New Delhi, Oct 20 (IANS) Clown pants, voluminous jackets and ruffled skirts in funky hues of bright pink, blue and green - all crafted by designer Manish Arora - featured at the truly grand finale of the spring/summer edition of the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) here late Sunday night, a show that was an eclectic mix of style and showbiz.
The entire main show area (MSA) was draped in red and a live band - Bolywood Brass from Britain - belted out Hindi film tunes from one of the two elevated platforms that had been erected on either side of the T-point of the runway from where the models entered the runway.
A melange of animal statues was arrayed on the other platform.
So magnificent was the collection and so infectious the music that a clutch of international buyers stood up and enthusiastically applauded - and then danced with gay abandon on the ramp - as the show ended.
Rarely, if ever, has such a grand finale been witnessed at the fashion week.
'He is the only one in the world who is unique. The colours he chooses are very bright. He is the best,' gushed Japanese buyer Tomoko, who is a self-confessed die-hard Arora fan.
'Fashion means fun and fashion means to be different. This is what Manish presented today,' said Vittorio Radice, a buyer from upmarket Italian fashion outlet laRinascente.
'His collection is not just meant for domestic buyers. This will be a big hit internationally,' Radice added.
'It was 60,000 Watts of electricity,' commented Pradeep Hirani of swish Mumbai fashion outlet Kimaaya.
'The show was so imaginative the music was excellent. It was so full of composition. It was so lively that was the full experience of a circus,' said French ambassador Jerome Bonnafont.
The comment couldn't have been more apt - because the collection was titled 'Circus'.
As for Arora, he was self-effacing.
'I just wanted a good show and a good finale. I wanted to do it my way,' the designer said.
Arora's line also had short dresses, mini skirts, trousers and dresses as well as pieces largely inspired from circus costumes including bra tops, multiple bows and jump suits.
Elaborating on his collection, Arora said: 'I feel that a circus is a part of everybody's life. The way we live our life these days is like a circus - entertaining and hilarious.'
The collection explored innovative techniques of embroidery like hand-sewn applique, digitally printed sequin and traditional Indian gota embroidery that gelled well with his signature style.
Since Arora's show was the grand finale, his collection will also be retailed from Wills Lifestyle stores across the country.
The five-day WIFW extravaganza, which kick-started here Oct 15, was in its 12th edition. It had as many as 10 commercial partners, 79 designers, 53 models and 36 ramp shows and saw an influx of as many as 160 buyers, including 70 from international shores.
Some of the prominent international buyers included London's Liberty Fashion, Italy's laRinascente, Kuwait's Villa Moda, Japan's Beams and the US Anthropologie.
Even domestic buyers were there in encouraging numbers and included regular buyers like Tina Tahiliani's Ensemble, Alka Nishar's Aza, Pradeep Hirani's Aza and Nisab Kapoor's Samsara, among others.
According to Sunil Sethi, the president of WIFW organizer Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), the event received an overwhelming response.
'This time, we witnessed maximum number of buyers and the response was overwhelming. I am not saying this because I am the president of the FDCI, but this is what I have been hearing from all designers. Be it a debutant or an established designer, everyone is happy,' Sethi told IANS.
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