Tribute to Isabella Blow at India Fashion Week

Tony Tharakan

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The late Isabella Blow held sway over one of India's premier fashion events on Saturday with a leading designer dedicating his show to the doyenne of British fashion.

Blow, one of the industry's great eccentrics who launched the careers of top models and designers, died at the age of 48 in May. She had been renowned for helping discover Philip Treacy, one of the world's most famous milliners, and launching the career of British designer Alexander McQueen.

The second half of designer Varun Bahl's Saturday night show at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week included a picture slideshow on the fashion icon and featured models in chic black dresses with elaborate flowery headgear.

Blow, who attended the fashion week in New Delhi last year, had also been known for wearing unusual hats.

"She enriched us all with her presence, her effortless magnetism," Bahl said in a statement. "Isabella Blow is a memory to ignite us all, exhorting us to live knowingly, to treasure our moments of happiness as we pass through life."

Bahl's show also saw Bollywood actress Celina Jaitley and other models walking the ramp in linen and muslin dresses in various shades of lilac and green.

Designer duo Abhishek Gupta and Nandita Basu unveiled a funky collection of multi-hued T-shirts and dresses with digital prints of Indian freedom fighters Subhash Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh as well as household items like rubber slippers and sewing machines.

Basu said their 'Cent Percent Indian' line was aimed at the younger generation.

Experimentation was also the key for designers Aparna and Norden Wangdi who based their collection on a child's stuffed ragdoll. The result was a riot of colors in skirts, jackets and dresses with tassels and doll's gloves.

Designer Raghavendra Rathore's Indo-Western range gave a contemporary look to everyday wear. He draped his models in free-flowing shirts, shorts, jackets and trousers inspired by the north western state of Rajasthan.

More than 40 designers are showcasing spring and summer collections for 2008 at the five-day extravaganza which ends on Sunday. The shows are being held for the first time at Pragati Maidan, a sprawling venue designed for trade fairs, instead of in swanky hotels.