There is no denial of the fact that 2021 was the year for all things red carpet and wedding shenanigans. And if you happened to love the OOTD of your favorite celebrity amidst all of this, don’t forget to thank the designer! Gone are the days, when fashion designing was all about dressing up people. The Indian fashion industry has evolved into much more than that now. While pre-drape sarees and flowy fuss-free lehengas present traditions and culture in a modern way, the classy cocktail gowns, groovy midis and stunning co-ord sets revamp the western culture. Looking at all the couture and ensembles, it is safe to say that it was an eventful year for the fashion industry and was owned by both, emerging as well as the established players of the circuit. Intricate and heavenly lehenga, bold and jaw-dropping gowns, trendy athleisure and fancy casuals…we saw some absolute stunning creation coming across from some very talented designers.
Keeping up with our annual tradition, we present you the designers of the year, with a fashionable twist. We happily collaborated with ace stylists Eka Lakhani and Victor Robinson x Sohail Mughal, to bring forth their top picks for the year because what’s better than having the validation from the best?! Having said that, allow Peepingmoon.com and the above-mentioned maestros to present you the best designers for the year who dominated the fashion industry, one outfit at a time!
Please note: there aren’t any ratings per se, they have all stood out this year!
SABYASACHI MUKHERJEE: A UNANIMOUS PICK
Opening the list for all the juries was unanimously this single name. Without a shadow of a doubt, this year belonged to ace designer Sabyasachi. Along with being Bollywood’s go-to couturier for wedding looks, the designer came up with a lot of exciting launches and hit collaborations.
He was all-out making headlines, all good bad and controversial, left right and centre but never let anything come in the way of his goal- creating magic with his weaves. Take a bow, Sabya!
MANISH MALHOTRA: A UNANIMOUS PICK
No list of all our jury members is complete without Bollywood’s most sought out designer Manish Malhotra’s name in it. B-town’s trusted designer for decades has been reinventing style and crafting couture to perfection, with his heavenly Nooraniyat and Ruhaaniyat collections that exude grandeur.
What more? The ace couturier was the first designer to introduce the concept of NFT (Non-fungible tokens) into the fashion arena and paved the way for others. Leading the way and how!
SAAKSHA & KINNI: A UNANIMOUS PICK
Not everything beautiful is about OTT glamour and who better than designers Saaksha & Kinni to vouch for this fact. This year, many actresses turned muse for the designer duo and flaunted their eccentric, printed chiffon creations including their strapless slit gowns, printed co-ord set and kaftans amongst many other pieces that left many of us in awe including all our jury stylists.
Minimalistic aesthetics with maximum impact!
PAPA DON’T PREACH BY SHUBHIKA: BY VICTOR-SOHAIL
Another name that popped up a lot was designer Shubhika Sharma’s Papa Don’t Preach who garnered a lot of headlines for its spunky yet sexy fusion looks from Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Mindy Kaling’s desi Diwali party in Pardes! Dressing international celebrities like Chrissy Teigen, Liza Koshy, writer Alok Menon, Kamala Harris’s niece Meena Harris, Ginny & Georgia fame Brianne Howey amongst many others, the brand cemented its position on the international fashion scale alongside many Indian bigwigs.
Not just representation, the brand came up with many original and spunky collections for the year that compelled us to restock our wardrobes with their quirky classics ASAP! Onwards and upwards!
ANAMIKA KHANNA: BY VICTOR-SOHAIL
Apart from blessing us with chic boho looks, Anamika has expanded her horizon by entering an OTT space and being associated with Finding Anamika and that counts for something, but hey, that didn’t change the fact that she was pretty darn good at curating indie looks worth swooning over.
Right from her classy LFW presentation this year to unveiling the AK-OK NFTs and unique Birdhichand’s pearl collections along with some out-of-the-box bridal looks, she has been trying her hand with many things all at once, and needless to say, she is owning up every arena!
PICCHIKA BY URVASHI SETHI: BY VICTOR-SOHAIL
Over the years clothing brand Picchika made hand-painted floral outfits their USP and this year we got to see a lot of them. Right from their hand-painted organza sarees to serene anarkalis, we saw various celebrities flaunting all their creations.
We can't wait to see this Victor-Sohail pick creating magic in the next year as well!
AMIT AGGARWAL: BY VICTOR-SOHAIL
The fashion arena saw a lot of AA signature outfits for the year and we are not complaining. Anything sustainable yet stylish is always welcomed in the fashion circuit and Amit’s exquisite creations vouch for these very two things. Unlike other designers who try to capture the old-world glamour, Amit and his creation transport us to the year 2050 with his futuristic collection.
Keeping his signature USP intact the designer presented his collections this year featuring an arresting mix of stripes, metallic textures fused with electrifying colours. We spotted a lot of three-dimensional blouses, new age drapes and structured gowns that are his are his go-to staples.
GAURAV GUPTA: BY VICTOR-SOHAIL
It won’t be wrong to say that GG creates art as his work features the best-sculpted couture. Romantic ruffles, structured shoulders, sheer detailing have always been his signature style of work which worked its charm on us and the tinsel townies, every single time.
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Highlighting the year was his dramatic, mesmerizing finale at the Lakme Fashion Week that paid an ode to aquatic animals and marine life!
RAHUL MISHRA: BY VICTOR-SOHAIL
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Rahul’s 3D applique has always stood out as his USP and it was quite visible throughout the year. Be it his serene lehengas or butterfly and floral motif sarees, our B-town divas found their favorite designer in Rahul.
We for one, cannot wait to see more of him next year!
ABU JANI SANDEEP KHOSLA: BY VICTOR-SOHAIL
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Trust us, there’s absolutely nothing ordinary when it comes to the designer duo of Abu Jani- Sandeep Khosla! Using elements like pearls, gemstones, sequins, zardozi details and resham threads, this designer-duo narrates a tale of sophistication and regality with their work, every time and this year was no different either.
Making actress Ibrahim Khan and Nora Fatehi their go-to muses, the duo unleashed their sartorial creativity and curated some exquisite masterpieces in the form of richly embellished lehengas and sherwanis to sarees and gowns.
So, which of the above designer’s masterpieces made your year?
(Source- Peepingmoon, Instagram)
