SAMANT CHAUHAN

Runway Report

Each season Samant Chauhan unfolds a compelling narrative on the catwalk. For Amazon India Fashion Week, he took his childhood memories of train journeys—and gave it a stylish spin.

 

At his off-site show in National Rail Museum, we could not help reminisce about train journeys, as we sat on wooden benches where a vintage train was standing on the platform—and we were served khullar chai and mathi! "I was brought up in railway colony, Jamalpur. As a child I used to stand for hours on Choti Pul watching trains go past. Brahmaputra Mail inspired me. Years later, I headed east in this train and saw the golden fields of Assam, the hills and the rivers I had always dreamt of. As a designer, I've recreated this journey in the embroideries i.e. wheat stalks, maize and flowers I had seen from the train window. This is my storytelling" Samant told me. So it wasn't any wonder there was unbridled excitement and guests reached the venue bang on time and took a seat on the platform. 

 

Samant is renowned for conceptual collections structured in stylish wearable silhouettes—and this was no exception!! Crafted using Muga silk from Assam, hot-sellers include off-shoulder dresses with tie-up details; cocktail dresses with dramatic necklines; bandhgala anarkalis and sharply tailored men's suits. As my friends and I left the venue, I couldn't help wonder that this off-site showing was undoubtedly threaded with the showmanship we've come to expect from Samant Chauhan! In straight-up shoppability terms, it's primed as a hot-seller. After all, the durable nature of Muga silk, the ivory and desert palette and the vintage suitcases, backpacks and clutches with a hint of intricate embroideries is perfect for urban explorers and globetrotters alike. Wearable. Elegant. Subtly Luxurious.

— JASMEEN DUGAL