Vikram Phadnis moves away from gold, uses earthy shades

Mumbai, Aug 30 (IANS) Ace designer Vikram Phadnis, who showcased his exquisite collection at the recently concluded Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) Winter/Festive 2013 says he will use earthy colours for his next festive collection.

"In my clothing for the festivals, I am doing three colour palettes, I am moving away from gold ... they are all earthy," he told IANS.

The designer insists that subtle embroidery and bright colours are perfect for the forthcoming festive season.

"The embroideries have to be basic and simple. They have to be subdued on brighter colours," he said.

Varied shades of gold dominated Phadnis's collection which is based on "Ponds Gold Radiance". The designer said that he wanted gold to not be very jarring in his clothes.

"None of the garments had over the top shining shimmery gold. When I saw the gold particles in the serum, I wanted it to have that effect in my garments as well. It is pleasant and soothing to my eyes. I try to stick to those hues of gold," he said.

He made sure that he didn't go over the top with a bright colour like gold.

"It wasn't difficult but, it was challenging. We didn't want to go over the top so, necessary alterations were done. Gold is such a colour, if over done, it will look jarring. So, I used softer versions of gold like beige, ivory, copper gold and a bit of shimmer gold," he said.

The designer said it is always tough to do something new at fashion weeks, but he tries his best to do better every time.

"It is tough to do something new. You have to beat your own benchmark. Whatever you have achieved in the past, you have to do the same at least, if not better. So, every time you do a good show and people absorb it, the challenge becomes even more bigger," he said.

Vikram Phadnis Pictures