Sabyasachi unveils sanctuary of fashion

By Prithwish Ganguly

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Nature got a fresh lease of life in Sabyasachi Mukherjee's silk and velvet ensembles at the Mumbai fashion week on Tuesday as the designer unveiled a line inspired by wildlife sanctuaries.

Mukherjee presented biker jackets, short skirts in fish skin designs, sequined saris, dresses, pants and overcoats with an earthy colour palette.

Floral prints -- rose and sunflower -- and animal motifs of birds embroidered on dresses in muted red, green, beige and black echoed nature and its elements.

"Everything in my line was inspired from what you would find in a sanctuary," Mukherjee said after his show on day four of the Lakme Fashion Week.

"The outfits were meant to evoke pictures and images in the mind of people who have either visited a sanctuary or seen photos of it," he said.

Mukherjee is among 57 designers showing autumn/winter collections at the five-day fashion week that ends on Wednesday.

Designer Anand Kabra took inspiration from the French rose for a collection that interpreted Italian screenwriter Luciano Vincenzoni's film "Malena" about a 12-year-old boy who fantasises about a young woman.

The collection featured rose motifs in short dresses, saris, organzas in black, white, teal and ochre hues.

Vineet Bahl's light-hearted resort line of kurta dresses, kimono tops and jodhpur churidars saw floral prints on chiffons, silks and satins while Anuj Kumar's handmade monocolour polyester dresses made use of eyelets at the borders.