Amazon India Fashion Week 2017 started off with a big ode to the handloom and Indian textiles. Designers reinvented handloom to seize the market in contemporary styles to make it more relevant to the current market needs.
Here are our picks from various shows of day 1.
The Handloom Show
The opening show for the AIFW autumn/winter 2017 season featured some of the country’s most talented designers including names such as Suket Dhir, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Rohit Bal, Gaurav Jai Gupta, Antar Agni, Rina Singh, Nicobar, Urvashi Kaur, Péro, 11:11, and Raw Mango by Sanjay Garg.
The Maheshwari textiles were crafted by weavers from The Handloom School – aimed at developing skills of young weavers and developing pride in the heritage of handloom.
Bumi Langit (Earth and Sky)
Indonesian award winning designer Novita Yunus brought traditional handicrafts from her country to the runway at the Amazon India Fashion Week.
Her collection called Earth and Sky is inspired by the autumn leaves and the winter skies, using batik dyeing and eco-printing techniques. Her collection had traditional Kebayas juxtaposed with palazzos, kaftans, and separates.
Krishna Mehta
Use of bold colours on handloom was the highlight of Krishna Mehta’s collection called ‘Parted Lips’.
Brilliant reds, blues, oranges and blacks put together with patchwork techniques and textured embroidered fabrics. The runway saw a layered look, with clinched mid waisted silhouettes.
Abraham and Thakore
The veteran designer duo brought forward a modern twist to contemporary workwear. The prêt collection called ‘Back to Work’ showcased separates which included unisex attires, working with black and white with a good measure of madder and indigo blue thrown in.
What we especially loved was the Sari with a shirt and a tie.
Vogue India Sari Show
Vogue India celebrated its tenth anniversary on the runway with 60 contemporary sarees from the biggest names in the industry. 
From quilted sarees to saree dresses, the last show of the day was a creative mashup of designers coming together to pay ode to the classic drape.
Five themes were explored by auteurs such as JJ Valaya, Masaba Gupta, Rohit Bal, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Raghavendra Rathore, Tarun Tahiliani among others. Singer Monica Dogra performed live for the show.
