Monisha Jaisingh

Monisha Jaising creates a collection that’s alive, femininely seductive, and full of verve, incorporating sexy halter dresses, low-waisted knee length pleated skirts, tunic dresses, t-shirts, tanks and spaghetti tops, kurtas and pants. Using a sporty detailing in form of three-colour striped rib knit trims at the neckline, armhole, waist lines, and the length of the trouser seams, on the delicately embroidered garments, she created an entirely new look that was beautiful and elegant but had a distinctly young, fun look. The embroideries used are equally interesting- cheeky in their use of traditional floral patterns in black in conjunction with sassy sequined tattoo motifs of roses and barbed wires on the white, salmon, soap and red coloured mul-muls. There were other knits as well, in heather grey and white, which were embellished with zardozi embroidery, and teamed with the dresses and kurtas. Another line had butterscotch coloured silks printed with delicate floral patterns, which were combined with black-white checks, and rib detailing. The formal eveningwear had kurtas in gold dust coloured sheers with gold and silver sequined embroideries in circular patterns, teamed with silver printed floral pants in beige.

Nahid Merchant/ Vidhi Singhania

For Nahid Merchant, designing is an amalgamation of line, form, colour and texture. She is known for her fusion lines, which are free flowing and innovatively styled. Also known for her embroidered hi-fashion creations, which take inspiration from the glorious past of Indian history, she now retails from reputed stores around the country. Her collection is inspired by the mystical oriental art of 'Origami'. Rich blend of traditional styles had zardozi embroidery, ruching, and pleating, to the pallas, borders and pleated areas. Her play with different textures, fabrics and layering gave the ensembles depth and interest.

Vidhi Singhani’s collection made use of hand-woven traditional Indian fabrics like the kota maisuria, benarasi brocades, tissues and silks. The ensembles ranged from slim pants and kurtis, to dhoti shalwars, and blouses, and crinkled skirts with cholis; and also included the Indian classics – exquisite lehengas and elegant sarees for special occasions. The colour palette was kept festive and joyous, with colours of rose, indigo, green, maroon, black, indigo, and purple, all enhanced by the subtle gold yarns that had been woven into the fabrics.

Tarun Tahiliani

Tarun Tahiliani has the ability to make the men and women look like Gods and Goddesses of love and passion. And that’s exactly what his 2004 collection was all about. The women looked sexy and stunning in Chinese cheongsam and jeweled blouses, and dresses with endless side slits; unusual bottom wear in form of Japanese inspired pants, Turkish pants, skirts, pajamas and pants; dressy tee-shirts in sexy shapes with engineered petra durra and Hyderabadi jewel prints on necklines; midnight tryst black georgettes embroidered in black chikankari and embellished with star spangled baby crystals; and elegant festive sarees with vibrant floral prints and sequin work. The colour palette included rich colours like oranges, pinks, blacks, reds, turquoises amongst others. The men's wear was masculine and exquisitely well tailored, with incredible linen and cotton suits, quilted jackets and pants that caressed the body.

Anant by Shobhna & Vijay Arora / Kavita Bhartia

Anant by Shobhna and Vijay Arora was the amalgamation of different cultures and traditions. Chikankari from India, the Parsi gara embroidery, Chinese/ Buddhist motifs and brocades, Moorish architectural patterns all amalgamate in this collection in complete summer harmony. Pleasant feminine colours of mint, ivory, butterscotch, pink sugar, leaf green, aubergine,  red and black form the base for these surface ornamentation techniques. Motifs like cranes, quails, and storks from the gara; endless knots, dragons and eternity motifs from Buddhist traditions; and florals and geometrics from chikankari are decorated with bugle beads, sequins, kasab, dabka, and crystals. Kurtis with slender churidars, skirts, hot-pants, blouses, and classic saris were crafted to perfection using fabrics like crepes, georgettes, chiffons etc to create evening and day wear.

Kavita Bhartia presented a very festive collection of numerous fabrics like chiffons, georgettes, silks, and knits; the silhouette kept simple with lean and narrow lines. Long straight skirts with thigh high slits predominated, and were given interesting treatments like layering, patchwork, horizontal paneling, and appliqué. Each skirt used a medley of different fabrics like jacquards, silks, streaked sheers, brocades and prints, and had embellishments in form of embroideries, crystal -work, sequin work and ruffles, all exquisitely well balanced. They were teamed with a variety of tops such as tanks, corsets, bustiers, cheongsams, halter necks, and off-shoulder blouses that were very effective with the skirts. The colour palette included colours such as turquoise, rose, magenta, leaf green, orange, maroon, purple, set against streaked and leheria blacks and browns.

Suneet Verma

Suneet Varma’s Le Spice was young, hip and trendy. Prêt was made fabulously funky and sporty in its use of colours, fabrics, silhouettes and detailing. The predominant colour in the palette was cool white, with bursts of summer colours like citrus lemons, sunny yellows, tomato reds, candy pinks, orange and sky blues. Cottons, chiffons and knits were used to create capris, knee length skirts, pants, shorts, tunics and shifts, slinky dresses, corsets, tee shirts and blouses. Detailing came in form of miniature pleats, knit trims, thread embroidery in spontaneous floral-cluster patterns, and wacky afro prints and appliqués of embellished with sequins. Funky matching embroidered belts, and unusual footwear accessorized the collection.