Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s Sanctuary was the sweep of Day Four. His collection, inspired by migratory birds and a hundred other things, opened with a black bomber jacket and emerald green shiny skirt and finished with a black sequinned stretched Galaxy Sweater. In between were some 40-odd beautiful pieces.

Sabyasachi Mukherjee

The show was colourful to say the least but, at the same time, was restrained in many ways. The silhouettes included saris worn with body-con blouses inspired by diving suits, 70s pantsuits, slinky dresses worn over floral printed blouses, high-waisted trousers, more bomber jackets and lots of dresses. The main embellishments were enamelling, scalloping, spray sequins, intricate threadwork and his signature borders and butis, this time in a “supersaturated Mexican colour palette”. Zips — some used as seams and others proudly displayed almost like ornamentation — played a vital role too. Ombre leggings, horsehair-patent leather bags and studded belts, also in patent, completed the look along with an elaborate hairdo involving flowers and pompoms. His saris were so simple yet so effective. Just six yards of khadi, a couple of borders — one mangalgiri and another sequins — and finished with box pleats.

The afternoon saw another city label, Dev r Nil, showcase Pixel Dreams. Dev and Nil’s show opened with a striking audio-visual starring Bidita and it set the pace for their line. The designers had two basic elements strewn across their collection — flying birds (the music was also punctuated with sounds of birds chirping) and roses — pixilated versions that were reduced only to abstract strokes and illusions in some cases. These two elements were used as surface ornamentation or prints. A pixilated polka was also seen on some garments. The fabric story revolved around lurex, muga silk, satin and organza and most featured were dresses and saris. Often roses were appliqued in patent leather. Cutwork, pleating and “square scales” were seen on some skirts too. Another highlight in the collection was yokes. Their chosen colours for fall-winter 2008-09 were magenta, red, black, grey and liberal amounts of gold and silver.

Vivek Kumar

A handful of biggies apart, the way things are going at LFW, it seems emerging designers will turn out to be the real stars. Tuesday also saw some tremendous talent take the ramp — Asmita Marwa, Rimzim Dadu and city boy Vivek Kumar all impressed.

Hyderabad-based Asmita has designed for top South Indian stars. So seated in her audience were actors Siddharth (Karan in Rang De Basanti) and Nagarjuna. Her collection titled Gaia — An Awakening, saw kalamkari prints take the form of modern silhouettes. Kurtas, trapeze dresses and pinafores paired with crisp white shirts formed the mainstay of her line. She also showed two stunning saris and a lehnga.

My Village by Rimzim Dadu saw lots of dresses with smart surface detailing and weaving. There were scallops, pleating, applique and crushing. Shell, tulip and double-breasted dresses were the highlights of her collection. The volume was controlled and her colour palette moved from a military palette to fiery reds.

Vivek’s collection, titled The Lost King, “expressed the psychology of a queen turning into a lady warrior because of a lost king.” His look as a result was “warrior-like, dull and organic”. Vivek’s line showed power combined with a slight feminine feel in terms of sprays of sequins and deconstructed drapes. His colours were also mostly camouflage and choice of fabrics was largely jersey and knits. Spiked cuffs, chains, strings and long socks completed the gladiator-like look of his collection. His show saw some new silhouettes and interesting styling.