Rajesh Pratap Singh’s genius is undisputed. That said, this collection was confusing. I love the sharply tailored, non-fussy, strong aesthetic the designer stands for. But then, the slinky metallic dress in that dreadful lurex-like fabric (Row Three, Extreme Left) came down the runway. You could’ve knocked me down with a feather. The experimentation with this collection has me think the designer is in a state of transition. Though this state of flux didn’t always translate successfully.
The designer played some more with ‘honeycombs’ that we first saw in his Autumn/Winter 2011 collection. And this time, the mood was a lot more darker. Where before the shimmer was a lot more muted in his previous collections, ’twas more aggressive this time around. Some of it worked, some didn’t.
Lest you think it was all one colossal disappointment, it wasn’t. The dresses with metallic spines at the back were brilliant. Loved the black leather honeycomb dress (Row Two, second from left) and the off-white/cream one (Row Three, second from right). The spiked/studded stockings really added to the looks.
Like I mentioned earlier… Confusing.
P.S: I wish this show was better lit. For those of us who pour over digital images (which often is the only way we can go through a collection), the lack of detail is disconcerting. Am sure it never really is the same as actually seeing something up close, but wish there’d be HD images available to us mere mortals.
P.P.S: Speaking of ‘honeycombs’, have you seen Alexander McQueen Spring 2013?
Photo Credit: Viral Bhayani
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