Their signature styles always woo the audience!!

Pankaj and Nidhi

Pankaj & Nidhi are a talented designer duo who launched their label in 2006. Their combined passion for generous use of colors, inspired by craftsmanship, symbolic and cultural objects, Pankaj and Nidhi invent a contemporary language,  create clothes that tell stories, for women who love freedom and authenticity and are always on a quest for originality.

Celebrated for their "fresh & crisp sensibility", this powerhouse couple pushes the envelope when it comes to creativity and innovation.

Their A/W 14 collection was a spectacular presentation of their talents and inspiration spun together through a deck of cards! It was a spectacular show with all the elements conceptualized beautifully.

The graphic prints, appliqued patterns and embroideries were signature of Pankaj & Nidhi’s latest and greatest offerings and they’re all but guaranteed to be a massive hit. This new dimension of depth with gold cord works as on the Spanish Matadors, the androgynous tuxedo-bibs, silk shirts, dapper Jodhpur pants and gold applique long dresses yielded terrific revelation of traditions making winter seem rather flamboyant with pastels of mint, powder blue, bold vermillion and deck-table green, offset against bold, card-like blacks and whites.

As always the collection is designed to look and feel young while telling a rich story of wonder and grandeur.”

  Celebrities sporting Pankaj and nidhi.....

Raakesh Agarwal

A graduate from the prestigious National Institute of Fashion Technology, Raakesh launched his eponymous label in 2007. He focuses on glamorous and intricately constructed clothes in the prêt, diffusion and couture categories.

While his attention to detail and mastery over embroideries and draping has become a visible signature, his brand has continued to grow exponentially over this short period. He recently opened a by-appointment-only couture salon in Hyderabad’s swank Banjara Hills area, and is planning a similar boutique in Chandigarh. He is also designing an exclusive line for the multi-designer outlet Creo in Mumbai.

With the Pearls Delhi Couture Week, Raakesh became the youngest ever to partipate in a couture week and also launched  his first ever accessories and costume jewellery label – Jewels by Raakesh Agarvwal – which will be marketed worldwide. This announcement is followed closely by his decision to launch a men’s line, as well as his first flagship, which he plans to open this year.

A favourite of Bollywood style setters, his creations are seen on everyone from leading ladies like Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone, and Lara Dutta, to promising talents such as Genalia D’Souza, Asin Thottumkal, Sonakshi Sinha and Jacqueline Fernandez.

In India, Raakesh retails at Ensemble (Delhi and Mumbai), Aza (Delhi and Mumbai), M, Chamomile (Mumbai), and Creo (Mumbai), White (delhi) as well as at his couture salon in Hyderabad. 

Teddy Boys re-lived…..

I did my research on the Teddy boy subculture which is a very movement driven subculture indeed. It has very significant fashion elements that are difficult to miss out on- the creepers, rolled up jeans, velvet collar, the rolled up hair…..and I could just go on with the list. So here’s what I interpret as Teddy boy fashion! I hope I’ve done proud to all those Teds and Judies (Teddy girls) out there or anyone who looks up to their fashion statement!

Teddy Boy creepers sported at WIFW 2014

Freaks are revolutionaries and revolutionaries are freaks!

It is a well-known subculture of the 1960s however it was perhaps overshadowed by people’s perceptions of the sixties which is predominately centered around ‘Hippies’, ‘Beatniks’, ‘Mods’, ‘Radicals’ and mary quant miniskirts. The 1960s does represent a time of mind exploration and thus came a selection of concept albums and long experimental progressive rock.

The freak scene was a term used by a slightly post-hippie and pre-punk style of bohemian subculture. It referred to overlaps between politicized pacifist post-hippies, generally non-political progressive rock fans, and non-political Psychedelic music and Psychedelia fans. The individuals moved between rock festivals, free festivals, happenings and alternative society gatherings of various kinds

The hairstyles were mostly long and unkempt but people were experimenting with other possibilities. Rock stars of the era such as David Bowie and Roxy Music were trying shorter styles and hair dye. Roy Wood of the pop group Wizzard had hair down to his knees with odd colors dyed in. These musical icons were influential. Shaven heads were seen occasionally but were not yet as common as they would become when punk began. There was a reluctance to make hair too short, for fear of looking like skinheads, who were considered by many to be violent hooligans.

The clothing of the freaks used elements of roleplay such as headbands, cloaks, frock coats, and kaftans, suggesting either a romantic historical era or a distant region. These were combined with cheap, hardwearing clothes such as jeans and army surplus coats. The effect was to make a group of freaks look like a gathering of characters from a fantasy or science fiction novel. All of these appearances were intentional and enjoyed by the participants of the freak scene.

Freak scene music was an eclectic mixture based around progressive rock and experimentalism. There were crossover bands bridging rock and jazz, rock and folk, rock and sci-fi (space rock).

Their attitudes were very relaxed and their social movements involved going to music festivals and alternative events

The freak scene made inroads into the underground comix movement in the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers by Gilbert Shelton in 1968.

Teds' have found their way!

 The origins of the Teddy Boys go back to the late 1940's when Seville Row Tailor's attempted to revive the styles of the reign of King Edward VII, 1901-1910, known as the Edwardian era, into men's fashions. The Teddy Boy fashion of the fifties has its origins in what was an upper class reaction to the austerity imposed by the socialist government in the years following the World War II. For teenagers today it is probably impossible to imagine living in post war Britain. Rationing was still in force and for the youth of the working population, employment began at fifteen for a forty eight hour week, to earn less than £4.Clothes for example were conservative and mainly muted, cars were black or dark shades, the likes of sparkling metal flake paint had not yet arrived, unlike now even newspapers were devoid of color and clearly life for many could be exceedingly down beat.​​

Juvenile crime was escalating and as it is often said the devil makes mischief for idle hands he possibly had a ball inciting the most notorious breed of wild youth that emerged from that period. This was the Edwardian Brigade, the drape coat fraternity, branded Teddy Boys by the media around the latter part of 1953.They were the villains of the time, taking over from the spivs and cosh boys.

It is believed that the style actually started out in London as a discreet post war Saville Row revival, based on Edwardian aristocracy, but was appropriated by now the more affluent working boys of the day. In the beginning their outfit consisted of a high or fingertip length, four-button drape in black or somber,  colour, possibly with a velvet collar, sometimes referred to as a ‘coffin coat’. This was first worn over a matching waistcoat, later becoming brocade, prominently displaying a chain of the requisite fob watch. A high collar shirt, black ribbon or ‘Slim Jim tie’, high waisted trousers with 16″ bottoms with turn-ups and heavy brogue shoes completed the outfit. Chunky rings were also worn and the whole ensemble was finished off with a distinctive haircut in the style of the film actor Tony Curtis, achieved by using copious amounts of Brylcreem and water. There were variations of the ‘uniform’ and haircut in different cities throughout the country.

Teddy girls (also known as Judies) wore drape jackets, pencil skirts, hobble skirts, long plaits, rolled-up jeans, flat shoes, tailored jackets with velvet collars, straw boater hats, cameo brooches, espadrilles, coolie hats and long, elegant clutch bags. Later they adopted the American fashions of toreador pants, voluminous circle skirts, and hair in ponytails.​Their choice of clothes wasn't only for aesthetic effect: these girls were collectively rejecting post-war austerity. They were young working-class women, often from Irish immigrant families who had settled in the poorer districts of London — Waltham tow, Poplar and North Kensington. They would typically leave school at the age of 14 or 15, and work in factories or offices. Teddy Girls spent much of their free time buying or making their trademark clothes. It was a head-turning, fastidious style from the fashion houses, which had launched haute-couture clothing lines recalling the Edwardian era. 

Today, the Edwardian image and lifestyle is very much alive and kicking. The uniform is practically unchanged, the haircuts, the music are still the same. At Rock n Roll clubs throughout the land Teddy Boys still strut their stuff on the dance floors, bopping and jiving to their favorite records. The only difference is that the aggressiveness of their predecessors as all but gone, the fighting in cinemas and the weapons are but a thing of the past. But one thing is for sure, the great British Teddy Boy is here to stay.!!!!