Though the gown somewhat reminded one of the one worn by Abhaya Subba on the cover of her band The Steam Injuns’ latest album “Nayan”, this particular creation had its own distinctive features that was able to capture the breath of spectators present in the hall. The gown perfectly complimented the reigning Miss India World Pooja Chopra, who graced the show by walking the runway in two of the designs.
FASHIONOVA 09, a much-awaited fashion show, had altogether 27 aspiring fashion designers who are currently mastering their designing skills at The Creation, an institute of fashion designs in Kathmandu.
The show, which started an hour and half late, commenced with three beauty queens – Miss Nepal 2000 Usha Khadgi Timilsina, Miss Nepal 2005/6 Sugarika KC, and the reigning Miss India World Pooja Chopra – walking the runway draped in white gowns looking like angels.
Then followed models showcasing designs on nine various themes, namely, the 30’s Fever, Back to School; the 60’s Reloaded, Mirror of Love, Exotic Tribal; the 70’s Punk & Rock, Gypsy, Graphic Black & White, Crazy Jeans, and Traditional Romance on music which evokes similar feelings to the respective themes.
Yet, despite a great deal of hard work, the collections could have been more ambitious in terms of bringing out subtle and wearable dresses. Some of the designs were played around with unnecessary details and cuts. Like the one in the “Gypsy” theme, where the first design was a men’s tops and trousers paired up with a waistcoat, seemed a carbon copy of costumes sported by circus clowns. The only missing details were polka dots on the dress and a red nose.
There are seldom wearable clothes exhibited in such fashion shows. But among the 90 designs exhibited, 18 were worth talking about. Ladies, if anyone is fond of dresses and gowns, a little black dress covered with white sheer fabric is worth spending money on. Beside a white kurta-surwal with golden hemlines, a white gown ornamented in golden chains stood out in the “Mirror of Love” theme. The “Crazy Jeans”-theme designers claimed the apparels to be focused on teenagers. But the theme had only two designs: a short brownish jumpsuit and a one-piece skirt that were decently wearable.
Men’s department still needs some serious groundbreaking designs. Along with the suits displayed in the “Traditional Romance” theme, where Jodhpuri men’s suits had buttons made out of dhaka fabric and cuffs, and collars patched with dhaka, the only design that caught the eye was a slouchy harem grey pants in the “Crazy Jeans” theme.
Throughout the show, one not-so-smart move was that the models flaunted not only their designs but their inner wears, mostly due to overlooked finishing touches by the creators. Even then, these private pieces were in need of upgrading and matching with the clothes themselves.
Apart from the designer’s efforts, Kirant brothers Rajesh Payal Rai and Dhiraj Rai brought the house down with their popular Nepali numbers. But coveted singers like them should consider hiring fashion stylists for such events as both needed some serious works in their clothing department.
Moreover, unlike the early days of fashion designing in Nepal, to say that designs have matured in terms of concepts and use of fabrics would not be off the mark. But, at the same time, this year’s designers have limited themselves to the concept of creativity in the use of unnecessary cuts, mixed-matches of different colors, layering and smocking.
Earlier the realization that there’s beauty in simplicity, too, better the works hoped for. Simple designs can be worth mention, and applauses for which prove in the case Prabal Gurung’s Fall 2009 Collections. Prabal is a New York-based Nepali fashion designer who ought to make his presence felt in Kathmandu – to make some difference to the fashion facades of the capital city.
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