Fashion future...

s collection used the dramatic stripes of stereotyped prison garb in grey, black and white for a collection that was severely-tailored in the manner of a strait-jacket. His grim world view was, however, mixed with more romantic Victoriana and gothic references, such as long dresses, cut and stitched in a patchwork of vertical and horizontal stripes and pleated capes, worn with mini-kilts over leggings.
The ten-piece collection, although complex in the extreme and requiring pattern, cutting and sewing skills that would seem to be out of reach of most aspiring designers, was faultless in its execution.

Particularly impressive was Chaunhan s use of multiple petals of wool and flannel which were overlaid, one on top of the other, to fashion ruff-style necklines, pockets and cuffs. Chauhan s talents also embraced millinery, with a handful of sweet bonnets and top-tilted, ribbon-tied plate hats, fashioned from the same patchwork of tweeds and flannel as the outfits they accompanied. The young designer will now have his collection featured in Aza, an upmarket retail chain which specializes in the best of home-grown Indian design, both at couture/wedding level and ready-to-wear, and which sponsored the competition in conjunction with the international management agency, IMG, organizers of Mumbai Lakme Fashion Week.

Other contenders in the competition who merit watching included the menswear designer, Kunal Rawal who mixed Rajasthan colours, waistcoats, jackets and jodhpurs in an East-meets-West collection accessorized with flat, brown leather Gandhi sandals and Johnny Depp pirate bandanas.
displayed up-to-the-minute recycling skills with a collection made from men s shirts. Nothing was touched, cut or sliced away; simply, as the designer explained, a quick series of folds and drapes, caught with some stitching, that took little more than a few minutes per outfit.

He was inspired, he said, by the age-old tradition of door-to-door callers collecting old and worn out shirts.
used a vibrant geometric clash of tomato-red and cream, in raw silk and silk, to get across his concept of fashion being a game, The Gaze , in which one is watched and another does the watching, while based his designs upon vintage couture silhouettes, executed in fine, black silks and taffetas with precise and delicate stitching and appliqu e d details superimposed.