Lakme India Fashion Week 2003 :: Ashish Soni

Profile

Ten years ago Ashish Soni was one of 25 students, selected from 7000 applicants, to graduate with a Bachelor's degree in Design and Clothing Technology from India's National Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi.

In the decade that followed Ashish whizzed past many personal milestones. He launched his own label 'Ashish Soni' in 1991, followed by his design studio Ikos in 1993. The same year, Ashish became the first Indian designer to hold a solo showing followed by his annual shows thereafter at Delhi.

Another Ashish Soni first was his exclusively menswear collection shown in 1999. To celebrate the millennium he presented the Khajuraho costume collection, inspired by the famous thousand year old temples.

Support for these shows came from leading corporations many of whom have collaborated with him on more than one occasion, a recognition of Ashish's continuing efforts to ensure that their participation is truly recognized.

In addition to his considerable domestic presence Ashish Soni has also worked towards a presence internationally, both through numerous fashion shows abroad, as well as collaborations with International fashion brands such as Bvlgari. The designer has represented India in numerous Festival of lndia shows around the world, and has also participated in fashion events in places like Oman, Thailand, Hongkong, Singapore, Tokyo, London, New York and Paris. He also retails successfully in Dubai though the largest couture store in the Middle East, Fasateen.

2001 celebrates 10 years of Ashish Soni, and to commemorate the event. the designer launched his Flagship store in Delhi. His creations also retail in select outlets in Mumbai, Bangalore, Dubai, Calcutta and Madras.

Ashish Soni's creative flair is rooted in a fiercely Indian family background, enhanced by western influences through an education mostly abroad. His multiple exposures developed a clear and sharp aesthetic which earned him a prominent place in the world of Indian Haute Couture.

Ashish's signature lines are characterized by extreme simplicity, flawless lines, immaculate cuts and a perfect finish. His panache and originality, his intuitive and original sense of style, combine with impeccable garment construction to create stunningly simple yet dramatic garments.

Ashish uses fabric and texture with a masterly eye, combining different weights and weaves in a single ensemble with astonishing results. With design as his primary focus, embellishments are subsidiary and used with great restraint to highlight form. The immaculate balance between mind and eye, skill, innovation and sense of drama translates into timeless and distinctive garments for men and women of the new millennium.

'AS' - The Pret line by Ashish Soni for LIFW 2003.

The pattern is to fashion design what the blue print is to architecture-an obligatory part of any project that determines its success or failure. The "AS" collection this season spotlights this technical and usually unseen link between the garments and the body. A collection devoted to patterns traces the many parallels between the two disciplines. The practicality of a designer is a vital commodity and hence should not be dubious. The design team at AS is trying to bring back the seventies sexiness. No compromise is the message for the season with the only common thread being a belief in integrity and the designers daring to trust their instincts and produce strong statement clothes for an energetic, fresh new season.

Recognizing a fundamental truth that most designers struggle with, that most men are not very adventurous when its comes to fashion and hence the design team reinvents.

The overall feel is ultra-contemporary and embodies the very soul of the direction in which the "AS" label is styled. Moving forward from last years feel, which was relaxed, comfortab1e and trendy. This year the feel is more close to the body, rigid, still on a modenist redesign tip. Masculinity in gentle refinement.

The palette works mostly in monochromatic severe black and white. Soni energizes and balances the collection with flashes in red. Understanding his limitations with colors this is a cleverest colorist approach using color blocks and red as highlight feature. A clean minimal collection dominated by space-race white and signature severe black.

The mood of the movement is neither safe nor commercial. Highly influenced by the hormonally charged men's wear revolution sweeping the entire world of fashion, the team at AS is reinterpreting the spirit with ever increasing sophistication... fashion is looking to both push against the flow and relive the time of its life.

The silhouette is monastic with TIGHT coming back in a big way. skinny is the way forward. Pants are long and lean. The key pieces the shirt, tight hipster pants, zippered streamlined crop jackets.

E-mail: ashish_soni