WIFW: Urvashi Kaur inspired by China's Xining

The "so far unspoken, unseen and unaccounted for" nomadic culture of Xining, capital of northwest China's Qinghai Province, inspired designer Urvashi Kaur's spring-summer showcase at the ongoing Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) here Saturday.

The collection is titled "Ziran".

Sharing the idea behind it, Urvashi said: "My collection pays homage to their unmistakable honesty, inherent rawness, cultural evolution and free-spirited irreverence."

Retaining her signature style of working with handloom fabrics to present rich avant garde collections, she once again infused ethnic style with contemporary presentation in her spring-summer line.

Her collection started with indigo as a base palette, a colour which according to the designer, is rooted as a strong Indian dye color. Ecru, naturally occurring Jute colours, also dominated her line, along with an array of pop colours like orange, yellow, pink and turquoise.

A highpoint of her collection was the use of tassels, pom-poms, tapes and ribbons on garments, which had a lot of Chinese-inspired necklines. One witnessed raglan and kimono sleeves, baggy culottes and palazzos, crop tops, wrap dresses, jumpsuits sided with overblown sleeves, shirt dresses, skirts, jackets sans sleeves, and saris.

The designer used organic cottons Malkha and Khamir, linens, chanderi and matka for her creations. The denim fabric too was heavily used to provide a stiffer quality for structured outwear.

Urvashi also experimented a lot with with horizontal stripes and used the plaid pattern -- both of which she feels belongs to our "tradition".

Smart placements of block prints and the tie and dye technique with the infusion of batik and circular motifs, added more zing to the entire range.

Urvashi has even collaborated with Risa, a leather handbag brand by Riddhima and Saloni Sayal to make an exclusive capsule collection of tote bags, backpacks, clutches and wristlets. The designs were made by her and handcrafted by Risa team keeping in mind the sartorial splendour of 'Ziran'.

This season also marks the label's five memorable years at the WIFW, a bi-annual fashion event organised by Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI).