PAST Forward

RAJESH PRATAP SINGH closed fashion week with an eponymous collection that was so now, but with fundamental connections with the past.

- ASHWINI ARUN KUMAR

Shows like this come rarely in one's lifetime," said a front row-occupying senior fashion journalist to no one in particular while exiting designer Rajesh Pratap Singh's show area. His was the last runway collection showcased in this season's FDCI x Lakmé Fashion Week calendar. Barely 10 feet ahead, another guest exclaimed, "This collection was befitting of Paris Fashion Week!" And, somewhere in the vicinity. a third one marvelled, "It's been a while since I've seen anything like this." All seemingly hyperbolic statements and, yet, wonder was a common sentiment shared by those who witnessed Rajesh Pratap Singh's creations that evening. This season, he, too, like the rest of us, has thought about the future of fashion, where his clothes fit in it, and, more importantly, what he can do to make fashion interesting again to a generation whose attention span is the equivalent to the time it takes to scroll between any two posts on social media. For Rajesh, the solution seems to have come from looking into the past. Especially toward the '50s when the focus was primarily on garment construction.

The show opened with Bollywood actor Mrunal Thakur in a pre-draped pant-style sari with a crisp white shirt - a signature Rajesh Pratap Singh style - moonlighting as a blouse. Worn with black booties, the look had a Gothic undertone. Goth, in fact, was a recurring theme in most looks, either because of Nikhil D's styling or Rajesh's colour palette.