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Feminine
silhouettes and fitting cuts
The Andre Estefan woman for this season is a powerful silhouette who is not ashamed of her body. "While her sense of femininity is strong it's not too girly," says designer Andre Estefan. One of the trendiest young designers in town, Estefan will unveil his collection for the coming year at Haute Couture 2004, a catwalk show on December 7. " My designs are for the age group of 16-35," he says. Around 30-40 percent of his collection consists of creations thatcan be worn by anyone. "As for the rest of my designs I feel you have to be a bit more daring,” he says. "Sri Lanka is essentially a saree market. We do wear western 'garb' but when it comes down to what to wear for a function, we run back to the saree,” he says. Woven around the gothic element, he sees his theme as 'powerful and glamorous'. Glamour being the key word for his collection he promises his styles will be contemporary to suit the modern woman as well. Ninety percent of his ladies’ wear for this season is going to be one of a kind. There are no duplicates of his designs. "My collection is going to be created for a person," says Estefan. Rich fabrics such as silk, a lot of feathers, will be seen "and once again there is a lot of glamour involved". "We have a lot of interesting shoes," he adds, commenting on the accessories. As for the men's collection we can watch out for brush silk suits with a light sheen. Very fitting trousers and sharp defined shirts are Andre's predictions. "The cut and the cuff is given prominence, more emphasis being placed in the cuffs. Vasantha of Kess Salon will handle the hair and Yohan of Cutting Station the make up. Haute Couture 2004; a ramp show with a lot of glamour will be held on December 7 at Atrium Lobby, Colombo Plaza. Exotic colours
for the season "Each part of India is different from the other in terms of weave, fabric and embroidery," MIX UP's owner Thilani explains. She enjoys those expeditions to Mumbai, Chennai, Calcutta and Delhi where she visits retailers and sometimes the people who actually make the sarees. It never ceases to amaze her to see the second generation seated beside their fathers, doing their part in working out intricate embroidered designs, set on a frame. "It is all so interesting, you need to see it to understand,” she says. The techniques used in embroidery and weave are different from those in Sri Lanka she says and are apparently passed on from generation to generation. Some of the work Thilani commissions takes two months to complete. Work that has always fascinated her include: Parsi work - a flat kind of embroidery done in vibrant colours; Valkalam Silks that never go out of fashion in which silk thread is woven onto the saree itself in elaborate patterns and sarees with bold head pieces which are a combination of traditional and contemporary styles . The MIX UP collection is actually hand picked Thilani says, as she carefully chooses items that would appeal to the Sri Lankan taste. "The Indian taste is very different to ours - they need gold, glitter and colour, in comparison to our taste which is more subtle." Consequently, there are times when she has picked out just 2-3 sarees from a hundred set before her. This year's sale would feature mirror work currently in vogue in India and georgette, chiffons and crepes - the kind that drape very well. In addition, Thilani has a new range of shalwars, silk handbags with kutch work and trendy dupattas. |
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MIX
UP is spruced up for its Christmas sale with a wide range of exotic
Indian sarees, shalwars, kurthas and even jewellery, hand picked
from different parts of India.
