Skirting the issue: Outfits by Tarun Tahiliani (top) and Rina Dhaka (above)

So what?s hot? What?s not? For anyone who wants to know what to party in and generally be seen around town in, here?s the lowdown from Lakm? India Fashion Week (LIFW) 2005 which featured a dizzying array of ensembles, hot from the studios of top designers. We?ve seen the fabrics, cuts and colours that?ll keep you in style until fashion week rolls around again.

To make room for your new look, toss from your wardrobe anything that?s drab and says last year. For this summer, you need colours, lots of them, glitter and details. Remember the person who said you can never be too rich or too thin? They forgot to add that you can never have too many details, at least for this season. The details can be beads, sequins, layers of ruffles, rhinestones, plenty of embroidery, appliqu?s, buckles and bows. But make sure you have them. Fabrics of the moment? Well, look for cool cottons and chiffon, linen (of course) and once it?s cooler, even if it seems impossible now, velvet and the ever-versatile silk.

Hemlines, what to say about them? Your choice. There?s no clear line on them. They can be jagged or straight. Length? Your choice again. It may all come down to how good your legs look in really short numbers. Black is still in, so keep your little black number. Blouses have lower necklines, time to get that special someone to buy you ? or treat yourself to ? some jewellery. And guess what? Ruching is still around so if you still have one of those skirts or trousers, hold on to them. Also, this is the year where you may have to pay as much or more attention to your back as your front. ?Back? treatments are making all the difference in dressing. They can be low-cut or laced up. Also, dresses are featuring fitted and detailed bodices that flow into swirling seas of fabric worn knee-high or longer, even sweeping the floor.

Like we said, surface embellishments are big this season. Jewelled tees, like those Tarun Tahiliani does so well, are big hits. And for later in the year, keep a lookout for coats, jackets and trench coats that the fashion gurus have ordained will be big this winter. In all, the look is soft and flowing. Mix-and-match is what the designers have ordered. And don?t forget to accessorise: the bags are bright and funky, the heels are spiked. OK so you want to wear flat slip-ons ? just make sure they?re embellished with stones and sequins.

Menswear has also got adventurous. Grunge is meeting ultra chic in Abhishek Gupta?s line. And you can get a modern-cowboy-cum-rockstar look courtesy Arjun Khanna. As narrow silhouettes are in for women, menswear too is also veering towards slim fits. Men should seek out boutiques selling silk shirts, crepe trousers, knit jackets, single-breasted suede jackets, brushed suede trousers and much detailing. The colour palette goes from midnight-blue, chocolate-brown, charcoal-grey and canary-yellow to chalk-white and yes, even pink. The fabrics of the moment are linen, cotton, malmal and jersey.

Take a closer look at what the designers have for you. And what was hot on the Indian catwalk is also making waves in international fashion circles.

Skirts: here to stay

• Remember these words: ?fuller? and ?better-looking?. It?s probably the most important and enduring element of 2005. Knee length, really short or falling gracefully around the ankles ? the full skirt has made an impact on the runway ? and how! It has many incarnations and almost every designer has taken a shot at it, whether it?s pleated, crushed or tiered. ?Volume is key,? says designer Rakesh Thakore. In fact, he says, ?skirts are fuller than they have ever been before.?

Anamika Khanna and Narendra Kumar?s label Chai is going for the very international balloon skirt (that?s puffed at the hem), Wendell Rodricks likes the loose and flowing full-length skirt and Lakm? Fashion House winner, Shahzad Kalim who is soon to head for the House of Versace in Milan, is keeping skirts very ruffled and above the knee.

The multi-layered gypsy skirt, with pleats, embellishments and embroideries has also become an integral part of lines from Tarun Tahiliani, Ritu Kumar, Rina Dhaka, Kavita Bhartia, Ranna Gill. Bohemian chic ? call it Boho chic ? at its best. Meanwhile, Manish Arora is going heavy on knee-length skirts worn with the flounce of can-can while Rina Dhaka too likes to keep them this length.

Love those layers: Outfits by Kiran Uttam Ghosh (top) and Sabyasachi (above)

LAYERING: SELF STYLED

wIt?s the signature look of Sabyasachi Mukherjee and can be sported by women and even men. In fact, layering is usually an important trend, but it?s particularly strong right now with designers including Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla, Kiran Uttam Ghosh, J J Valaya and, of course Sabyasachi, all going for it. ?I?m for women who layer their clothing as this shows she has taken time and care to co-ordinate her look,? says Sabyasachi.

Why layer your clothes? Well, layering allows you to play around and have fun with your wardrobe. In fact, designers do their own form of layering ? juggling around with fabrics, colours, patterns and ensembles for effect. This year, pants are being teamed with clingy tank tops and loose shirts over top, full-length jackets are being worn with tees and paired with trousers and full skirts. Even slim-line churidar- kurtas are being mixed with long or knee-length embroidered jackets. In short, layering lets you make your own designer ?look?, mixing and matching to create a myriad of styles and ensembles. It lets you be you.

Happening hemlines: Outfits by Anamika Khanna (top) and Suneet Varma (above)

ASYMMETRICAL HEMLINES: THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT

• Fans like asymmetrical hemlines because they give movement to a skirt, accentuate femininity and add dollops of attitude. And as LIFW showed, they?re everywhere, both on skirts and peekaboo dresses. Sometimes hemlines slant so much that the length on one side differs from the other by several inches or more. Anamika Khanna, Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna, Ranna Gill, Varun Bahl, Suneet Varma, Tarun Tahiliani were all designers at LIFW smitten with the look. ?An asymmetrical hemline makes the fabric swing and flow with an irregular movement. It looks elegant,? says Anamika.

Other asymmetrical garments finding favour are tunics that fall to mid-thigh, blouses and tees (some long-sleeved, some sleeveless). Puneet Nanda of Satya Paul has created the short-in-the-front, long-at-the-back look.

White-hot: Sari by Rohit Bal (top) and (above) an outfit by Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla

WHITE: GET FRESH

• Well, what can we say about white? It?s safe, in fact it?s pretty darned hard not to look good in it. And there?s a time when you yearn for that basic Zen look. For those who like a lot of colour, white is great to accentuate ? or break ? other more vibrant colours. But if you are ace designers Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla or Rohit Bal, they have done entire collections based on the colour. ?It?s very sexy and always fresh,? says Bal.

In fact, according to Abu and Sandeep, holding out against the vibrant colour tide, ?white is the colour to watch?. Their collection was a rhapsody in white ? flowing drapes and silhouettes, ribbons and roses marked the lines. Other designers who can?t resist the stark white look include Anjana Bhargav who bedecked her all-white collection with much lace, crochet detailings and sequins while Rajesh Pratap Singh, Wendell Rodricks, Ritu Kumar and Puneet Nanda of Satya Paul opened their collections with white lines. Designer siblings Ashish and Smita Soni are going two-tone this time with a black and white line.

White also walked the runway in outfits from crisp trousers to soft, flowing skirts. It came in casually as kickboxing pants from Ashish Soni to billowing skirts from Bal (these were heavy on the gold and silver touches). Pretty white dresses were everywhere. And there were figure-flattering trousers with a cool and sophisticated edge.

Colour me wild: Creations by Manish Arora (above) and Ritu Kumar (top)

COLOUR: MAKING A SPLASH

• If white ? and certainly black ? are traditional themes, at the other end of the spectrum, colour rules at an all-time high. You name it and it?s out there ? peacock-blue, cocoa-brown, vibrant greens, strawberry-pink, purple, hot-pink, lemon-yellow, sunset-oranges. Also think citrus; alive, vibrant colours of oranges, limes and lemons are everywhere. Corals, various shades of pink, blues, aqua and deep gold dominate the look. ?Brights are here to stay,? promises Malini Ramani.

What?s more, this rainbow of colours is touched up with strong metallic strokes of gold and silver which are proving to be hot. They glint on everything from accessories to garments.

Ritu Kumar closed her show with a line of multi-tiered, multi-hued gypsy shirts. Also high on colour are Manish Arora, Ritu Kumar, Malini Ramani, Shahzad Kalim, Kavita Bhartia... need we name more? Lakm? took this opportunity to launch its peppermint collection in keeping with the hues of the moment.

Getting a leg-up: A model in an outfit by Shahzad Kalim

EMBELLISHED LEGWEAR

• Plain Jane legwear is definitely a no-no in these times. Shahzad Kalim, the new kid who rocked at LIFW, unveiled curve-defining pants with way out placements of straps, buckles and pleats. Malini Ramani?s resortwear came with trousers that were meant to make heads turn ? and they did. They were printed, patchworked with gold and sometimes heavily embroidered.

Other designers including J J Valaya enhanced legwear with heavy embroidery, zippers, piping and crystals. So, move over boring blue jeans, faded, shaded, torn or otherwise. Now when you think trousers, culottes, capris or jeans, think of them only as drenched in crystals, rhinestones, patchwork or touched with embroidery. Definitely must-haves for the season.

Photographs by Rupinder Sharma