Looks and lines

The other strong colours, says Wendell, will be shades of grey and rose. "There will be a lot of dusty colours this year," he adds. Trousers, as always, will be a popular choice for women and he says that the palazzo-cut will be replaced by slim-fit trousers. Even men will be opting for a more narrow silhouette.

"I would like to see the end of the eco-look for men this year," says Wendell. He is working on new textures for men, blending Tencel with linen. The look is soft. In shirts, Wendell is sticking with the Nehru collar and the colours of his choice are white and beige.

Manoviraj Khosla

Manoviraj is among Bangalore’s leading designers. And he believes that the lean look continues to dominate both western and ethnic fashion. "Trousers will continue to have a narrow look, skirts will be short — very short, in fact trouser lengths could be shorter than usual," he says. Synthetic fabrics in blues and greens are hot favourites this year.

He believes that the look of 1997 will still be around this year. "The fashion of 1997 had a very definite look and that look is not going to fade away easily."In shoes, he sees high boots (remember Julia Roberts in Pretty Women) returning to the forefront of fashion. And for the boys, shoes will have square toes that are slightly rounded.Manoviraj’s Kingfisher line will be lean with a lot of embroidery. But the entire look will be subtle and lace will dominate. "In Western clothes, the look will be fitted," he says.

At present, this line is only available in Bangalore but his work is considered definitive in the world of Indian fashion. And by the end of the year his designs should retail in Mumbai too.

Monisha Jaising

This designer is a favourite with Mumbai’s young and happening crowd. Like Wendell, her collection retails at Ensemble — but unlike him, she has been with Mumbai’s premier boutique from the start. Monisha also is the only designer who differs on the look of the year. According to her there is no way the short skirt will go out of style. And her designs will continue to focus on above-the-hem lines. She does agree though that making a comeback in 1998 will be the longer, pencil skirt."There will also be fuller trousers and lots of draping," she says. "The colours for the next season are white, summer grey, and blonde.

In fabrics, it’s knits, linen and lightweight wool," she says. Also transparency, embroidery and asymmetrical necklines will dominate the catwalk this year."There is also a very strong athletic, sporty influence," she says. Which means that men and women will opt for zipper fastenings and hooded-jacks.

And if perfect bodies are in vogue then this London-trained designer’s clothes must show brawn.

Sangeeta Kathiwada

The woman behind Melange believes that predicting fashion trends in a diverse country like India is very difficult. "There are some static elements in fashion here like the sari," she says. But she does see changes in the Westernwear segment. This year will not be as full of drama, as last year, says the Melange store owner.

"People are looking for more structured clothes. Most people have become more body conscious and are working out — they want their clothes to show this," she says. She also feels that solid colours like navy and grey will be popular. "Kurtas will not be so fussy and they will neater and sleeker."

The real change in 1998 will be in menswear. "The boys are much less shy than five years ago," she says. In particular, men are becoming more comfortable with the idea of wearing accessories. "They are opting for scarves and they are even going for colourful prints," she says. Even in shirts, men are becoming more bold in their choice. And she also finds that they are becoming more casual. This year will have more men wearing draw-string trousers as well as button-free shirts.