Gaurav Gupta Lightfall PCJ Delhi Couture Week 2013

Saturday, October 05, 2013

Gaurav Gupta presented his couture collection "Lightfall" on the last day of PCJ Delhi Couture Week 2013 ..... by that time we had just seen two back to back couture weeks ... the Bridal Fashion Week preceding DCW by a week .... 12 shows in that one, and 8 shows before GG's in DCW!! .... Even with all the eye fatigue of watching one couture collection after the other ........ The moment we saw the runway set at the Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi, with the Medusa heads dripping lights on to the runway and the beautiful hourglass with the stunningly worded press kit, we knew we were in for something spectacularly different than the other Indian couture offerings so far !!

"Once upon a checkered dream

Of songs in lace and rivulets of gold

Silence became the song the theme

By light the tale of its falling was told

somewhere she said an eye would blink

And somewhere a cave will stall

Night would be the torch to everything

On the day light falls "

- Press Kit, Gaurav Gupta

"Lightfall" was indeed songs of lace and rivulets of gold ..... a collection so stunning and mesmerising, as befitted the poetic press release crafted by Gaurav's stellar right hand Navkirat Sodhi, who is a published poet in her own right ..... and the superbly crafted runway music by Madhav Shorey of the band "Kohra" .... it started with the tinkling of cathedral bells as we were seated and the runway lit up into flaming medusa hair followed by an Luminiscent apparition in a play of sheer and gold .... a beautiful instrumental piece by David August "Forgive Me if i Bleed" played as points of light intersected and radiated from a stunning black gown .... and segued into the electronic tanpura and the magical vocal droning of Sheila Chandra as super model Jesse Randhawa stunned in an orange sharp shouldered brocade jacket over layers of tulle ... to actress Rekha's song as courtesan Vasantsena voiced by Lata Mangeshkar came on the speakers as Gaurav's famed sculptural drapes floated down the runway in 3Desque yellow flowers blooming on neon sari gowns .... to rain and thunderstorms on the speakers that culminated with the golden gorgeousness of show stopper Kalki Koechlin as the astral princess of "Lightfall" !!
Many were bemused by Gaurav's collection .... it was avant garde, it was scintillating, it was edgy, contemporary, it was Art !! ..... futuristic in design and conception, for an Indian woman fed on the usual trite "bridal wear" that passes off as "couture" .... Indeed the Fashion Design Council of India who hosts the Delhi Couture Week even ran a twitter campaign asking fashionistas about what is considered couture in India .... the question being ... Is traditional bridal couture the denominator for "couture" in India ? ..... Inarguably, the Bridal market in India is the biggest and most voracious buyer in the luxury apparel segment .... every Couturier and Fashion Designer worth his salt would naturally target the money guzzling machinery surrounding the "Great Indian Wedding" .... but oh to see a presentation like "Lightfall", one must have the appreciation for a story, with all the senses of sound and sight aflame ! .... A most beautiful representation of what a woman can be ! .... and i was reminded of the James Cameron movie "Avatar" and its "Tree of Souls" and the luminescent neurons connecting the universe of Pandora where every single organism is connected so radiantly into one supreme consciousness !! .... From the extreme vintage to the future light years from now ..... a woman draped with the luminescent brilliance of Gaurav Gupta's soul of imagination !!! .... Its our pleasure to record all that we felt through our camera ..... So here is Lightfall through our eyes ..... our biggest photo presentation till date !!

Gaurav Gupta Lightfall Delhi Couture Week 2013

LIGHTFALL : The Story

Gaurav Gupta Lightfall Delhi Couture Week 2013

Light travels. Life unravels. Through each photon a new possibility emerges. These are characters from Lightfall - a tale of the journey of light. It is when light falls on a thought that it becomes an idea, the idea, action and when action is repeated in sincerity, it becomes mythology.

If mythology itself is looked at a thousand years from now, this is perhaps how the imagined heroines of those tales would appear. Here the extinct ancient sews itself to the ultra future with light.

This collection is a metaphorical expression of the way nerves and veins seep in and connect to the root in any living organism. There is hardly any phenomenon more couture and more evolved than the way light permeates into life and flows till the very tips of a being.

Luminescence is what lies behind every garment of this collection - it is the light behind, over and within every process of creation that fascinates Gaurav for this story.

The collection comprises newer silhouettes in gowns and derivatives of the saree and lehnga. It tells the story of the evolving silhouette of the saree. There is a glass like feeling to this emotion which resonates with history and the far future. Colours remain iridescent in the families of moon grey, ecru, dust gold, Egyptian teal and pop neon. Fabric being used is soft mesh, satin, georgette and lace.

There is a thorough juxtaposition of ancient Indian embroidery techniques and material like saadi, pitta, zari, nakshee and multi-dimensional surface ornamentation with organza and lace flowers with drapes, fabric and silhouettes that are almost prophesied for the coming eons.

Silhouettes that dominates this collection are Sand Timer, Fluid Pyramid, Twisted Ripple, Expanding Root, Liquid Creeper.

In essence, this collection is about mystical, mythological characters being looked at from a window of a thousand years from now. It dwells in a space where there is a sense of abandon toward time itself and the only thread connecting the extreme vintage to the ultra future, is light. - From the Press Note

Gaurav Gupta Lightfall Delhi Couture Week 2013

The Entire Collection :

Gaurav Gupta Lightfall Delhi Couture Week 2013

Close Ups and Details :

The collection was complimented by fabulous jewellery pieces from Atelier Mon by Monica Sharma, the head pieces and ear cuffs are simply to die for !! .... You can also check out their facebook page here : Atelier Mon Designs

Gaurav Gupta Lightfall Delhi Couture Week 2013

Gaurav Gupta, Aditi Rao Hydari, Kalki Koechlin, Delhi Couture Week 2013

Navkirat Sodhi, Gaurav Gupta, Delhi Couture Week 2013

Kalki Koechlin, Delhi Couture Week 2013

Gaurav Gupta, Aditi Rao Hydari, Kalki Koechlin, Delhi Couture Week 2013

Hope you enjoyed our pictorial presentation of the incredible magic of Gaurav Gupta .... btw did you notice the very fashionable GG's super cool hairdo ? :D .... Until next time :)

DSB

Labels: 2013, atelier mon, Bridal Couture, delhi couture week, fashion, fdci, gaurav gupta, runway collection, runway music