FDCI x LFW: Pops, Pastels, And A Tinge Of Familiarity, Masaba And Gauri & Nainika Rule The Day

The day 3 of the ongoing FDCI x LFW featured designers Masaba Gupta and Gauri & Nainika, who played with signature patterns and floral accents with their outfits. Both Masaba and Gauri & Nainika presented a collection of easy-breezy outfits in their short digital movies. The pop colours and pastel hues dominated their respective collections. There was a tinge of freshness to their ensembles but mostly, Masaba's and Gauri & Nainika's outfits were an extension of their existing fashion language.

Talking about Marie Claire x Gauri & Nainika first, the designer duo showed their Fall 2021 collection at the jointly-organised Fashion Design Council of India and Lakme Fashion Week event. Simply put, Gauri & Nainika's outfits were gorgeous and with a floral garden as the backdrop, it was a perfect synchronization of the movie and outfits. However, somewhere, the setting and outfits made us think about their Spring Summer 21 collection, which the designer duo showed us last year at the Lotus Make-Up India Fashion Week. The floral gowns in the previous season were more structured, bold, and voluminous as compared to asymmetrical and subtle of this season. While, the Spring Summer 21 was towards the dramatic side, the current collection was more about understated and delicate dresses. Also, this season, what we really liked was how much Gauri & Nainika played with bodice and necklines. The bodice in their sheer dresses were accentuated by intricate ruffled tones, fascinating origami folds, and the sharp panelled corset-style.

MasabaLand was the collection shown by Masaba Gupta via a very straightforward yet thought-provoking short fashion film. Instead of going the traditional digital fashion movie route, Masaba gave us a glimpse of an actual fashion show, reminding us of the good old ramp shows. However, keeping Covid-19 in perspective, her fashion show was conducted at an outdoor setting with fashion audience watching the show from their respective cars. With this setting, somewhere Masaba gave us a feel of how future fashion weeks can look like - her idea was articulate. With the pink and white balloon and nature-inspired installation, it seemed like a pop-up show and came the models in their outfits inspired by striking pop hues. The outfits sported by models ranged from kaftans, jumpsuits, pyjama sets to lehengas and sarees. And since, Masaba's show was in collaboration with boAt, we saw some models flaunting the brand's chic headphones too.

Staying true to the theme, Masaba's collection was an amalgamation of eye-catching animal-inspired patterns like cows, prominent florals, foil accents, and patterned cross-bodied bags - it was definitely a MasabaLand with signature design sensibility. Minus the golden-embellished blouse and shrugs, which contrasted with the rich fabric of the lehengas, the collection was interesting and stunning.