India Fashion Week: Natty Nurses, French-Style Kurtas, & Femme Fatales

One fashion week ends, another begins—what editors know as “fashion month” is actually a misnomer reserved for Western cities (New York, London, Paris, Milan)—but include the entire world and it’s essentially fashion year. With the conclusion of fashion weeks in Tokyo and Mumbai, New Delhi’s India Fashion Week began (perhaps annoyingly titled Amazon India Fashion week, as Amazon.in is a sponsor).

Longtime designer Rajesh Pratap Singh kicked it off, opening his show with hospital beds, glow-in-the-dark IV bags, a dramatic live band (
helmed by electronic music icon Karsh Kale, collaborator Grain and singer Ankur Tewari), and loose wool frocks accessorized with matching surgical masks and nurse hats that I need to wear immediately to a business-attire-themed rave, should one present itself in the near future. Singh had bigger concerns, though; IBNLive reported the presentation was “a tribute to healthcare professionals who saved lives despite going through problems of their own.”

Payal Singhal, on the other hand, took her designs to more leisurely concerns, presenting choli tops and trousers in lace inspired by a “French, effortless chic” to New Indian dressing, as she says in this video. The garments are intricate and gorgeous but look super easy to wear—the kurta with the asymmetrical lace back! An undefatigable way to look super beautiful in 109-degree weather! It’s at this point when I cease the eyerolling about Amazon’s branding and actually appreciate the fact that just maybe I could cop this at some point? Memo to internet, I love you and hate you at the same time!

The designer Nikasha was also inspired by France, but in an entirely different way—showing flowing tulle creations in lipstick red, an homage to YSL muse Loulou de la Falaise, the ultimate femme fatale. Nikasha’s undeniable pieces are scattered throughout this video—just look for flowy crimson invoking a ’30s goddess.