Signature Premier Kolkata Fashion Week (Day 3)

It was yet another scintillating day at the Signature Premier Kolkata Fashion Week. Indian fabric was amply highlighted. There were a plethora of events backed by some fascinating designers and we present snippets of their collections and our conversations with them.

Designer Susan Mantosh with her showstopper Raima sen

Mansha Modi's collection was all about harmony. According to her, it was an opportunity to "showcase two sides of our creativity" by putting the pret and bridal lines together. The primary inspiration for the pret line came from the weaves of Bengal and the rich traditional past behind it. According to this designer, tradition being the first thing to come to mind, she tried to fuse it with modernity albeit through the cuts of the garments and the bright palette of red, blue and yellow. The bridal range through steeped in conventionality, caters to urban city life with elan. Both these concepts have been merged together in order to create a harmonious melange of the old and the new catering to both the masses and the classes.

Sandeep Mukherjee laid emphasis on out of the box thinking and the desire to create something new and different. He regards khadi as the starting point for all garments and has therefore attempted to create something from this standpoint. According to him, youngsters below 25 discouraged his experiments with khadi while the ages above encouraged it and the collection was born out of a desire to "show them that khadi can do anything." He also praised the organization of the Kolkata Fashion Week, the ramp and the designers.

Susan Mantosh talked about her long-standing association with Raima Sen and the Sen family. Her mother belonged to the royal family of Nepal and Moonmoon Sen being her family friend, Raima and Riya were almost like her own babies. Susan operates with one sole desire: To help put Calcutta at par with other international fashion styles in metropolitan cities across the world. The collection comprised of teeth-like shapes, crooked shapes, sharp ones in mother of pearl and baroque shapes which are the most expensive. She also talked of her necklaces which are "trendy with crystals, plastic and metals" and can be worn with outfits like a kaftan or a long dress. Her products are aimed at all customer segments.

Designer Bibi Russel with her models

                                       Photo Courtesy: Debanjan Ghosh