Floral fragments

Fragment (noun)

a part broken off or detached

In the Victorian-era, the language of flowers was used to send coded messages. While the language is now mostly forgotten, some of the messages still remain in pop iconography—a red rose signifies passionate love, a white rose virtue, while the ivy clings to fidelity.

So what exactly is designer 27-year-old Anushka Khanna trying to convey with her winter/festive 2012 collection, that focuses on broken flowers?

With a concept of a floral mosaic, Khanna’s collection looks at finding beauty in disintegration and bringing harmony to broken elements. The show starts with magnified and distorted floral prints, moves into mosaic-like flowers with delicate sequins and ends with fresh blooms created in thread work and embellishments. The idea of reinvention and regeneration and the circle of nature is the underlying thought.

Using the season’s biggest trends—fluid silhouettes, print on print, intricate surface texturing, sheer elements, layering and bright bursts of colour, Khanna’s aesthetic is young and spirited. Keeping in mind the need for multi-tasking essentials every separate in this collection can be paired together or worn on its own.

Khanna's debut collection showcases her use of embroidery, understanding of contemporary and strong emphasis on quality.