Beautiful clothes aside, designer Aneeth Arora’s show was remarkable for its models — they seemed to be having fun on the runway. It almost seemed like Arora’s creations let them be their usual selves.
Fashionable comfort is perhaps what makes Arora’s designs stand out. Hers are the kind of clothes that don’t require you to tuck your tummy in, or sit in a certain posture and not slouch or worry about clothes getting dirty — all this while being fashionable. Alas! The kind of clothes you don’t find easily on the runway.
The designer, who defines her style as effortlessly comfortable and fashionable, is very clear about defining fashion as wearing “something that you are comfortable in”.
On the fourth day of the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, Arora’s collection was a breath of fresh air. It was an immediate hit and the audience was enchanted by the music, the magician’s hats, bow ties, cherry noses, balloons and the juggling bottles the models carried.
The collection featured checkered loose dresses in pashmina, loose trousers, wool jackets, striped and checkered cotton shorts, pinafores, pleated dresses, wool jumpsuits and hand knitted sweaters.
The clothes were multi-layered and worn with colourful knee socks, striped and dotted bow ties, oversized bags and boots. She evoked the image of a carefree young girl who stamped her feet while walking, someone we have all seen somewhere.
Arora, known for her use of organic fabric, used a wide colour palette. There were combinations of green, black, red, orange, maroon, mustard and white in cashmere, wool, cotton, silk and pashmina.
“The mood that I created was the circus but my inspiration has always been Indian textiles and the people I see on the street,” Arora told reporters.
“I have worked with a lot of wool and pashmina. The theme was kaleidoscope so there were a lot of central Asian Ikats and Maharashtrian textiles and textiles from all over India,” she said.
The designer’s label is called Pero (‘to wear’ in Marwari). Her clothes are retailed in India and internationally but Arora still doesn’t have a store of her own.
“I just go by my instincts and I do what I want to do,” she says.