World leaders, including President George W. Bush, paraded it on a power catwalk at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation Summit in Chile last month. From the runways to the high streets, down to the neighbourhood malls in the US, the UK and most other European countries, the one garb dominating fashion frontiers for the past few months has been the poncho.

This traditional outfit ? a rectangular piece of fabric with a hole cut out in the centre for the head ? is back with a bang, and this time with more style than ever before.

The trend has trickled down to our city too and some of our top designers have already started churning out interesting variations of this garment, deemed as this winter?s must-have.

The poncho plays a major role in designer Kiran Uttam Ghosh?s winter ?04 line (flaunted by model Tanushree in picture left). ?The poncho is here to stay, at least for some time, and it?s the outfit to be seen in this New Year,? declares Kiran.

?I remember growing up as a child wearing ponchos in the Seventies, when my mother and aunts would knit them out of wool, with pom poms hanging from the end of the strings. It?s a fairly traditional garment, yet very current,? she adds.

What the designer loves about the poncho is its versatility, which makes it open to experimentation. Kiran has worked on quite a few variations of the traditional poncho.

Assymetrical high-low hemlines, wraparounds (where one open side of the outfit can be draped elegantly over the shoulder like a shawl), three-layered with tassels, slitted with one arm showing, hooded and even off-shoulder are some of the popular innovations.

?It?s a very interesting drape and can be utilised in whichever way one likes. One can just wear the regular poncho with the hanging sides in the middle and that immediately gives an interesting V-shape both at the front and back,? says Kiran.

Designer Rupam Banerjee has given an ethnic twist to the poncho with batik prints, hand-paint and embroidery. These are mostly in earth tones as base, with bright splashes of fuschia and pink.

While these have a fairly semi-formal look, the young designer also has a line of party ponchos in solid colours or embellishments like sequins, gotah, mirrorwork, and brass borders. The prints, where she has used them, range from the floral to the abstract. The palette picks on fuschia, turquoise, black, white and red.

There is experimentation in the cut too. The kaftan ponchos are slightly longer than the regular ones and have been perfectly paired with churidars, while there?s another variety in which one side of the outfit has been kept open to reveal a bustier inside. Rupam has also given some definition to the waist and the sleeves to lend a more feminine feel to this otherwise shapeless silhouette.

?I?ve been doing ponchos for quite some time now and my stuff has been majorly in demand with young girls. I think it?s going to be quite a big hit during the New Year,? feels Rupam.

The fabric focus is mainly on georgettes and chiffons for their free-falling advantage.

?Till now I?ve been doing mostly georgettes and chiffons, with some cottons and crochets too. For the winter, I have a special line of Pashmina ponchos. The ones I have done with Indian fabrics and brocade borders are just flying off the racks in the UK and the Middle East,? reveals Kiran.

Georgette seems to the most popular choice of texture when it comes to ponchos.

?The fall of a poncho is very important and it should be absolutely free flowing. So, it comes out best in georgettes, chiffons and crepes. But you can?t make silk ponchos as the fabric tends to be rather stiff and doesn?t give the outfit a good fall,? feels designer Megha Dalmiya, who has been quietly feeding the poncho fetish from her Alipore boutique, M&S.

Megha has a line of party ponchos with embellishments like coins, sea-shell buttons, beads, stones and patchwork. The beaten track is abandoned in the form as well ? tie-on ponchos that can be strapped around the waist for feminine effect, off-shoulder ones are more. Megha?s casual line comprises printed ones with little embroidery.

?The poncho is an amazing garment and it suits practically everybody. You don?t have to bother about the fit and the cut. It covers up the mid-section figure flaws, too. It is doing really well with my clients, especially a line where I have teamed them up with brocade pants,? says Megha.

The best thing about the poncho, in fact, is that you can pair it with almost anything ? skirts, trousers, jeans, capris and even churidars.

Whatever you wear it with, the poncho is the thing to be seen in if you are out to make an impressionable style statement this New Year.