A model in a flouncy, crumpled silk taffeta and ostrich leather gown by ace couturiers Lecoanet and Hemant Sagar

With the R-word looming ominously large, fashion gurus have resorted to cutting corners. Shuttling between the two tony venues hosting the capital’s prime fashion weeks, fashionistas gawked at the handiwork of some 121 fashion designers — and Fashion with a difference.

The economic downturn had the scissor-wielders make a beeline for basic (and indigenous) fabrics even as their colour palettes burst with vibrant colours to beat the blues. Psst: the buzz was that they even scaled down prices by several notches. The watchword: value-for-money.

As Hotel Intercontinental Eros played host to Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WLIFW) and the upper crust Emporio Mall turned venue for Delhi Fashion Week (DFW), the designers unveiled what fashion buffs can expect from them come Fall- Winter 2009.

The fashion galas had it all. At WLIFW, the Slumdog Millionaire kids — the perky Azharuddin Mohammed and Rubina Ali who played Jamaal and Latika respectively — pirouetted on the ramp in swirling gypsy outfits by Ashima and Leena Singh. Screen siren Deepika Padukone created a buzz — back-stage and on-stage — at the Ranna Gill and Rina Dhaka show as she sizzled in creations by both. And at JJ Valaya’s grand finale, Kabir Bedi and Dimple Kapadia ably played the royal couple.

DFW had its share of ramp glory too with designers Lecoanet & Hemant walking a folk cross-dresser from Rajasthan as a mark of protest against acts of violence on pub-going women in Mangalore.

As fashion gets more wearable (and affordable), here’s taking a look at the top designers who rocked the runways this season.

Manish Arora

Actors Kabir Bedi and Dimple Kapadia played a royal couple at JJ Valaya’s opulent show

Going against the ruling trend, the economic slowdown didn’t touch Manish Arora’s Jungle collection. The man redefined bling yet again with his ensembles and accessories (that’s clutch bags, headgear and more) that were liberally studded with Swarovski crystals. His dramatic costumes had vividly coloured lions, birds of paradise, gorillas and peacocks emblazoned on them, richly detailed with intricate appliqué work and hand-embroidery and three-dimensional motifs. His showstopper was a dress that came to life with a multitude of 3D moving petals.

“I wanted to showcase a modern and futuristic jungle,” says Arora.

Talking trends: The coming winter will see knee-length jackets with edgy and geometric silhouettes, form-fitting dresses, high-waist belted trousers, waistcoats and sharp pencil skirts. Watch for vivid colours on silk satin, silk velvet, felt and leather.

Buyer buzz: Arora’s ever faithful Japanese buyer, Tomoko Inuzuka, was there. Also spotted: Hiba Al-Ateeqi, Kuwaiti buyer representing the designer store, Darusha.

Tarun Tahiliani

A blue velvet tailcoat paired with hakoba harem pants caught the eye at Tarun Tahiliani’s show; (below) Manish Arora brought his Jungle theme alive with peacock motifs in this pink dress

The Grand Daddy of fashion walked toned-down luxury on his runway. While he stuck to his forte of sculpted draping — that’s draped satin-collared blouses, shawls, kurtas and jersey skirts — he scaled down on the bling factor. The motifs in the collection harked to the Art Deco and Art Nouveau eras. “People will buy what is beautiful and relevant,” said Tahiliani. His showstopper, Deepika Padukone, glided down the ramp in a deep gold outfit with a fluted bustier peplum (that’s ruffles attached at the waistline) bodice over a tiered skirt.

Talking trends: His look for winter will encompass textured jerseys, cowls, pin-tucks, velvet wraps/stoles fringed with chainette work (or bead tassels).

Buyer buzz: Anthropologie (from the US), Indiva (from Canada), Harvey Nichols of the UK and Tara of Italy were rooting for him. So too was the Indian label, Samsaara.

Rajesh Pratap Singh

High-waisted slim skirts and trousers teamed with sheer tops and jackets featured in this quintessentially Pratap collection. “I kept to my usual clean lines but played with a new textile — a variation of voile,” said Singh. A silk and cotton blend, Pratap calls this fabric blast cotton. He also combined wool blends and metal yarn to give a silver sheen to his lines. His showstoppers: tail-jackets in black.

Talking trends: Lots of wool, cashmere, hand-woven and spun silks; silver Lurex will lend a metallic lustre to the cold months. Look out for soft-pleated yokes and peplums and blacks, greys, blues and purples.

Buyer buzz: Zvezda Colman from Los Angeles, Allessandra from Italy as well as Barneys and Anthropologie expressed interest.

The young guns: Nitin Bal Chauhan, Samant Chauhan, Prashant Verma and Nida Mahmood

Samant Chauhan’s line stood out for its use of fabrics like Bhagalpur silk; (above) Nida Mahmood displayed an out-of-the-box creation using recyclable tarpaulin

The young brigade of designers too took their cues from the times and settled on cost-cutting ideas.

WLIFW’s young designer Nida Mahmood titled her collection High on Chai and models sashayed down the ramp sporting whacky stickers that said: ‘Recession-proof chai’ and ‘My chaiwala knows my taste’. The line was an ode to street fashion.

Talking trends: This winter Nida Mahmood will root for very basic fabrics like faux patent leather and often recyclable materials like tarpaulin.

The economic slowdown hit home with designer Samant Chauhan as well and he cheered for indigenous fabrics like Bhagalpur silk. “In these times, only those collections will be picked up that don’t have high mark-ups and are value-for-money,” he said. The eye-candy at his show was a model covered head to toe with Bhagalpur silk cocoons.

Talking trends: Samant Chauhan will stand out in the crowd with his slim tunics with their overtly Western finishes like ruches, plisse (a puckered finish) and pin-tucks.

Despondency was the inspiration for Nitin Bal Chauhan’s collection too. Titled Conditions Apply, the line had urban malaise like divorce and teen suicide as its theme which was depicted through a short video capsule at the beginning of the show.

Talking trends: Exaggeratedly slim pencil trousers and salwar-inspired voluminous pants clinched at the waist will dominate his winter collection.

Prashant Verma’s collection created a statement of sorts with aggression as its theme.

Talking trends: Prashant Verma’s creations will be ruled by rugby dresses with patent leather patchwork, tops with muscles and nerves embroidered on them, overtly military silhouettes like khaki army shirts and linen military jackets.

Buyer buzz: Nida Mahmood has been flooded with offers both from domestic and international buyers. She has two new buyers from the Middle East and eight new Indian buyers while last season’s buyers too have decided to stay loyal.

Samant Chauhan too did great business and booked orders from Ogaan (New Delhi), Personna, Elahe, Ekama (Hyderabad), Collage (Chennai), Ffolio (Bangalore) and Amara (Mumbai). Among the international buyers, he scored a hit with Singapore-based Mumbai Se, Barneys in New York, Villa Maks in the Middle East and Viva in Moscow.

Rohit Bal

Model Noyonika Chatterjee slipped into a dress by Rajesh Pratap Singh that was cut in a silk and cotton blend fabric developed by the designer

Rohit Bal did a double whammy at DFW. A teaser show at the venue was followed up with an off-site grand finale (a first for an Indian fashion week). Cibo — Bal’s spanking new Italian restaurant — reconfigured itself to accommodate the catwalk. The Bal drama was again at an all-time high in his intricate, over-the-top collection christened Raat.

Talking trends: High on Origami and lotus motifs, cutwork and rosettes, this winter expect fabrics like Dupion silk, jacquards, jersey and fine knits in hues like indigo blue, deep purple and grey.

Buyer buzz: Italian buyers for Tositti Volterra, Jashanmal from the Middle East, Moda In, Zinia and Designer’s Lounge from Kuwait and Dubai were all for Bal.

Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna

A cheerful green dress by Raghavendra Rathore had a distinctly Indian stamp and was teamed with a black velvet stole with gold embroidery

Models looked lost on Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna’s zigzagging ramp. “The show reflected urban women who are well-travelled but lost in their thoughts,” says Khanna. Titled Embossed, the highlight was silhouettes created with strips of tulle and sequinned fabrics.

Talking trends: It will be a winter of pleated pencil/wide-legged pants. Wool and felt, surface texturing, embroidery, digital prints and sequin work will be in. Colours will include crushed prunes, dusk rose, pale blues, wood brown, old rose combined with shades of grey.

Buyer buzz: International labels like Zvezda Colman from Los Angeles, Nashil from Bahrain, Saraf Fashion from Riyadh and Harmony from Netherlands have showed interest. So too Sunmotoyama from Japan, Anthropologie from the US, Designer’s Best from Bordeaux, France, Almira Button from Turkey (Ankara) and Mysa from Riyadh.

Raghavendra Rathore

Highly structured and voluminous gowns with origami, cutwork and rosettes dominated Rohit Bal’s grand finale collection; (above) Laser and digital printing on Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna’s creations were show stealers

Nothing like bright colours to stave off the effects of the current economic slowdown. So Rathore’s collection moved from blacks and browns to reds, greens and blues. Called Left, most garments were highlighted — on the left sides — with cuts and embroidery while the right sides were kept plain. “There is a sudden surge in couture clothing and designers must value-add,” says Rathore.

Talking trends: An Indian stamp will come on Western silhouettes and you can expect gowns and dresses this winter. Watch out for velvet stoles embellished with gold embroidery with Indian motifs. The fabrics will include khadi, rich silks and velvets while leather belts, leather pants and embroidered velvet sherwanis will add spunk to menswear.

Buyer buzz: Evoluzione, Elahe, Kimaya and Ogaan came calling.

Amrish Kumar

A model in a red, cotton-crepe Savio Jon dress; (above) Using paper clips, snap buttons and hooks as embellishments, Varun Sardana’s collection redefined surface ornamentation

Designer mom Ritu Kumar decided to let son Amrish — also creative director for the Ritu Kumar brand — do all the designing this time around. The economic gloom was countered with rich colour tones. “I wanted to inject cheer on the ramp with happy colours and bold motifs,” he says. Exotic influences like Uzbeki flower appliqués and Islamic tile art blazed on silhouettes along with the traditional staples of zardozi, brocade and Mothra silk (silk used for turbans by the royalty in Rajasthan).

Talking trends: Shades like canary yellow, purple and orange will come calling in Kumar’s winter offering. Texturisation will be hot in fabric blends like tussar wool, cotton silk and more.

Buyer buzz: Amrish Kumar is not telling — till his orders get confirmed. Though he says that business was developing with both domestic and international buyers.

Savio Jon

The Goa-based designer had models sashaying down the ramp in feminine free-flowing, well-cut outfits — sans ornamentation. This was Jon’s last show in India for now as he is gearing up for the Spring/Summer 2010 Paris Fashion Week.

Jon is all for natural fabrics like cotton, satin, linen, silk, jersey silk and crepe silk. His collection called Cruise ’09 came in mute tones like beige, grey, black and brown punctuated by vibrant reds.

Talking trends: Watch out for dresses both long and short, skirts, shorter version of Patiala pants and embellished vests. Stockings will be back, adding to the chic winter look.

Amrish Kumar opted for vibrant shades as an antidote to recession blues

Buyer buzz: Soon his collection will be available in some of the high-end stores in the capital and other cities. Jon got numerous domestic and overseas inquiries.

Varun Sardana

The mood of Varun Sardana’s collection last season was feminine and light-hearted. “This time I have focused on structure and detailing,” says Sardana, who has already shown his collections twice at Paris Fashion Week. He innovatively used paper pins, snap buttons and hooks as surface embellishments on fabrics like velvet, jersey silk and georgettes.

Talking trends: Surface texturisations like patchwork, appliqué and cording will be in. So will pastel colours and floral embroidery (a big hit with buyers). Winter will be built around black with hints of cobalt blue, blood red, grey and silver.

Buyer buzz: Designer’s Best from Bordeaux, France, Saraf from Riyadh and domestic buyers like Ogaan, Ensemble and Anonym.