Fashio-nation

Palazzo revolution

Women’s dearest leggings and chudi pants giving in for the flare-length palazzos and ankle-length trousers were an evident trend in the year that had gone by. That it took no time to be everyone’s favourite is a point worth mentioning. Palazzos, though came titled as  summer wear, soon graduated to enjoy the status of a comfy wear irrespective of the changing seasons. The chic look it imparted, paired with short tops and kurtis, made it go up the popularity charts. Palazzos and ankle-length trousers done in cotton and linen fabric are high in demand.

Lengthy the new favourite

The look-book page for knee-length tops had seen a replace with lengthy ones. The Pakistani dress material in cotton and jute is becoming a hot favourite. The trendsetter of early 2016 still continues its reign of the fashion world. College goers’ love for short and simple clothing has not seen a dip and crop tops are very much in. Those tops extending till the waistline are coupled with a skirt to wear. The long, floral print skirts and fitting accessories make it a go-to for the young fashionistas in Kerala.  

Floral era

Fashion blossomed nowhere else, but literally on the traditional sari-blouse separates. Floral print blouses have turned out to be major players, pushing past the plain looking jackets that were side-kicks to the well embellished six-yard wonder until this arrival. A floral-blouse, teamed with plan sari is the go-to wear for women, no wonder the contrast look has taken the fashion codes by storm. Kalamkari blouse was the most-liked in the league. Otherwise, the jackets decorated with thread work are worn with plain saris. It must be noted that Kalamkari design has extended to the tops. There is another foreign invasion in the jackets, the Ikat (an Indonesian warp and weft decorative technique) blouses. Ikat is mostly seen coupled with jute saris.

Still-trending designer saris

The last year or two have been making a designer out of every woman; courtesy designer saris. They have been astoundingly open for experimentations by themselves and designers. Plain saris purchased from shops are incorporated with designs on their own. The market review shows that these are being sold out like hot cakes, like the material you see today may go off shelves the next day. The scene, which saw a mirror work dominion, is surpassed by pearl work now.

Prints invade machismo

Coming to men’s wear, until some time ago, gents had this say-no attitude towards anything printed on their shirts (remember how big floral print was a manly trendy wear once upon a time! Yeah, our celebrities flaunted them too). The reluctance is an old story and recently, they open the doors for tiny prints on their shirts. The ‘plain-sailing’ T-shirts too are gradually getting adapted to the change and you can see them sport smaller designs. Shirts with Mandarin collar also made it to the fashion conscious men’s best-kept styles.

Charlie, the star

Fashion inspiration from favourite movie characters had not taken a backseat this time. The casual looking dress after Dulquer Salmaan’s Charlie has taken the style sheets by storm. The kind of kurtas worn by Dulquer had already been there in the market. So what we did was making some modifications on the already existing men’s wear. The popularity of the character had made its identical duplicates arrive in the market. Harem pants and similar loose fitting ones too went up the ladder after this character. Coming to formal wear, Chinos fit in well inside the men’s closet.

(As told to Meera Manu)