DELHI-BASED designer Manav Gangwani tried hard to convince us that his creations were indeed couture, on the third day of the HDIL sponsored India Couture Week. But unfortunately, most of his voluminous gowns looked like wedding cakes from a Catholic wedding and many of the other silhouettes gave us a feeling of deja vu.....of having seen glimpses of them at John Galliano's shows for Christian Dior.
Just embroidering everything and the kitchen sink onto a garment does not constitute couture. Sometimes, the most simple silhouttes, embellished with fantastic hand-embroidery, can make a startling impact.
However, at times Manav had styled his dark and dusky models like Nayanika Chatterjee, Nethra Raghuraman and Carol Gracias to look like African princesses, making for a truly lovely picture.
And finally, to add a bit of star power, the designer got Bollywood actors Karishma Kapoor and Rahul Khanna to walk the ramp. And while Rahul looked dapper in the white sherwani, Karishma should have been given a more show-stopping outfit than the over-embellished garbage bag she wore for the finale.
Our verdict: Stick to African princesses and leave the confectionary to Michellin chefs.
Photos: RANJIT RODRICKS
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