#anuraina

[trunoir]

Sheer black love. #AnuRaina #WMCFW

[lovebetweentheracks]

Count me in for this collection @anurainadesigns #anuraina #WMCFW

[fashionablyhake]

#AnuRaina @wmcfashionweek #TorontoFashionWeek

[oneporktaco-blog]

toronto fashion week: anu raina

(images via lgfw)

although there was plenty i did like about designer anu raina's debut show (for f/w 2011) at toronto fashion week last season, i also found myself critiquing what at times reeked too heavily of a new age-y bent, all wide-legged layers and the models with their puffy hair (that begged to be streaked with the gray of the aging hippies scolding one for buying too much packaging--to say nothing of accepting a bag--in the shopping lines at the berkeley bowl).  sure, one could turn it the way they liked.  but it felt a little 'done'.  not so, however, for her second effort, for s/s 2012, which channeled something at once younger, more on-trend, and a bit brighter for the upcoming season. 

as the designer told front row mag, she was inspired by the islands of murano, italy (quite close to venice and known for its blown glass).  "There is a process called sandcasting that they do. They lay impressions on the sand and then they fill the impression with glass and it catches it and my collection was inspired by that.  So, I drew like crazy all lines and colours and I was able to get those impressions.”  ms. raina, added fashion windows, was "inspired by coloured glass chandeliers; prints and garments were a simple play on light and colour," although a couple of other reviewers, such as hip urban girl, noted that there was a strong fifties/sixties vibe running throughout.  i wasn't able to find any sources in which ms. raina directly addressed this, but i would agree that the vintage aesthetic certainly informed the collection. 

anyway, the designer added to front row mag that "(c)olour inspiration was totally in the glass chandeliers like the bright, vibrant colours, the saturated colours. It kind of drove me insane.  There’s an energy about saturated colours and then the light reflects through them, it’s totally mind-blowing.”  thus, the shades she chose, namely magenta, aquamarine, white, coral, lime, purple, navy, and mustard, with the canadian site sweet life cheerfully describing "(f)loaty florals, paint-splatter prints and sixties-inspired T-shirt dresses...Cute Peter Pan collars and button details worked on a palate of ivory and bright swirls, circles, and starbursts were paired with fuchsia heels and hair twisted around bits of fabric. "

but all the same, for all of her youthful invigoration, ms. raina hasn't entirely departed from the type of designing she did a season ago.  telling front row mag that "I love to choose natural fabrics...Fabric is so important to me. Everything begins with fabric," she added that the range materials included silks, linen, and viscose.  and, as flare enthused, these made up"(l)oose bubble hems and strapless frocks evoked effortless warm-weather dressing. Stand out pieces were the peter pan collar shift in a kicky green and blue tie dye and linen cropped blazers with simple notched lapels in popsicle hues. While diaphanous and floaty may be Raina's bread and butter, a structured fusion would have helped give many pieces that missing modernity. Overall, her mix of spirited prints were a refreshing elixir."

and while the wide-legged trousers of last season were still apparent in the assortment (as below; this time they were shown with quite high waists and paired with the little cropped tailored blazers that help to give girls a long, lean form), dresses were really the strength of spring.  they generally came in three varieties: the strapless and ethereal number with a bit longer hem, the sleeveless maxi dress that exuded casual longing on a summer day, or the brief sixties-riffic patterned peter pan-collared frock that i predict will really send the girls screaming.  they all had their charms, although my personal favourite was one of the only options to really break out of the mold--the softly floral-y asymmetric dress (at bottom) with a bit of a fitted waistline--after all, some girls do need more of a shape carved out for them. 

it was a distinct improvement on last time, and thus i'm hesitant to criticize.  but, after all, ms. raina is still so new at this we expect her to be rapidly changing and growing, and therefore, it seems appropriate to offer some friendly suggestions.  my biggest concern was that we were seeing too much of the same.  sure, the colours and prints were spot-on, but i'm not sure we were offered enough variety in terms of silhouette or style of dress, and given that not all women look as bangin' as others in a kind of loose, bohemian number, i would really have liked to see the designer expand on her lovely little blazers (which did provide the kind of structure some need or want). and, to be sure, the prints were different, but how many sleeveless round-collared minidresses did we really need?  yes, customers like to buy a lot of the same thing, but surely a designer might try a little harder than that?

still, i wouldn't wish to end on so negative a note, and think that ms. raina deserves some credit for her diversification, as well as for her lovely prints.  that seems to be the raison e'tre at her house, and as soon as she can find herself a comfortable niche with the current silhouettes, i think she'll really be in business.  and could really blow, say, juma, out of the game.  so we'll just have to wait, then...

(watch short collection videos here & here)

[oneporktaco-blog]

toronto fashion week: anu raina

(images via front row mag)

having only graduated from a textile design program last year, the f/w 2011 season represents anu raina's debut venture into the fashion design world.  according to the tfw site, homegirl's range was inspired by her autobiographical portrait, titled "chapter 2, page 1". 

the designer explains, on her bio page, about her work: "My inspiration comes from an innate urge to give an expression to my thoughts and experiences, that came with the journey of my life. To me, the multitude of textures, rough, smooth, beautiful, sometimes translucent and sometimes mysterious are just like the woven complexities of life itself." 

her fall range, slightly ethnic in approach, blended numerous diaphanous and lightweight fabrics with muted patterns and tonal changes.  according to one blog, the pieces were all hand-printed (with little letter and figures, it seems to me) in a mostly autumnal palette of black, cobalt, soft grays, and faded aubergine. 

it may be due to the styling as a whole, but the show was simply toomuch like that which one might expect to acquire in a new age-type shop, complete with all the flow-y, (for the most part) body-covering soft garb.  upon further inspection, these pieces might well prove to be works of art individually, but i think i would like to see her move beyond the hippie-luxe presentation which seemed too utterly predictable as a courting of the middle-aged gaia-loving, organic herb garden growing, general populace educating (on all matters pertaining to the earth) ladies in berkeley. 

(catch the runway video here)

updated: with new images