(From top) Designer Ashish Soni takes a bow after his show on Day III of Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai; Nina Manuel strikes a pose in a Suneet Verma creation; Shivani Kapur walks the ramp in an Ashish Soni ensemble. Pictures by Pabitra Das

Day III of the Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) in Mumbai was marked by two brilliant collections, the best that the fashion extravaganza has seen so far, and a minor wardrobe malfunction.

While Sabyasachi Mukherjee enthralled in the opening show on Thursday with his breathtaking collection titled The Snail, another designer known for his international foray ? Ashish Soni ? stole the show at the day's finale with yet another exquisite line named Memsahib Maharani.

Designer Lascelles Symons’s show was talked about too, but for the wrong reasons. After Carol Gracias the previous day, it was model Gauhar Khan who had a few embarrassing moments of fame when a skirt she was flaunting ripped at the back, forcing her to clutch, cover and scurry off the catwalk.

After the bottomline, let’s get back to the bests. Ashish’s autumn-winter 2006-07 line drew inspiration from the “world of rajas and sultans of India? an era of lavish lifestyles, royal lineages and pompous aristocracy where pretty European girls were swept off their feet by charming maharajas to the veiled world of myth and folklore?”

The designer revealed: “I have been wanting to do this collection for the last three seasons, but it needed too much research. I researched this era for one-and-a-half years and put together the collection over eight months.”

The collection tells you that the time was well spent.

Jackets, overcoats, wraps, sweaters, boleros, leather coats, shrugs, skirts (pleated, full circle, half circle, gathered, box pleated), trousers, viscose tops, blouses, ruffled collared shirts, churidars, and a variety of dresses formed the line.

Denim, jacquard, cashmere, viscose, tweed, leather ? the fabrics were aptly winter.

The highlights were embroidered waistbands, lace work, appliques, elaborate collars and unusual sleeves. The palette comprised blue, cement, brown, black, grey, charcoal, white and golden.

“The collection is about how these European women who became begums and bahus imbibed royal Indian lifestyles and as a result innovated on their own lifestyles. How they wore their saris, shawls and jewellery differently and set strong fashion statements,” explained Ashish.

The designer’s take on Indian history was met with deafening applause from the audience.

“It’s a breathtaking collection, the clothes were just beautiful. What I liked about it best was the amazing interpretation of history,” said Sabyasachi, about his fellow designer’s collection.

Earlier in the evening, designer Suneet Verma unveiled his first ever diffusion line on the LFW ramp.

The collection with a strong Bollywood feel ? though only actress Neha Dhupia was spotted in the audience ? was defined by a riot of colours, abstract prints, colour-on-colour embroidery, some textures and body-hugging silhouettes.

There were tones of yellow, lilac, sea blue, pinks, beiges and whites with a generous sprinkling of gold.

Relaxed tunics in silk, crepe and georgettes worn over cropped pants, with scarves or sheer shrugs, long chiffon cocktail dresses, knee-length net coats with patchwork and beads and jewel embellishments with Swarovski were the highlights.

The clothes were accessorised by faux fur bags and metallic leather and beaded belts.

“I’m venturing into diffusion clothing since this is an important segment in Indian fashion today. It allows many more people to afford designer wear because of the reasonable price points,” said Suneet.