Payal Khandwala

Of all the shades perceptible to the human eye, there is none that is missing at any time in India. It is sufficient to look around to see thousands of colors in continuous movement and in complete harmony. Remaing true to this fact, Payal Khandwala's collection presented at Lakmé Fashion Week was a pure explosion of colors.

Common knowledge says that fall/winter fashion is about darker tones, but designer Payal Khandwala chooses to go against this commonality. Different layers of garments created a color-block style that emphasized the lines of her designs; while a wide range of saris defined the brand’s identity and aesthetics.

Khandwala’s collection was inspired by fierce and confident women of our day and age. Definitely the woman portrayed by the designer is a shining one. Glistening silk and snappy jewels gave a magical sheen to the show. Everything, from the trousers to the skirts, seemed to be stylish, fluid and sinuous, and made to catch the eye.

The collection consists of a myriad of different pieces: wrap palazzos, long and irregular skirts, skinny sleeved shirts, roomy ruched jumpsuits, unbalanced waistcoats, kurta dresses, slit ponchos and loop neck kurtas with lungi pants.

Mojari’s, leather belts, bangles, Zen-like collars and small purses were the accessories chosen by Payal Khandwala to grace her vision of an independent woman.

The Indian designer has a deep understanding of fashion gained through her BFA at the Parsons School of Design in New York and a diploma in Contemporary Art at Metafora in Barcelona. Nonetheless, Khandwala’s woman is one who is extremely rooted to her culture and carries herself with a globally accepted style. A woman who is not willing to sacrifice comfort, but with a  strong sense of luxury, and with a profound Indian soul. The clothes are made in India using hand-woven silks, khadi, cottons and linens in a prisma that is soaked in a tradition of color.

Giorgia Sasia

LAKME FASHION WEEK AW 2013/14