The Pickle Post

by Shiv Singh on 15 Sep 2009

I traipsed all the way to the Grand in anticipation, with awaited breath (waiting an hour), to see what Gaurav Gupta was going to wow the crowd with once again. He, on previous occasions, has proved himself to be a master draper and has presented very interesting and conceptual silhouettes. With his collection for the Van Heusen Men’s Fashion Week, he did reinforce that point.

But I was left a little disappointed as it seemed he presented the same Harem pant with minor alteration on each model. The colour palette was simple with accents of green here and there. Clothes were very conceptual and with interesting detailing but, again, left me asking myself, how wearable are the clothes? Extremely fitted suits, harem pants and shirts with pleated shoulders and backs verged on being something one would wear to a costume party?

As someone who has been involved in fashion for several years, I’ve come to learn that there has to be a commercial aspect to the whole business. I wonder how many men in this city are open to wearing harem pants and conceptually draped t-shirts and shirts. Delhi, I think, is very open to seeing and watching conceptual shows but I still feel this city and its inhabitants are not ready to experiment with their own dress sense. Men have this notion of what men should wear and are not willing to break that cycle.  Is fashion not all about pushing boundaries? Designers can push their boundaries, but I think its time for consumers to also push their own boundaries and question themselves on what style and fashion really is.

Gaurav presented us with absolutely incredible footwear and I was amazed to see the quality and sheer simplicity yet design in each pair of shoes and sandals. I will definitely be going out and ordering a few of them for myself.

All in all, the show was a great production with a live poet reciting her poetry as the models walked down the ramp. He made the most of the stipulations and rules the FDCI place on the production of a show. I congratulate Gaurav for his efforts, but the show did leave me in a state of anticipation. Hopefully, his next collection will prove something else apart from his draping skills and show us something a little different from his usual, something a little bit more wearable and with a little more colour.