What makes a collection click?

Team DT / TNN / Aug 30, 2006, 02:20 IST

Text Size

Small
Medium
Large

What makes a fashion collection the toast of the haute world?

What makes a fashion collection the toast of the haute world?
As the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week begins in the city today, we crack the code of a collection that wows...
Anywhere you go in Delhi this week, two fashion phrases will keep playing hide and seek with you haute couture and pret-a-porter. Another phrase 'It was an awesome collection' will be thrown about casually in conversations, both by the know-it-alls and the truly with-it men and women.
While haute couture translates into high fashion, and prêt is its ready-to-wear cousin, what makes an 'awesome collection'?

As fashion consultant Tikka Shatrujit Singh puts it, "There are various elements that one must consider here including the design sensibility of the designer, his understanding of the international trends...
Only when each of these elements gels well with the other, and then, manages to make an impression on the connoisseur that it translates into a 'rocking collection'.
This is high art, not just clothes." And so, even as the spotless white flax ramps get ready for the stilettos to trample all over them, DT asks a jury of fashion aficionados to dissect the elements of a cracking collection...

The snips and tucks
It is the scissor and the hands that wield them that hold the key to 'a cut above' collection, if buyer Pradeep Hirani is to be believed. "Silhouettes and drapes can make or break a collection. The quality of the garment is judged on the basis of its drape.
They have to be technically right, to make a mark in the international market," he avers. Designer Rakesh Thakore adds, "The ornamentation and stylisation of the collection is secondary. One must get the cuts right."
The front row glamour
No matter how much the designers demur, a smart sprinkling (no, no, it must not be overdone) of glittering celebs and stars in the front row do grab eyeballs. "If nothing else, it ensures undivided attention of the media," smirks a designer.
But, apart from that, "a bevy of celebs add credibility to a designer's status even before the show begins. After all, if everyone from Amitabh Bachchan to Amrita Arora seems to be wearing a particular designer's clothes, then there must be a reason," feels socialite Timsy Anand.
Creative pursuits
The most important element of a happening collection is its theme, the way it has been interpreted, and its wearability quotient, feels designer Ritu Kumar. How well a designer is flowing with the moment's fashion fad rides high while critiquing his or her collection.
Sometimes, the designers just pick an interesting element off the international ramp, but fail to add to it. Then it stands out like a sore point in the entire collection. The designer must create a trend, a style statement."
Accessorise it right
It can add drama or make a scintillating dress look dowdy. "The whole look of a collection depends on the way it has been accessorised," feels Ramona Garware, who remembers one of Rohit Bal's collections where the male models came with vermillion in their maang.
The belts, footwear, even simple little things like bags, makeup, or the way the hair of the models is done matters a lot.
Let the music flow
"Look at it this way," says choreographer, Tanya Lefebvre, "If the music is in sync with the designer's theme, then the models will get the attitude and walk right it will set the mood.
And the audience too will flow with the show," she says. Even the background, the AVs and the treatment of the ramp are essential, according to Tanya. Remember JJ Valaya's visualisation of Circa 2040?
If you do, then you'll also remember the audio and visual drama he created on the ramp to go with his clothes. So, the backdrop, and the music give the shows their recall value.
No malfunctions please
No clothes falling off the model, no lights, music, audio glitches either. Or people will talk only about that. "You don't want your clothes falling off while you are at a party, do you?
There should not be too many buttons or strings, complicating the designs. The garments should be sexy yet easy to wear," says Ritu Beri.

End of Article