Indian designers on date with Rome's fashion street

Two of India's top designers Neeta Lulla and Pria Kataria Puri will showcase their autumn/winter line in the super chic streets of Rome in its Fashion Week beginning Monday.

The two versatile women have earned acclaim with their respective styling. Pria is a popular brand in West Asia and has a long list of celebrity clientele, which includes Madonna.

Lulla, on the other hand, is a heavyweight in the film industry having designed clothes for movies like "Devdas", "Provoked" and "Jodhaa Akbar".

Puri will showcase an extended version of her breath-taking "Turkish Delight" collection, which she launched at the last edition of the Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) in Mumbai. She will present around 25 ensembles with focus on cocktails and winterwear. Black is back for Puri as her collections use a lot of black overtones along with burgundy, rust and blue.

Lulla has mixed some couture pieces like jackets and gowns to her winter line for the fashion extravaganza to be held in the Italian capital from July 9-13.

Over the years, designers like Suneet Varma, Sabyasachi and others have flaunted their line to the people of Italy, who have loved the exquisite Indian garments having rich texture, bright colours, inspiring prints and traditional Indian needlework.

Italy, one of the leading fashion hubs of the world, has over the decades presented innovative and stylish silhouettes to the buyers and the designers there are known for their mastery in cuts, shading and layering. Students from across the world go to Italy to study fashion designing.

The visit by Indian designers to Rome is a part of an exchange programme between the organisers of LFW and the Rome Fashion Week, the Alta Roma. The programme was set up during the LFW Autumn/Winter 2007 show held in March.

As part of the exchange programme, veteran Indian designers - the innovative Narendra Kumar Ahmed and the master of fabrics, Wendell Rodricks, will also showcase their creations at the PAPP in Paris to be held in September.

Indo-Asian News Service