IFM @ AIFW DAY 3

NIDA MAHMOOD. “Mirror Mirror on the Wall, Who’s the cattiest of them all?”. The cat-calls continued in full swing as designer Nida Mahmood unleashed her ‘Jungli Billi’ on the runway. Keeping up with the theme ‘Bombay in the 60s’, the music comprised of famous Bollywood movie dialogues intermixed with feline terms. “We had such a fun time recording Bollywood dialogues,” the designer says. The whole show had a definite vintage vibe to it. The models strutted on the runway carrying vintage briefcases, Polaroid cameras, antique radios, and cat-eye sunglasses in pop colors.

The silhouettes were basic with shift dresses, cropped trousers, boxy silhouettes and colorful headgears. Since the designer had collaborated with Adidas Originals for the show, the models walked in colorful sneakers with wedge heels. The highlight of the show was a saree draped over denims and sneakers. The designer showed the gentler side of her feisty woman through the intricate print story. The designs were high on prints inspired from Art Nouveau era, in fabrics like neoprenes, crepes and georgettes. The summer palettes moved from pale blues, lemons and oranges, green and soft pinks.

Designer Nida Mahmood’s designs were high on prints inspired from Art Nouveau era. Designer Anupama Dayal has taken the concept of stripes from various sources like plaids, Peruvian stripes & Chilean rugs 

The showcase was not as dramatic as Nida Mahmood’s earlier collections. Explaining the shift from exaggerated presentations, she explains, “It was a conscious effort to not go over-the-top this time. Since normcore is the new trend these days, drama was in the music.”

The designer believes that this was a homage to her cat Mr. Toffe Tinkerbell. The designer confesses, “I wanted to bring my cats to the show for the final bow. However, it would have been selfish on my part as the loud music and bright lights would have disturbed them.” Even the last dialogue in the music screamed, “Toffee Tinkerbell, In kutton ke saamne mat naachna.”

ANUPAMA DAYAL. Known for her fluid resort wear, this season, designer Anupama Dayal presented Manjula, an ode to her mother. She says the collection is very close to her heart, “It’s called Manjula. Early this year, I found that my mother has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. It came as a big shock. I cannot imagine my professional or personal life without my mother’s active involvement. In terms of designs she has taught me most of what I know. I have tried to fill this collection with her irrepressible spirit.”

The designer is known for a travel-ready wardrobe, lightweight clothes to carry anywhere you want. However, this time, she drew strong influences from her mother’s aesthetics. The designer admits, “I called and kept asking my mother about her favorite color, if she likes stripes so close together, could I get away with so many colors? I have kept the collection in accordance with her likes, dislikes and things I have learnt and keep learning.”

The fabrics used in the collection mostly comprise of silks with a few cotton blends. We also spotted a lot of stripes in her print story. She has taken the concept of stripes from various sources like plaids, Peruvian stripes, Chilean rugs, etc. It was a big change for the designer who loved to use florals in her collections. A single paisley print in the collection called ‘Manjula Keri’, which the designer had sketched on her own in her mother’s bold Bengali art style.

Interesting to note were the eco-friendly jewellery, which was made of paper, waste fabrics dyed in-house. The jewellery was mainly used as a layer to enhance the clothes. The fringed pool-slides were fun to spot, or Cuddly feet, the designer likes to call them.

On her favorite from the collection, the designer says, “It’s like asking a mother to pick her favorite child. So, I have 22 children. However, I am little partial to the reds and stripes.”