Fashion and all that flutter

KOCHI: Tall and elegant beauties draped in six yard long white saris indeed prompted the audience to slip into an ‘Escapism’ of sorts.The second day of Kingfisher Ultra Kochi International Fashion Week was a runaway hit with the models donning Kerala’s own veteran designer Hari Anand’s collection at Casino Hotel on Sunday.Hari Anand redefined all the norms of a traditional kasavu sari.The pure Kasavu and exquisite embroidery found expression in modern fabrics like georgette, satin, chiffon and linen in his collection.‘Escapism’, the name of the collection was apt for the designer outfits.Asked why this particular name, and Hari Anand says, “One gets bored wearing the same jeans and same churidars again and again.The need to escape from these clothes and wear something new is the concept of escapism.” The saris, embellished with beads, sequences and swarovski crystals, made the collection look truly distinct.Out of the forty creative statements, the designer’s ever favourite white colour dominated the ramp floor.The second segment was western formals, which saw the combination of black and white colours.“White & black has an energy to it.It radiates an altogether different aura,” says Hari Anand.Moving away from fussy traditional designs, the bridal sarees were elegant and simple in pleasing pastels of off-white, ivory and beige, cream and red with richly embroidered borders.Mahindra Xylo show by designer Jules Idi Amin was the second show of the day.She showcased her collection ‘Avighna’ which centered around the theme of a travel.The collection presented a vision of the future that was both innovative and at ease with the past- a magpie montage.A new eclectic wave was formed through the modern mix of material choice and seemingly awkward elements, reassembled to create a futuristic tribe.The collection incorporated a new concept called ‘light art’ where LED light was used as a form of embellishment.Easy to wear silhouettes in light weight fabrics created an ethereal effect