Anju Modi has been in the industry for 30 years and has consistently shown collections that marry craft with edge, so it was well deserved that she opened the PCJ Delhi Couture Week.
Her collection was called “Draupadi” and was all about the warrior princess look. Volume, large borders and bold motifs meant this was a statement collection! She used khari, block printing & kalamkari, badla, zardorsi and many other techniques yet nothing looked too crafty.
The show was well styled with bold gold and chain jewelry enhancing the warrior look. Corset blouses (that made me think of Jean Paul Gaultier) were strongly sensual.
Draped dupattas were held up with brooches. Manly details like a shirt worn with a lehenga added the right touch of androgyny.
Occasional bow ties around the neck lent some quirk. Starting with a strong color palette of sindoor red, beige and orange she moved to indigo, and finally ivories and pastels. It was varied but always powerful.
The use of pashmina shawl style dupattas were a great takeaway for any bride or groom planning a winter wedding.
Men in skirts are something Anju would like to see. She gave khadi a couture twist and her jackets for men ranged from bandhgalas to anchkans and smoking jackets. Half man, half archer (the Sagittarian) brooches really gave the menswear a bold glamour.
It was a show that Anju herself was obviously proud of as she sat in row one looking at each piece with pride. While it was well styled, you would not be able to wear these looks as presented on the ramp as that amount of layering would require you to have a model figure.
And from this show it looks like the lehenga and the anarkali have made a strong comeback.
Even the showstopper Tabu wore a lehenga, as this was obviously Anju Modi’s favored silhouette of the season.
The only disappointment were the dancers – when it comes to a couture show, it seems fashion designers have decided that a performance is needed. However, it really is an unnecessary prop that takes away from the real hero of any fashion show – the clothes. Designers need to believe their collections do not require any extra help. And Anju’s collection certainly did not.
More Photos:
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Pix: Surbhi Seth for MissMalini