The genesis of Cochin’s new fashion statement

Parvathy Omanakuttan, Arjan Bajwa, Natasha Suri, Shahwar Aliset the ramp on fire with scintillating designer wear at the Kochi International Fashion Week
Despite the hustle and bustle, Kerala’s first ever international fashion week, the Kochi International Fashion Week (KIFW) took off in full zeal with the opening show by James Ferreira from Mumbai. Model turned actor, Arjan Bajwa and Miss India 2006, Natasha Suri were the show stoppers for the show, which was sponsored by The Man magazine.
Ferreira launched his collection of men’s casual and party line, James Men.The models walked the runway in contemporary kurtas, innovative shirts, t-shirts with tongue in cheek slogans, sexy shorts, baggy bermudas and trousers. James said that today the fashion industry’s ratio of female models to male models is skewed. “It is high time more male models are brought into the fashion scene and I am on a mission to achieve this.”
James Ferreira’s show was followed by that of host designer, Hari Anand from Kochi, whose collection displayed resort wear based on the theme, ‘Earth.’ Simple designs with subtle colours defined his beautifully woven ensembles. Miss India Universe, Parvathy Omanakuttan was the show stopper for the show. Other celebrity models and actors like Ranjani Haridas, Kailash, Mukta, Shawar Ali and Rajeev Pillai also walked the ramp. The celebrity models said they were honoured to walk the ramp for the Kochi based designer and considered the show to be a reunion of old friends.
When asked about her take on the outcome of this fashion week in Kerala, Parvathy Omanakuttan responded, “Seeing the crowd it is pretty evident that the masses in Kerala will pick up the fashion statements very soon. The way women and men in Kerala dress up today leaves me in no doubt that Kerala will soon pep up its fashion quotient.”
The first day of KIFW drew its curtain with Mumbai based designer Archana Kocchar’s collection on Artistic Rhapsody, where she presented an exquisite line of cocktail ensemble in scarlet, ivory and ebony. The show was sponsored by Giantti.
The second day of KIFW will kick off with Jules Idi Amin-Xylo Show, followed by Jattin Kocchar from Delhi, Vivek Karunakaran from Chennai and Riyaz Gangji-Videocon Show. Celebrities Shwetha Menon and Sonali Shegal will walk the ramp for Riyaz Gangji and Jules Idi Amin respectively.
The curtains for the fashion week would close down on August7 with shows by Megha Grover from Mumbai, Lawman Pg3, Arun Singh from Jaipur, and Sanjana Jon from New York. The brand ambassador for the KIFW, Mamta Mohandas will walk the ramp for Arun Singh, while Kangana Ranaut and Sushasini Maniratnam will walk the runway for Lawman Pg3 and Sanjana Jon respectively.