Indiva Spring 2008 Collection

Abdi Olow

When four designers from India made their debut this year at Toronto’s L’Oreal Fashion Week, the response from the fashion community was nothing short of positive. Toronto Mayor David Miller was at the festivities and introduced the four designers (Ranna Gill, Narendra Kumar, Rocky S. Noir, and Rohit BAL) before their collections hit the runway, noting, “Creativity and design is a place where we come together”. And he was right. The four talented designers, who are all design mavens in their own right, both in India and throughout Europe, were able to bring a refreshing outlook through their recent collections on what it means to be multicultural.

Mixing south Asian inspired prints and colours on Western silhouettes, the four designers featured in the Indiva show presented a Spring collection beset with stunning colour infused dresses, gowns, minis, patterned halter dresses and beaded tops and dresses. The Indiva show this year at L’Oreal Fashion Week was a reflection of the evolution of fashion in India and the direction fashion has moved this Fall.  More designers are going global with their collections. Ghesquière recently did this for Balenciaga with his Fall collection full of multi-ethnic prints and patterns. Indian designers such as Kumar, Gill and others featured in the show may be taking a daring chance by meshing old Indian dress traditions with Western fashion, but it seems to be working. Indian designers today are huge in London, Paris, Dubai, and Singapore.