Pune Fashion Week – The Fashion Finale of 2017

The seventh season of the Pune Fashion Week came to a roaring end on Sunday, 24th December. The three-day extravaganza was high on luxury, elegance, and grandeur and was attended by the crème de la crème of the city

The Luxury Expo was all about opulence and glamour. It showcased luxury fashion trends and curated the best of luxury, fashion, and lifestyle, making it an élan experience. The Fashionable Bharat Pavilion at the Luxury Expo was one of the key highlights of the fashion week, which was a platform for handicrafts, Indian indigenous products and traditional textiles from all over the country, to broaden its horizons and truly capture the essence of Bharat. The concept was much appreciated by all.

Another aspect of the Pune Fashion Week was the Fashion Knowledge Series where experts from the fashion industry conducted workshops and lecture series on topics related to the field of fashion. Some of the experts present to share their knowledge were Hollywood Designer Danielle Pettee, celebrity designer Nivedita Saboo, and Mr. Vikram Kotnis from Amura Technologies. The audience was intrigued by their knowledge and listened with rapt attention.

PFW Season 7 aimed at making Pune fashionable with a social cause and had a Super Bike Rally on 20th December supported by a biker community called BOLT (Bikers of Low Tolerance) for road safety. Moreover, in association with SMILE foundation, day 1 of the fashion week also witnessed a charity walk by the ladies. The funds raised through this were donated for the education of 10 girl children for a year

Day 1 began with a bang; the students of iNIFD showcased their unisex designs with bold motifs and floral prints. The designs were incredible, reflecting the inimitable talent of the GenNext designers, followed by a combined show by Sharad Raghav and Ginny Wadhwa.Sharad showcased his designs that were experimental and inspired by Batik as he feels Pune is more fashion-conscious than other cities and is willing to adopt new style and trends. 

The designer from Pune, Ginny’s designs which were lovely and pleasing to look at were adorned beautifully by the models. The showstopper for Ginny’s show was actress Rashmi Desai, who looked fabulous as she walked the ramp in a beautiful lehenga. This was succeeded with a ladies charity walk for Smile Foundation.The funds raised through this walk were donated for the education of 10 girl children for a year. The curtains closed on Day 1 with the Rina Dhaka collection of BIJOUS_A Story. Rina showcased jewelry, but on clothes.The silhouettes were graceful in their softness and sensuality and the designs featured voluminous pieces boldly parading the drama and opulence of royalty. Hues of Golden and Silver blended into the theme to bring out the elegance of a regal time. The creation was a salute to the attires of the past, and seeks to inspire the modern contemporary fashion world. Showstopper Divya Khosla Kumar left everyone mesmerized with her grace and elegance on the ramp.

In this chilly winter, Pune Fashion Week managed to heat things up quite a bit.

Day 2 commenced with a Ying Yang Show which was a hair make up & beauty show by the students of ISAS. The makeup done for the models were intricate and detailed. Next up was Amin Farishta who displayed fashion on Khadi and other handwoven materials on the ramp. The showstopper was “Chak de” girl ChitrashiRawat who walked the ramp with a lot of confidence. Shikha Kothari, a Pune based designer and SumitDasgupta showcased their designs as well.

Shikha’s collection paid tribute to the girl child, the feminine spirit of nurturing, strength, dignity and freedom and was aptly titled ‘PINK’ that was inspired by the unequal sex ratio of our country. It was a call to create awareness, transform deep-rooted attitudes about the girl child and take action towards modifying this imbalance. After all, anything is possible with sunshine and a Lil ‘PINK’. Showstoppers Rutuja Shinde and Waseem Amrohi for Shikha and Sumit respectively were vibrant and energetic on the ramp, adding sparks of glamour to the different collections and looked amazing. The pre-finale, showcased Stile, ethnic men’s wear by designer duo Ghulam Ali, another Pune based designer. The models wore their sherwanis which were hand woven and delicate. They all looked royal and powerful. Founders of Pune Fashion Week BadalSaboo&NiveditaSaboo being from Pune themselves provided an extraordinary platform for these super talented Pune based designers at the seventh edition of the fashion week.

Day 2 ended with designer Ashok Maanay whose royal designs left everyone spellbound. The showstarter was NoyonitaLodh and the showstopper was model LopamudraRaut. They dazzled the ramp with their walk. Ashok showcased classic with an undertone of glamour. The ensembles exuded sheer elegance and in colors of a sunny day offset with vintage hues of gold and ivory. He teamed voluminous silhouettes with intricate satin embroidery on silk, with the sheers nude hues giving each garment an element of mystery and enigma — symbolic of today’s modern elegant woman. In short, Silken Masquerade celebrates an esoteric romance, woven in silken threads and beaten metallic hues. The masquerade stands as the finest example of the art and culture of Venetian renaissance; he aspired to reflect poetic flow in volume, layering and impeccable garment construction. Most importantly, this collection provided a classic alternative to the festive season with Venetian masks adding a touch of intrigue and mystery.

Day 3 began with the collection of the MIT students. The first collection was distortion. The collection distortion for autumn/winter 2018, spoke about the journey of the disproportionate and asymmetric garments. Inspiration was taken from skewed images, broken mirrors and knots by incorporating twists and knots and tie-ups and skewing the fabric. Collection 2 was “cut to suit”. The module ‘Cut to Suit’ introduced students with the ‘craft of tailoring’, which included off the rack, bespoke and made to measure. It encouraged them to take a more experimental and individual approach to design work. Next up, showcasing her collection was NishitaMantri Gupta, a plus size designer. Her designs were all about self-love. Actress Pushtiie Shakti was the incredible showstopper. Their inspiration was every woman who believes in herself. The color GREEN is incredibly evocative as it depicts a TREE OF LIFE; which stands strong with a sense of solitary calmness as she knows when the roots are deep there is no reason to fear the wind. Using unique shades of green they bring out the versatility & the undiscovered power that lies within women. Followed by Santhosh Kumar whose collection was inspired by handlooms.

In the second sequence, there was Kirti Agarwal whose collection “Mom & Me” saw mothers walking with their children. The showstopper was actress Nia Sharma who was named Asia’s second sexiest woman alive along with Kirti’s little daughter who stole the show. The pre-finale was by Rohit Kamra. His ethnic menswear collection was subtle, elegant, and graceful. Actor Sanjay Suri & model, actress and dancer Nora Fatehi were his showstoppers and walked the ramp with mind-boggling beauty and panache. The last but not the least! Season 7 ended with a grand finale by the one and only NiveditaSaboo. There were two collections. One was inspired by superheroes, Interstellar- An ode to the Superhero within’, dedicated to nurturing and celebrating the superhero in all of us. Representing power that is impressionable yet unwavering, the collection explores the sublime reality of human potential by pushing boundaries and tapping into the omnipresent source every day; thereby living your highest truth and purpose.It was bold and experimental.

The other one was a bridal collection which had lots of metallic designs interspersed with beautiful fabrics perfect for your D-Day. The showstopper for the grand finales was actor ArjanBajwa who looked like superheroes in these outfits and stole the show with his beauty, glamor and style. Everyone was mesmerized by this glitzy affair.

This event was beyond successful in #MakingPuneFashionable