The fifth installment of annual fashion mela started on September 7th and ended on the 11th. The five-day affair saw 150 fashion designers and few boutiques and textile shops showcasing their creative side at Hotel Yak& Yeti in Kathmandu with this year’s theme as “Ready to Wear.”
Gowns and saris, especially the details on them such as ridges, ruffles, and bows, reigned supreme. Details such as pleats, bows, smocking, ridges, piping, and regular embroideries were abundant. Designers took cue from international fashion scene and flirted with hem and necklines. One-shouldered dresses in various styles, Grecian to slim straps, were the rage.
Along with Nepali models Indian supermodels Pooja Hawlader and Miss India Universe, 2008 Simran Kuar Mundi walked on the star studded runway choreographed by Prashant Tamrakar. Bunch of celebrity showstoppers comprising former Miss Nepal Malvika Subba, Usha Khadki, actors Vinay Shrestha, Deepa Shree, Hisila Maharjan further graced the Fashion Week.
And for our readers, here is a look-back at the some of the finest work of the fashion show, which had some negate the idea of “Ready to Wear”:
First Day
The Fashion Week this year kicked off with brilliant designs in ‘Bridal Testimonia’ and ‘Party Wear’ theme. Heavy embroideries encrusted with beads and sequences, juxtaposed with contrasting colors like pink, yellow, and silver and made saris and lehengas. Captivating mention goes to the golden blouse with rumpled turtle neck.
Especially noteworthy was a group of wearable dresses in ‘Party Wear’ theme: a black-meets-white elegant dress and a white A-line dress with worked neckline, and a black strapless dress with red details.
Apart from these two themes, the other eight themes exhibited an array of designs on Nepali handloom cotton, winter collection, kurtis and mostly dresses. Designers limited themselves to harem pants, capris, short skirts in handloom cotton department. A ‘Mughal Mania’ theme provided an interesting fusion of royal embroidery played with dhaka material. Some designs seemed to be trying too hard, causing distortion through unnecessary details, as in a green long kurti with ruffled hemlines.
Second Day
A front-loading of dazzle on the first day raised the bar and it was hard to measure up to the expectations on the following day. The second day saw different hairdos on models, such as a beehive, which gave an abstract touch to the designs displayed by the models. A range of designs based on eleven different themes were exhibited. Lots of gowns and one-piece dresses of various lengths put in an appearance. Designers drew inspiration from red carpet events, stair-cases, and pirates and mermaids.
Third Day
White ruled the third day. Two themes in particular, ‘Flower Power’ and ‘White Lye’, served terrific gowns and dresses, with almost all-in-white designs. Laces, chiffon, satin, and sheers were textiles used for the creation. Inspired by the Victorian era, two grandeur gowns were crinoline in ‘White Lye’. As with the two previous days, the third day also featured bridal wears, maybe because of the wedding season approaching. A few designs were particularly beguiling, such as a nude-hued churidar kurti-salwar and a green sari with black-netted boarder exhibited on the runway by celebrity showstopper Namrata Shrestha. The day also dished out finely tailored high-waist skirts, ruffled blouses, and slouchy trousers confined to two colors – grey and yellowish hues, hinting at the new ‘power dressing’ trend of Nepali ladies.
Fourth Day
The crunch felt in vigor and designs on the second and third day of the fashion week was but a memory on Thursday, the fourth day, as viewers were treated to flowing gowns of Khushboo Dangol and one-piece dresses, made from reused and recycled fabrics by four fashion designers, Shanti Shrestha, Bandana Sakha, Pratima Rijal, and Rama Shrestha. Time to go green for Nepali fashion, perhaps. Designer Khushboo exhibited her strong craftsmanship in the opening theme, “Chhabi, Image of Women”. Most of her designs were empire-waist lined and embroidered with sequins and beads.
The strengths of the later four were seen, as with most of the other designers, in the one-piece dresses. Any girl would die to get a hand on the superbly done strapless off-white dress festooned with purple fabric on upper part of the empire.
Men also got their due. While the first three days of the show were overwhelmingly for women, this day saw men’s apparels aplenty. Retail shops led by Indian Terrain and textile shop Mona Lisa displayed men’s casual, semi-formal, and formal wears, not our favorite brand of texts but nonetheless. Mona Lisa exhibited some new metallic colored fabrics for men suits in typical suit forms. Durbar Marg based Linen Club displayed its designs on three themes- Linen Folklore, Novel Essence of Vogue, and Flamboyance Wear for both men and women. Not to be left out, smocked cuffs, women coat worked on the curved front part were some of noticeable crafts.
Fifth Day
The fifth day’s anticipated climax lost its way amidst an over-abundance of embroideries and embellishment. “There’s always room to improve,” opined Rupy Singh, director of Rupy’s International School, as heavy, shiny, and eye-rubbing extras overwhelmed the designs themselves. Rupy who plans to display her designing skills in near future added, “Nepali designers need some guidelines.”
Designs on nine themes were dominated by regular-looking saris worked on the surface with zardosi, sequins and laces taking the runway. Designer Uma Nemkul of Kavya Boutique unveiled a long flowing churidar kurti in a soft palette of hues. For ladies who need less drama in their lives, Pratigya Thapa came to the rescue with bold, candy-pink, turtle-necked tops with lacy skirt and strapless bohemian dress with braided belt.
At other times, the mismatch of clothes and accessories set back the effort to restore functionality. As noted by Mukta Shrestha, fashion designer at Adam & Eve Boutique, Nepal Fashion Week is “getting better every year, but accessories, especially the shoes, have to be kept in mind along with the designs.” A useful tip, Mukta’s words can serve as an inspiration for Nepali designers at they aspire to international standards.
Related story
Fashion events in Asia
-1200x560-1781083488.webp)
