RFW 2013 brought essence, flavour of Rajasthan but lacked buyers

Jaipur: The second edition of Rajasthan Fashion Week (RFW) 2013 that concluded yesterday certainly brought out the essence and flavour of the Rajasthan’s royal culture and heritage but somehow failed to live up to expectations.

Technical glitches that caused the delays in the shows and poor event management somehow disappointed the viewers.

The main objective behind organising the fashion extravaganza was to promote the artisans and states’ handicrafts, culture and textiles. Though several designers like Ritu Kumar, Vikram Phadnis, Pallavi Jaipuria, Payal Jain, Charu Parashar and Mandira Wirk brought out the best of Rajasthan’s embroidery and prints in their collections, but few repeated the same old designs, prints and patterns.

Also, the weavers couldn’t reaally be spotted during the event.

Phadnis opened the first day of the fashion week and showcased a collection comprising vibrant ghaghra cholis, floor-length anarkalis, saris, shararas and kurtas.

He also made appropriate usage of traditional Rajasthani embroidery like block prints, tie and dye prints, bagaru prints, sanganer prints and zari work.

Phadnis’ show had built up high hopes. It was followed by Sumit Das Gupta, Kirti Rathore and Sulakshna Monga, Poonam Bhagat, Payal Jain and Lina Tipnis.

Bhagat who then presented beautiful range of cocktail gowns, saris and anarkalis with short jackets, palazzos and shrugs in bright colours and soft fabrics complained: “My show was supposed to start in the evening. But it got terribly delayed. Those who had come to see my show went back disappointed as they couldn’t wait till midnight.”

She added: “We always create a collection keeping in mind the buyers. But I am disappointed. I am also planning to open a store here in Jaipur because people here like my collection. Also only a week back I confirmed my name for the show and worked on the exclusive collection. I have always been inspired from Rajasthan’s royal heritage.”

Payal Jain’s collection titled “Yaatra” also showed the lifestyle of the state. She presented morning and evening wear silhouettes embellished with varied handwork.

Soft fabrics and appropriate colour palette starting from reds, mustards, orange, yellows, pinks to greys and blacks justified the theme.

“This is just the second edition and I wanted to promote the textiles. Focus always remains on the buyers but we as a designer keep looking for inspirations from state to state and that matters too,” said Payal.

As compared to the first day, second saw a greater number of people actively participating. Designers like Kumar, Parashar and Kavita Bhartia won the hearts of the viewers by showcasing exclusive collections.

On the third day of the fashion week, there were several Bollywood celebrities and TV personalities like R. Madhavan, Tusshar Kapoor and Sameera Reddy who walked the ramp for designers Krishna Dembla and Neeta Lulla respectively.

The collection presented by the designers except for Lulla was again a mix and match of traditional Rajasthani and modern silhouettes, mainly bridal wear.

– Ritika Arora (IANS)

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