Gaurang’s sneak peek into LFW Winter Fest

Hyderabad-based designer Gaurang Shah will be hosting a solo show at LFW Winter Fest. In an unusual gesture, he decided to give an exclusive preview to his collection, a week before the high-profile event

While the fact that he will present 44 designs at the Lakme Fashion Week and his collection has been named Samyukta, after the princess of Kannauj and queen of Prithiviraj Chauhan, is already known; yet Gaurang Shah announcing a preview of his LFW collection one week before the D-day, came as a pleasant surprise.

And as one got to see the rich handloom heritage spread out in all its resplendent glory, it was a cynosure to all eyes. Anarkalis, lehengas, kurtas, ghararas, farshis for the brides, in rich hues of red, bright pink and yellow for the brides and the jamas, anghrakhis, chogas, sadris and achkans for the grooms were all there adorning the green lawns of Gaurang store in Jubilee Hills.

Rare antique designs from the museums have been recreated with lot of care and precision using a variety of techniques drawn from the rich textile heritage of India. So, you have the Rajasthani Kota, Banarasi from UP, Patan Patola from Gujarat, Paithani from Maharashtra, Khadi Jamdhani from Andhra, Ikat from Telangana and a variety of embroidery techniques – Zardosi, Chikankari, kutch work, kasuti, used in imaginative combinations that redefine the concept fusion.

And as Gaurang reels out intricate details of his designs – one is impressed with the amount of work gone into designing and weaving each fabric. “I do not plan or sketch. I can get inspired by something I read, or see and then I get these ideas which I share with my team and they do the sketch.

I have trained my weavers in such a way that they specialize in not just one, but many handloom weaving methods,” shares the designer, who is the only one from Hyderabad to be doing a solo show on the Indian Textile Day at LFW.

To mention a few – The red Patan Patola saree has the ‘Sawari’ theme woven into it – the elephants with a carriage that were used by royal families. And the images are painstakingly created by dyeing and weaving inch by inch of the fabric; the tusser kota kurta dyed in yellow has chikankari embroidery in its different techniques, using a cotton thread coloured in yellow - the difference in fabric creating a shadow play.

Also on display was the bright red Bandini (Kutch) lehenga with a Kanjeevaram border teamed up with a blouse made in Paithani from Maharashtra and the Khadi Jamdhani saree used as dupatta elegantly draped over the Night Queen in full bloom on the green lawns. It was a stunning site befitting the title for the collection.

Gaurang is taking Qawwal singers, who would be singing Sufi music with just a harmonium and the show would be opening with a Kathak dancer moving to the music. One can only imagine the grandeur that is going to unfold at the Lakme Fashion Week Winter Festive 2015 on August 27 at 5.30pm at Palladium Hotel, Mumbai.

By Rajeshwari Kalyanam