Audience fights for seats at Manish Arora’s ‘Jungle’ show

NEW DELHI - It was not the grand finale of the ongoing Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW), yet the audience was fighting and getting into arguments over the seating arrangements for flamboyant designer Manish Arora’s show on the ‘Jungle’ theme.

Just like the grand finale of the spring-summer edition of WIFW last year, the designer managed to draw a full house sans any celebrity and got a huge round of applause from the audience.

It took the organisers at least half an hour to settle the audience down as many people were sitting on other’s seats and were reluctant to move. The jam-packed show area was proof of the popularity of this maverick designer, who is undoubtedly loved by everyone.

The backdrop for the show was spooky, with vampire cut-outs on the top and animal cut-out at both sides of the stage, with multi-coloured rays creating an eerie ambiance.

‘It is my way of presenting life in a jungle in a futuristic way and bring out various fantasies associated with the place. This is my perception about the jungle,’ Arora told IANS after the show here late Friday.

The show started with the popular number ‘Oh Saiya’ from the Oscar-winning movie ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and closed with the ‘Jai Ho’ song from the same movie.

The background score was as good as the collection and the choice of the songs and their transitions along with the scintillating collection kept the audience glued to their seats.

Not only Indians, even the international buyers too were enjoying the show as many of them were tapping their feet and moving their heads in sync with the music.

The models walked the ramp in colourful knee-length jackets, high-waist trousers, sharp pencil skirts with the colour palette ranging from green to brown, from pink to yellow in fabrics like silk, satin, velvet and leather.

Suzy Menkes, the fashion editor of the International Herald Tribune, said: ‘It was a good show.’ Menkes is in the capital for a two-day International Luxury Conference scheduled for next week.

Japenese buyer Tomoko Inuzuka said: ‘The show was very good. He had showcased the same collection at the Paris Fashion Week also but the way it was presented here was fabulous.’