AIFW SS’18: Suneet Varma, Rina Dhaka And Other Designers Present A Stellar Two-Phased Grand Finale

The two-phased FDCI Amazon India Fashion Week Spring Summer ‘18’s (AIFWSS18) grand finale on Sunday saw pret and couture come together on the fashion runway to offer the perfect ode to the celebration of design at the 30th edition of fashion extravaganza which was held in the capital from 11-15 October.

While designers Rina Dhaka, Rohit Gandhi & Rahul Khanna, Ashish N Soni, Krishna Mehta and Pankaj&Nidhi opened the finale with Amazon Fashion exclusive ‘See Now Buy Now’ festive collections, ace designer Suneet Varma closed the finale with a stellar show, showcasing a fusion of modern with Indian.

In the first phase, the collections included five capsule lines with six statement pieces each offering evening-wear, handcrafted in crisp silhouettes by Pankaj&Nidhi, smart-formals in textured jacquards developed in knit fabrics by Ashish N Soni, and occasion-wear collaged together from block printed, tie-dyed and embroidered fabric by Krishna Mehta, every-day wear in fluid silhouettes by Rina Dhaka and wardrobe essentials in symmetrical drapes by Rohit Gandhi & Rahul Khanna.

The second phase, presented by couturier Suneet Varma was a grand festive display marking his 30 years in the fashion industry with a line of 35 limited edition ensembles.

His ‘Garden Of Eden’ collection showcased a mix of traditional motifs with abstract artworks through the use of sheer fabrics, the drapes and the delicate placement of embellishments.

“I actually wanted to address the importance and the need for Indian couture in the future,” said designer Suneet Varma in a post-event press conference.

Speaking about the fabrics he said, “A lot of what you saw on the ramp was imported white

Italian tissue which we can dye in different colours and its got a lot of gloss and shine. There was a lot of stretch fabric, we mixed somethings from Benaras and something’s that were imported. We mixed new and old.”

Elaborating on the embellishments used on the garments, Suneet said, “It’s very sexy, very young and new. The motifs are not inspired by Indian architecture, it’s more ethereal looking. Also, there was a lot of Indian embroidery.”