GRADO X Ashish Soni for Lakme Fashion Week S/R’19

Back in the 19th Century, Menswear was all about colour and comfortable styles. London’s original ‘Dandies’, known as ‘The Macaronis’, wore an array of hues and summery shades. But, who was this not-so-mysterious OG Dandy who dazzled the world with his sense of fashion and style? Well, without any doubt, it was Beau Brummell, who is considered to be the ‘Father of Men’s Fashion’ right from the 1800s. The ‘Dandy’ led an eclectic life, donning a wide range of accessories and style pieces collected during his globetrotting days and travels.

Never unpowdered or unperfumed, always bathed and shaved, he was perfectly brushed and immaculately fitted at all times.

His apparels were chosen perfectly to describe who he was – a curious man with a strong connection to his roots: wild, but intellectual; soft but bold. He was not afraid to dare or challenge; and given the opportunity, he was a living proof of the fact that Men were/are still game for dressing up, be it any occasion.

Beyond macho, leaving the metrosexual behind, the looks are of an infinitely well-travelled global man, who is not deterred by a retro-sport style; he wants to try something contrastingly new. As you go through this collection, it’ll be a walk along the winding path of his journeys – do feel the fabrics, interact and feel at home as you travel deeper into his mind-space.

Ashish Soni has carefully chosen some of best fabrics that GRADO has on offer. The symbolic traditions of the brand are carried throughout the collection with multiple use of stripes, checks, plaids and solids. Apart from this, there is a mix of blends at play in this collection – from soft cottons, poly blends with sheen to the royal wools with micro and macro structures in prime focus.

In some looks, there is a playful interaction of light window pane checks that are contrasted and then juxtaposed against the more traditional ‘Prince of Wales’ checks. There are interesting weaves in bold chalk stripes, a range of soft pastels and others in strong bursts of bright colour.

Colours move across the spectrum, all of which are either soothing and calm or rich and vibrant: from summery pastels in powder earth tones to royal purples, leafy greens and tones of mustard – all in place to spice up your summer wardrobe.

The tailoring has been done in a new slim-cut manner. The suits have been designed with an intent of making things a little more relaxed and less uptight, thereby adding an off-beat, soulful element to keep the look interesting, contemporary and a little androgynous.

Shorter versions of all shapes are introduced: the bomber is a key element of this collection along with loose wide-cut ankle length pants, tailored-shorts, flared bermudas, which are paired up in looks that range from day to evening.

There is a clever irony in the clothes – contrasting strong cuts against light and flirty design with all the classic tailoring techniques are the crucial seasoning of this collection. Personal expression is the crux of the matter here, wherein Ashish Soni does not shy away from contrasting designs and patterns; he also employs pops of colour to effortlessly spice up the collection for a summer catwalk presentation.

The shapes have been kept signature clean although silhouettes clearly define the anatomical shape. The edgy checks and stripe fabrics are quintessentially summery and there is an incredible core chic and quirky quotient in all of them.