Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s resortwear offers an easy-to-wear line of loose-fitted trousers and skirts in block print fabrics

When you plan your next exotic holiday you can be sure that getting yourself some haute holiday gear won’t be a problem. For, resortwear has officially hit Indian designer stores. At the recently concluded Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai, as many as 64 designers created lines to serenade your next vacation.

And it was a kaleidoscope of light-weight kaftans, maxi-dresses, loose-fitted pants, beachwear, evening saris and breezy jackets. The medley included western and ethnic Indian elements, natural fabrics like cotton, khadi and silk and cutting-edge styling. Says designer Lina Tipnis: “Resortwear is the way to go given the fact that Indians are well-heeled and widely travelled.”

Here’s a look at the top resortwear trends fresh off the catwalks:

PRINT STORY

A long-front cowled top paired with loose-fitted Lycra satin pants is part of Nikasha Tawadey’s line of bridal resortwear

Prints are Big this season — whether in ethnic patterns, geometric shapes or cheery florals. Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s line of easy-to-wear trousers, tunics and skirts had loads of block prints, while vibrant animal prints featured in Malini Ramani’s line of evening gowns, kaftans and strapless jumpsuits. The use of tie-dye technique and ikat appeared in Krishna Mehta’s kimono-styled dresses, off-shoulder tops, gowns and draped tops coupled with shorts.

Designer Pria Kataria Puri showed a line of kaftans and off-shoulder dresses in digitally-printed motifs. “The prints have been inspired by the marble work found in the palaces and museums of Rajasthan,” she says.

Holi was the predominant influence in designer duo Shyamal and Bhumika’s resort look. They went with digital prints to give the impression of colour splashes on halter-maxis, capris and short dresses. Similarly, Gingham prints (the red-and-white table linen checks so typical of Mumbai’s Irani restaurants) surfaced in Asmita Marwa’s halter-neck dresses.

SEXY BEACHWEAR

Designer duo Srivan Narresh’s line of sexy bikinis and maillots are perfect for a day out on the beach

Going around were plenty of open-toed sandals, flip flops, wedges as well as effortlessly styled beachwear. Shrivan Bhatia and Narresh Kukreja had bodysuits, maillots (one-piece bathing suits), slinky sarongs, zipped sarongs with sari drapes and pareos (or wraparound skirt) in blue, grey, black, white, yellow and orange. In her Jaisalmer meets Ibiza line of loose dresses and kaftans, Anupama Dayal used sheer fabrics including chiffons, georgettes and chanderis for a perfect day out on the beach.

On the other hand, Payal Singhal had jewelled tank tops and maxi-dresses (the designer maintains that these are ideal as daywear on the beach) that can go from day to night in colours like sand and ecru. The bohemian influence was strong in Asmita Marwa’s line of halter sun-dresses, jumpsuits and loose-flowing ponchos in linen, chiffon and muslin. Says Marwa, “Whether you are at a pool or on a beach, glamorous beachwear is the order of the day.”

BRIDAL RESORTWEAR

Yes, this one’s for those who want a destination wedding in some exotic locale. Think of sexy saris or swirly off-shoulder tops teamed with loose-fitted pants and draped dresses. The saris can be teamed with halters, corsets or even bitsy cholis.

Bollywood designer Manish Malhotra settled for a breezy, light and youthful look in his line of evening saris and pleated dresses teamed with nude leggings studded at the ankles with Swarovski crystals. He says: “I wanted to break the myth that only westernwear qualifies as resortwear. Kurtas teamed with leggings work extremely well for a beach wedding.”

Nachiket Barve opted for textures in the form of 3D appliqués in his collection

Nikasha Tawadey showcased a line inspired by the little shiuli flower (and there were plenty of those embroidered in her ensembles). There were Patiala salwars buttoned at the ankles, layered tunics, lehengas with starched Benarasi dupattas and kurtas with plunging backs in woven benarasi silks. The colour palette ranged from rusty reds to cream and yellows.

Sari drapes, another hot trend, featured in 11.11 Cell Design — the brainchild of Delhi based Smita Singh Rathore and Shani Himanshu — in the form of sari-drape dresses in silk and tulle. Shrivan and Narresh are all for sarongs with sari-drapes for resort bridalwear.

DETAILS & TEXTURES

This season resortwear will be all about details — embroideries, pocket placement, zips and buttons. So, Kallol Datta and Vikram Phadnis are offering layered dresses with slouchy pockets, while Anand Kabra has used buttons liberally in his line of jumpsuits, saris, skirts and kaftans.

Texturing is another technique adopted by designer Rimzim Dadu. She says: “I wanted to focus on newer textures in lea-ther.” Therefore, she gave a textured look to leather by looping, knotting and shredding it and using the details in jackets, draped dresses and vests. Other texturing methods like pleating was used by Digvijay Singh on the sleeves of kurtas team-ed with balloon-shaped capris. Meanwhile, Lina Tipnis experimented with the Trompe L’Oiel method, which is an art of creating optical illusion using 3D work on clothes.

In terms of embroidery, Tawadey went with chikankari brightened with antique mukaish and Karchobi work (embroidery typical of Rajasthan), Nachiket Barve used 3D appliqué work, while Paromita Banerjee opted for placement embroidery (embroidery on certain specific places and not on the total ensemble) on mulmul cream stole.       

Photographs by Gajanan Dudhalkar