India in a timeless wrap

[Guest guest]

India in a timeless wrap

 

Summi Gambhir

 

October 28, 2005

The 60th anniversary celebrations of the UN in India got an ethnic

India touch through colourful outfits of designer JJ Valaya at a

fashion show held at the Kamani Auditorium on Wednesday. Valaya's

creations, entitled Timeless India, were presented on the third day

of the cultural festival called Building Bridges, organised by the

Indian Council of Cultural Relations and the United Nations

Information Centre. The collection was a tribute to Georges Remi,

popularly known as Herge, who created the comic book character

Tintin.

 

"This festival celebrates the Indian connection with the outside

world and that's exactly what Valaya's collection conveys," said

bureaucrat/ writer/ diplomat, Pavan Varma, who is the director

general of the ICCR. "Fashion is a very important aspect of our

culture and in this festival, we've juxtaposed our culture with the

cultures of the rest of the world," he added.

 

In keeping with the concept of building bridges with other cultures,

ICCR has also invited 20 students of fashion designing from Pakistan

for the show. "India has a sizeable presence on the fashion map of

the world and there is so much to learn here from these designers,"

opined Maha Anwar, a student of the Asia Institute of Fashion

Design, Pakistan.

 

While the models sashayed down the ramp in bright outfits by Valaya,

the designer said: "The ideology of my collection falls in line with

the essence of this festival. I'm glad that fashion is now a part of

these cultural exchanges. Fashion is the modern-day ambassador of

our country as our clothes show the traditional embroideries,

textiles, motifs, etc."

 

The inspiration for the collection was from the time and space zones

as diverse as Peru, the Ottoman empire and Tibet, eventually

culminating in an Indian statement. Long coats, corsets, lehengas

and saris gave shape to Valaya's designs while the fabrics ranged

from lycra velvet to silk linens and from French georgettes to raw

silk. All of these were further enhanced by Swarovski embroidery and

beaded details.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1532490,0035.htm?

headline=India~in~a~timeless~wrap