After several seasons of static presentations and a lot of hard work in the off-seasons refining the vocabulary of his brand, Bibhu Mohapatra had earned the right to show on a catwalk, which he did for the first time this afternoon. The moment offered the opportunity to judge whether Mohapatra, long tipped as an up-and-comer, was finally ready to join the front rank of emerging young designers.
What Mohapatra has in spades is a real sense of luxury. His looks for both night and day are executed in rich materials and beautifully finished. It s clear that the designer has thought every detail through; sometimes you feel he s overthinking, actually. Today, as usual, there were a few garments that begged for a bit more simplicity, like a gown with a chainlike embroidery, ombré fade, peacock feathers, and plissé skirt. Still, you have to respect Mohapatra s ambition: His understanding of luxury is that it demands a sense of drama. His daywear benefits from that allergy to the mundane; some of the best pieces today were the show-opening ivory knit tops, with their sculpted construction and basket-weave detail. And Mohapatra also turned out a variety of fun colored furs. This section had an appealing looseness that, more broadly applied, could accelerate the breakthrough the designer s working toward. He seemed to have enjoyed making his cherry red and hunter green popcorn fur coats, and women are going to enjoy wearing them.
