Deepika Gehani & Sujata Assomull Sippy
Deepika Gehani & Sujata Assomull Sippy

The fashion season is about to begin, as Wills India Fashion Week (WIFW) starts this week and close on its heels come Mumbai’s Lakmé Fashion Week. To give you a sneak peek into what to expect, Samsaara put together a high tea previewing the works of four designers showing at WIFW. The event was hosted by Sanjay Kapoor, Deepika Gehani and myself along with HELLO!’s editor Ruchika Mehta. On display were the works of Vineet Bahl, Pankaj and Nidhi, Poonam Bhagat and Pia Pauro. All were chosen for their easy to wear feel—these were ramp pieces that can also work in reality.

Nidhi & Pankaj
Nidhi & Pankaj
Pia Pauro & Payal Sen
Pia Pauro & Payal Sen

Vineet Bahl‘s “Awaadh” collection is all about silhouettes and are reminiscent of the Awadhi culture. For the first time he is showing a totally Indian collection. Though everything in the display was in hues of white, there will be plenty of colour at his show too.  His muse for the evening was Shreya Sabharwal, and she was wearing a piece from his current collection.

Vineet Bahl & Shreya Sabharwal
Vineet Bahl & Shreya Sabharwal

As usual travel is an inspiration for Pia Pauro collection which is an ode to the mountainous terrain of Central Asia. Her collection “Mountain Chic” brings alive the nomadic experience of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and this time she has done a few saris for her fashion week collection. It looks like India may be on top of many designers this fashion week.

Poonam Bhagat
Poonam Bhagat

Taika by Poonam Bhagat Fall/Winter 2013 collection takes you on a sensuous after dinner walk sometime after November along the midnight blue Rhone and as always jackets were the key. Pankaj & Nidhi’s has titled their collection as “Music Box” and it is a tribute to music and the fascinating forms of orchestral musical instruments. I was lucky enough to be wearing one of the duo’s lyrical prints and like many others had my eyes on the red dress in their display. It is just a shame we will all have to wait till next season to get our hands on any of these wares.

Sanjay Kapoor & Suniel Sethi
Sanjay Kapoor & Suniel Sethi
Atsu & Gunjita Dhawan
Atsu & Gunjita Dhawan

Spotted: Sunil Sethi, David Abraham, Rakesh Thakore, Radhika Jha, Shabham Singhal, Payal Sen, Siddarth Tytler, Tanisha Mohan, Harmeet Bajaj, Atsu, Batasha Mathur, Jas Arora, Yogesh Chaudhry, Sanjay Sharma and Shabnam Singhal.

Suniel Sethi, Jas Arora & Sanjay Kapoor
Suniel Sethi, Jas Arora & Sanjay Kapoor
Nidhi & Pankaj
Nidhi & Pankaj
Jas Arora & Deepika Gehani
Jas Arora & Deepika Gehani
Harmeet Bajaj & Deepika Gehani
Harmeet Bajaj & Deepika Gehani
David & Rakesh
David & Rakesh
Batasha Verma Mathur and Siddarth Tytler
Batasha Verma Mathur and Siddarth Tytler
Radhika Chanana, Siddarth Tytler & Pankaj
Radhika Chanana, Siddarth Tytler & Pankaj
Tanisha Mohan & Ammu Saidi
Tanisha Mohan & Ammu Saidi
Pratekk & Gautam
Pratekk & Gautam
Payal Sen
Payal Sen

PS. Here’s what she wore.