Rajesh Pratap Singh picked up from where he had left off at the FDCI X Lakme Fashion Week at Jio World Convention Centre in October 2021. The Satya Paul by Rajesh Pratap Singh March 24 showing at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium was one giant ‘pool party’. The swimming pool was the set-up and it was brimming with high energy as the thumping music got the guests grooving even as Pratap’s muses serenaded them. “We found the pool. The pool found us!” Pratap laughed.

Rich clashing prints made up the collection. Heads covered, mouths covered, was this a response to the pandemic, we asked Pratap later. “Everything… the pandemic, the energy of the youth, the world we find ourselves in right now. We are holding a lot of things back. We are in a mask,” he told us.

The peacock motif ran through the range. “At the turn of the century when art nouveau came, it was a reaction to what was happening in the world and I think we are in déjà vu, similar circumstances. Conflict. Also, there is too much of tech. So, this was a reaction to that. We worked around the peacock motif and made it interesting,” he explained. Though the creative director of Satya Paul got the party going, for him the party was at home. Over some theplas may be, as we overheard the family discussing by the poolside.

Payal Pratap’s ‘Java’ had you sit back and relax. The laid-back vibe came with the spirit of a “holiday” and relaxed resort-y clothing. The beach-to-bar range was a play of prints drawing from batik and chintz-inspired florals. Jackets, jumpsuits, palazzos, dresses, lungi skirts, billowy pants, a range of separates spelt vacay. Appliqué added the “luxe holiday” quotient. Bandana, scarves, bucket hats, caps, totes and clutches were just the right accessories.

Was Payal’s state of mind reflected in the collection? “If you go behind the scenes, it’s never what you see! It’s a process and it is very challenging to do a show… but it’s a relief that it’s in person, firstly. So grateful for that. Feeling a bit more normal… it was a relaxed vibe. I used a lot of colour, starting from earthy. I am a positive person and I think you see that in my collection,” Payal told The Telegraph. The designer's favourite flower is the Indian champa. “It is so beautiful,” she said. A holiday destination on her mind? She swore by the beach.

Vaishali S Couture celebrated traditional Indian textiles and gave them a modern language. Her models wore flaming reds and walked like strong yoginis, gold smeared on their foreheads.

Borrowing heavily from nature, her surface texturing, all done by hand, looked mesmerising. Brown, gold, purple, black, green and off-white played on drapes. Vaishali’s work was a striking statement in minimalism with the craft of hands her winning point.

“I wanted to give it a language so that people can wear it globally too. That was the idea. Red is the colour of happiness. All of it is hand done. That’s the luxury we have here… even fabric we can make by hand and when you create something from nature it is not easy,” Vaishali told us.

What are her dreams going forward? “I think it was a dream to take the weaves and crafts to an international platform. I have to be consistent with what I do if I am saying I am supporting families and I want to revive the craft,” she said.

Antar-Agni

Antar-Agni and Khanijo shared the ramp on Sustainable Fashion Day with Adidas Originals X Antar-Agni and Khanijo. Crisp whites started Antar-Agni’s showcase. Greys, blacks and splashes of colours as contrast added to the mood board. The collection was smart and sporty cool and played on patterns and layers. The Antar-Agni slouchy suit is what summer cool looks like! We loved the whites, we told him. “Such colours when you see on the ramp, they have something else. To the human eye it is perceived differently altogether. The cuts definitely complemented the looks. The contrast played well,” designer Ujjawal Dubey told The Telegraph.

Khanijo made us want to take out our picnic baskets or pack for a getaway. A model walked in with red ballons, setting the mood. Relaxed silhouettes, Khanijo signature patterns, surface texturing marked the happy collection.

The red suit spelt fun. “I have a thing for colours and reds are playing an important role for me personally. Blues, reds, blacks, pinks. It’s something that makes me happy and I like to create happy clothes,” Gaurav Khanijo told The Telegraph.

Shruti Haasan (in picture with Antar-Agni’s Ujjawal Dubey) walked in black for Antar-Agni. “I work towards sustainability. This year I celebrated my birthday and Christmas by resharing stuff from my wardrobe. These are small steps we can take. We all have a long way to go, but the first step is understanding and making the effort,” she said.

Khanijo

Gaurav on Ujjawal

I have said this to a lot of people and I say this proudly… he is one of the best guys in the country right now and whose work I love personally. I love his work and his concepts.

Ujjawal on Gaurav

I l ove the feel of it and I have known him for quite many years now. The vintage feel that he has is something we all crave for. It’s the nostalgia that we fall for automatically. I think we attract each other….

Pictures: Sandip Das