WRIGHT'S BLUEPRINTS DECORATE J J VALAYA'S COLLECTION
Indo-Asian News Service (24 March 2007)

US architect Frank Lloyd Wright's blueprints were unleashed as a decorative element in J.J. Valaya's collection "The Taj Blueprints...Wright or Wrong?" at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) here. The collection, under the label Valaya Quantum, revolves around a fictional world of Wright, who derived inspiration from India's Taj Mahal to create a contemporary tribute set in the Grand Canyon, Arizona.

"This line reveals the story of the journey of Wright's thought process where he struggles to give shape to an evolutionary concept without losing the core sentiment of the original," Valaya told IANS after showcasing his collection Friday evening.

A neutral palette encompassing beiges, browns, shades of golden, aged surface treatments, layering and the use of intriguing fabrics were the key elements of this collection. "I have done a lot of experimentation for this line using fabrics like corduroy, lycra, wool, velvet, net and silks and embellished the outfits with hand embroidery of various kinds," added Valaya.

The range includes casual wear and some couture pieces. It offers kurtas of various lengths teamed with churidars and scarves, fitted pants, straight pleated and flared skirts of varied lengths, evening gowns and dresses in women's wear.

The men's wear had ankle length sherwanis teamed with scarves, kurtas teamed with churidars, shirts and fitted pants, suits, angarkha style coats, double breast coats and unisex jackets.

"Since the label 'Valaya Quantum' (VQ) began with the men's wear line and we are known for that, it has been most important to us but this is the first time I decided to come up with different sections of men and women," Valaya said.

The collection was accessorized with goggles and jewelled hair bands. The women walked the ramp with big buns as hairdo, the male models sported the tousled look. Asked whether he was a goggle fanatic, he said: "Absolutely! But here the idea was to give an elegant look and to drive the focus more on the clothes than the face".

Top