Anita Dongre tunes in Earth Song on 'videshi' beats

It was a story of Earth and nature that fashion designer Anita Dongre opted to narrate at an ongoing fashion week here.

Turning to nature to seek inspiration, Dongre showcased her wearable, sustainable and functional collection titled "Earth Song" as models sashayed down the runway on western tracks like "Let her go".

Clubbing together fashion and style, Dongre through her line under the brand "Grassroot" had a message to deliver - don't forget rhythms of nature.

The ramp at the ongoing Amazon India Fashion Week (AIFW) Autumn-Winter 2016 turned into a forest with foliage, twigs with green leaves adoring the show area. Dongre's romance with nature continued as she splashed different hues from the Earth into her collection, which was also a tribute to the myriad crafts of India.

"This is a autumn-winter collection and the it is really inspired by autumn like in a forest. It is very important for me to bring the green in. There was a little one minute video we played before the show which was self explanatory, where we showed that in a hustle bustle of traffic we forget to listen to the nature. For me the collection was very organic and earthy," Dongre said post her show.

The range, with global woman as muse, played through classic clinched shirt dresses and shifts, wide-legged jumpsuits and pinafores, structured jackets and draped overlays, with traditional motifs adding a different dimension to it.

Layering had the spotlight, but another thing that made the collection stand out is that each ensemble can be used separately to suit personal styles.

Dongre said: "At the ramp, we have shown print on print but every piece is priced separately allowing my buyer to mix it up. I teach customers not to buy the whole garment what we show on the ramp, but bring individuality."

The colour palette consisted of cream, pearl, fawn, granite, black, and pure white blends with an array of indigos.

Dongre emphasised that as always the USP of the collection is that everything is handmade.

The line flaunts block prints, touches of kantha and rustic metallic highlights, imprints of dabbu, bagru and ajrak, weaves from Bhujodi and Bhagalpur, hand tied bandhani and Shibori.

When one reporter asked Dongre about absence of Bollywood element from her show, Dongre aptly said: "My garments are the stars. Don't belittle it by saying no Bollywood."

Dongre presented her collection at the day two of the five-day fashion gala, which is being held at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, here.