Yana Gupta sports the Summer Crush look at Shoppers’ Stop on Saturday. Picture by Pabitra Das.

Fifty-seven designers, 35 shows and only 10 days to go. It is heating up, and not just because of the summer sun. The world of couture is working up quite a sweat (or should we say glow) with Lakme India Fashion Week 2004 just around the corner.

It promises to be a sizzling fifth year, and some of the action has made it to Calcutta as well. Model Yana Gupta was in town on Saturday, with the crew from Lakme, to give an insider’s glimpse of the look for the ramp this time round.

A live makeover session at Shoppers’ Stop unveiled Summer Crush, one of the three looks to be used in the grand finale of Fashion Week. Yana looked her summery best in a flaming orange jacquard top and white skirt with matching boots.

Make-up artist Aniruddha Chakladar tried to recreate the Crush with “natural skin tone base and shades of pink, blue, green and red, peppered with a lot of shine and shimmer”.

Pop and Burst are the other ‘looks’ inspired by Anshu Arora Sen and Anamika Khanna’s creations, to be unveiled at the show. Crush, in turn, took its “summery, juicy” look from bohemian designer Aki Narula’s work.

The cosmetics major is holding out hope that the image can be recreated at home, too. “Lakme is launching a Fruit Shock cosmetics range featuring these looks. The line will be available across all major retail stores within a week,” reveals Anil Chopra, business head, Lakme Lever.

This is part of a well-timed bid to take Fashion Week to the crowds. “The excitement is usually confined to the show area and the ramp, involving just about 500 people. Given its rising popularity over the years, we thought of this innovative way of bringing about greater public participation,” explains Anil.

Apart from taking Lakme models to various cities for people to witness “the actual transformation in a makeover”, the second part of the promotion involves a “Scratch ’’ Win” contest at key retail outlets and Lakme beauty salons across the country. Customers can participate in the contest on the purchase of Lakme products worth Rs 450, to win new arrivals like liquid blush, vitamin-enriched lipsticks, body butter and beauty services like a haircut or a manicure, or even a couple-invite to witness a Fashion Week show at the Capital.

Building bust

It’s one thing to put your thinking cap on but quite another to let your creative juices flow over the brim. The end result could be a messy affair, like the one on show this Friday.

Anjan Kar, a city-based fashion designer and choreographer went into creative tailspin with a fashion show featuring clothes using “new-age building materials”.

Put together to launch a home planning and lifestyle magazine, the first sequence with models wearing yellow saris (the predominant colour of the product) holding the magazine set the tone for the evening. The next sequence featured models wearing jute skirts and bodices, and was somewhat better. Next, models appeared in smart leather jackets and skirts (never mind the heat outside — the Silver Tulip at the HHI is nicely air-conditioned).

Just as one began to sit up and appreciate the “new-age” use of leather, one was distracted by the clang of metal danglers all over the body. This was the “steel round” showcasing the use of the metal in modern housing.

By the time the rather tame jungle theme rolled out, followed by the glass and stone sequences, the “never-before witnessed” show, as the emcee called it, was beyond redemption.

The use of glass was reflected in irregular cut-outs on leather outfits, while the “stone round” turned out to be another damp squib featuring saris and dhotis in colours of slate, granite and marble.

A model shows off a design at the HHI fashion show on Friday night. Picture by Rashbehari Das

First foray

“Clothes always make the first impression on anyone,” said Sharad Nawalgaria at the inauguration of his store, First Impression (FI) at Forum. And given the crowds, plenty seemed to agree with him.

The Elgin Road mall, especially the aisle leading up to the second-floor store was packed with shoppers. Ethnic wear, both stitched and unstitched, is the forte at the 900 sq ft boutique.

Sharad, going through the racks of casual and party wear on opening weekend, has only just made a foray into “Calcutta’s high-potential retail market” after 15 years of manufacturing experience.

Kurtis (most of which were sold out by Sunday) and salwar suits, shared space with dupattas and Bhagalpuri stoles. In around a month, in-house tailors will begin taking orders for unstitched suit lengths, as well. The kurtis are priced Rs 400 onwards, cotton salwar suits Rs 700 and beyond and partywear at around Rs 5,000.

While the georgette salwar suits actually fall a little short of Sharad’s promise “to bridge the gap between expensive designer wear and clothes stitched by local darzis”, the Maheshwari cottons, south cottons, matka silk, jute silk and linen outfits score in terms of fabric and embroidery.

The suit lengths, flying off the shelves fast, are also worth a look. From pin-tucked cottons to the gold-printed Mangalgiri and Kota lengths ideal for combating Calcutta summers to the more expensive printed and kantha-embroidered suit pieces in pure crepe and raw silk, there is a wide range to choose from.

To celebrate the launch, FI organised a fashion show at Forum with city models sashaying up and down the aisle and the escalators. For all those who decide to shop at FI before April 30, there is a flat 10 per cent discount to cash in on.

Fine creations

La Finery, a month-old boutique, recently unveiled its new collection. The New Alipore outlet, started by Sangita Agarwal and Sunita Hamirwasia, specialises in saris and lehngas from Sheetal Designer Studios, Mumbai, and UP and Rajasthan karigars. The saris avoid prints, to draw attention to the embroidery, the highlight of which is the georgette collection with zardosi work.

Abhishek Dutta, the only Calcutta-based designer to be on display at the store, had a showing for his creations last week. Kalamkari cutwork using strips of leather on sari pallus and lehngas with thread embroidery and leather bustiers to be worn with saris are the designer’s picks.