallol Dutta, Swapnil Shinde, Anuj Sharma and many more have carved a niche for themselves since their Gen Next Debuts.
ANANYA MODI JAIN
‘All2Defy’ is the quirky name of Ananya Modi Jain’s label
launched in 2018. Her fashion fundas span two continents – a BFA in women’s
wear from Parsons, New York and a Masters in Luxury Accessory Design and
Management from Istituto Marangoni, Milan.
Ananya’s fashion aesthetics were perfectly balanced with a
convergence of stylish forms and functionality. Merging minimalism with
exaggerated proportions, Ananya’s bold and vibrant motifs were a delightful mix
of classic stripes and plaids merged into a creative offering.
The men’s and women’s line featured a lot of colour,
excitement and quirky construction. Creating and impact was the printed hoodie,
Bermudas with biker’s jacket, as well as the Bundi/kurta and pant creation.
Women’s wear made fashion statements with a drawstring waist jacket, and great
pant/top and cropped jacket with an attached backpack, 2-button wrap skirt with
a biker’s jacket, a funky pleated apron skirt and the long-knit jacket.
With reversible garments as the focal point of the
collection, the apparel had a season less appeal with limitless possibilities.
Here was street wear with separates taking centre stage as ready-to-wear
options. Aimed at the young global dresser, bomber jackets, sweatshirts with
bold slogans and cropped trousers ensured that the relaxed silhouettes and
prints, some with the reversible options would be ideal wardrobe additions.
From daily wear to timeless staples the ‘All2Defy’ label
from Ananya Modi Jain offered a variety of stylish options.
CHANDRIMA AGNIHOTRI
The ‘Chandrima’ label launched in 2019 by Chandrima
Agnihotri was created after much thought and a solid professional base. A
graduate of fashion design from the National Institute of Fashion Technology,
Mumbai, Chandrima further honed her skills in fashion designing with industry
stalwarts like Rohit Bal, Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla.
Throughout the collection called “Warps of Mélange”, the
distinct embroidery of the Jat community of Kutch was the leitmotif of the
collection. Amalgamating the craft forms with techniques and fabrics, Chandrima
presented them in a variety of international silhouettes. With an aim to
preserve the cross-stitch style of embroidery from Kutch, Chandrima had
jumpsuits with side embellishments or wide collars edged with the craft, which
will be sure-fire winners with the fashionistas.
Adding European hand cutwork lace, Chandrima further
accentuated the beauty of the garments and gave them a striking visual appeal.
Creating a fashion stir on the catwalk was the intricately crafted off-white
jacket.
The cutwork on the garments was exquisite and appeared on
jackets, slim sleek dresses with embroidery and the black intricately
cut-worked maxi with mutton chop sleeves. Pleating was a detailing for a
floppy-sleeved dress with an embroidered waist band, the peasant style long
skirt with blouse and bolero had a rustic flavour.
MANNAT SETHI AND HARSHNA KANDHARI
‘Graine’ is a label that has an amazing collaboration
between mind and soul. A finance whiz kid Harshna Kandhari, teamed up with
Mannat Sethi, a history of art and design degree student from the National
Institute of Fashion Technology.
The duo’s debut collection at Lakmé Fashion Week
Summer/Resort 2020 had an Indian sweet “Kaju Katli” as its inspiration. Giving
the theme a New Age appeal the pair re-used discarded rubber tyres then reworked
them into embellishments by painstakingly hand cutting them into strips and
shapes that were embroidered with zardosi hand work. The Indian sweets’
colours, shapes and textures were recreated on the garments when sheer shirts
and relaxed shimmering trousers made an impact, while transparent fluid
palazzos were topped with long-sleeved, white, thigh-length tunic sporting
intricate work.
Sheer layers were favoured for maxis, while the black
frilled skirt had a fun element. The intricate detailing for the silver/ grey,
long, skirt, choli and sheer dupatta gave this traditional trio a more
contemporary touch. High pleated necklines for the robes and the glitter on the
collection ensured that this was a line that will look great after the sun
sets.
AKHIL NAGPAL
The AKHL label started in 2019 by Akhil Nagpal has a strong
fashion foundation. A degree from Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and
Design in 2019, equipped Akhil with the fashion knowledge that got him a job
with Peter Pilotto in London and India’s top creators, Manish Arora and Amit
Aggarwal in Delhi.
Inspired by arresting features like tensile structures from
tensile architecture, art installations, industrial equipment the manmade
membranous objects; the designer used them for a visually dramatic line of
garments. Akhil’s hunting ground for the raw materials was the various fishing
villages in Maharashtra from where he sourced the surplus fishing monofilament
yarns.
These in turn were treated with dyes and turned into yarns
for embellishments. His experiments in using industrial glass yarns, rayon and
silk as well as cutting edge fabrics like latex and metallic foils ensured that
the designs had a surreal almost futuristic visual appeal. His silhouettes were
heavily textured with excessive layering that created a dramatic impact on the ramp.
Stunners on the catwalk were the multi weave dress with an
impressive train, the geometric maxi with in-built bustier, multi looped maxi,
sheer pants with a long strappy floor length creation and the majestic floor
kissing poncho with an awesome panelled maxi skirt.
The collection moved effortlessly from Indian to western as
tactile evening wear vied for attention with cleverly crafted drapes giving an
almost art deco like feel to the engineered materials and ensembles.
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