Sometimes as soon as the first model walks in on the ramp, draped in a designer’s arduous labour, you are already in love with what you are going to be feasting on in the next 15 minutes to come. Well, that doesn’t happen with many designers. There are very few designers who know how to arrest their audiences’ attention and be consistently good at it. Indian fashion’s big momma Anju Modi is one of those few. When she opened the fourth edition of PCJ Delhi Couture Week at the Taj Palace hotel, eyes stayed wide open, occasionally blinking, and jaws experienced a stronger gravitational pull.
Everybody loves mythology and Panchali’s heart-wrenching tale interests all. Modi’s show unfolded the various episodes in Draupadi’s life and showed her numerous moods through an act by a team of professional artistes. One of the key components of Modi’s shows is her sense of layering. So from the first look till the last, layering remained intrinsic, whether it was for the voluminous skirts, tunics or anarkalis. Single-shoulder pallu-style drapes were used to bring totality to muslin, crinkled cotton, silk embroidered and embellished skirts and tussar blend bustiers, off-shoulder/collared/full-sleeved angrakha-style cholis in scarlet, beige and khadi.
Soon high-collared fitted jackets followed, hinting at a strong colonial influence. Indian motifs, embroidered bootis, embellished cage motif and screen-printed elaborate patterns adorned the body as well as the hems of ghagras and cholis. Bow and arrow-shaped accessories embellished the visual storytelling.
There was something for the men as well. There were indigo bandhgalas with interesting caged bird motif, tan warrior and warhorse print sherwanis over skirts and churidaars. Pashmina shawls with Kashmiri embroidery were used as drapes for men and tied using belts to give it a modern edge.
As the first section “Marriage to Pandavas”, in celebratory hues — crimson, caramel, tamarind and gold, made way for the “Game of Dice”, ash grey, indigo, maroon echoed Draupadi’s dilemma. Tamara Moss began the second leg in a pretty crop top teamed with a layered skirt. A calming colour palette including powder pink, peach, brown used to create collared shirts, lehengas soon transitioned into fiery red and mustard as Bollywood actor Tabu turned up on the ramp as Draupadi.
According to Modi, Tabu was her obvious choice. She said, “Tabu expresses herself really well. She is strong and elegant. When I thought of Draupadi, I wanted a woman with strength and intelligence and Tabu is all that. I was sure that she will portray the character as beautifully on the stage as she portrays a particular character on the screen.”
The second show of the evening took the audience on a trip to Burma. The elaborate set to showcase designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s couture collection “Opium”, inspired by the 1920s, had a “lived-in” feel to it. Although it reminded one of Parsi dominated pockets in Mumbai, Sabya, who himself designed the set, preferred to call it a “leftover garden” in Burma. Therefore, the ramp was turned into an old mansion where a crystal chandelier hung from the false ceiling, old portraits dotted the walls, a rickety chair sat in a corner, potted plants represented nature and empty wine bottles gave away information about its inhabitants.
Also one felt a sense of déja vu as the set for his last couture offering bore a striking resemblance. “It was intentional,” said Sabya and added, “I wanted to put a signature stamp on this design where if the ramp is divided, it’s like two private shows happening at the same time.”
Quite paradoxically, his collection this time was bling rich yet strong in content and craft. “I wanted to do something that has a very strong sense of opium and has 1920s feel to it. The collection got its name after a perfume by Yves Saint Laurent that my mother used to wear. So, there are memories attached to it,” Sabya added.
The collection featured beautiful quilted skirts, angarakhas, hand embroidered churidaars with tulle dupattas, pretty saris embellished with tilla work and zardosi, flapper jackets, ornate lehengas and khadi cholis. For men the collection offered hand-dyed canvas sherwanis with churidaars and Kashmiri shawls, cotton printed safas, embellished drapes.
“This collection is all about femininity and the glamorous 1920s. Yes, there’s a lot of bling but that is done to give the clothes a rich, opulent and luxurious feel,” he said.