Artists, designers show prowess amid glitz & glamour in Stylefile 16

The much awaited 16th edition of Stylefile - a premium fashion, art and lifestyle exhibition — was hosted in a form of a Night Bazar with a lot of grandeur and extravagance in Kolkata at the Quest Mall on Friday. In the presence of the co-founders — Preeti Goenka and Sumedha Saraogi along with some of India's best known designers and artists, the event started from three in the afternoon and continued till 10 at night on Friday.

Themed as 'The Great Migration,' Stylefile 2017 depicted the arrival of designers and artists from all over the country to Kolkata to be a part of such a happening event. New as well experienced designers from New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Baroda, Jaipur, and Kolkataparticipated and showcased their latest creations in front of celebrated designers like Shantanu Goenka, Nachiket Barve, Pankaj and Nidhi, Simar Dugal, Vasundhara Mantri, Divya Gupta, and Madhu Jain, among others. In addition, individual stalls were also set up by these designers.

The event was also an art lovers' paradise for they were able to collect creations of artists and sculptors such as Anup Mandal, GR Iranna, Gopinath S, Jagadish Dhyan Shreyas, Prafull Singh, Prajjwal Choudhury and a few others. Although all of the creations presented were easy on the eyes and one of a kind, some of them stole the hearts too.

Participating for the first time at Stylefile, Aradhana Dalmia, a young and dynamic artist of Kolkata showcased her recently launched series 'Luminous'. It is an indigenous project, bringing in innovation in oil painting. Under natural light, the paintings are pieces of oil on canvas but when exposed to ultraviolet light, they reveal a different story. The 'Aurus' series showcased by Kolkata-based photographer Avantika Saraogi, was about juxtapositions and balances. Here, a viewer was able to imagine what happened just before and just after that fraction of a second.

While Shweta Mansingka, a ceramic artist from Delhi, showcased her collection of artworks made by using the process of 'saggar firing,' another Delhi-based artist, GR Iranna presented 'Scaffolding,' using the figure of Buddhist monks and Buddhist iconography as a metaphor.

One of the most offbeat works was that of Priti Kahar, an artist from Baroda. She displayed her recent works on the subject 'War' of different times, places, geographies and its effect on our earth and the human psyche.

In the fashion segment, Simar Dugal and Divya Gupta, celebrated designers based out of Delhi, showcased their collection of reviving old and ancient embroideries and old traditional Indian craftsmanship of fine 'Zardozi' respectively. From tailored jackets to contemporary Indian wear, Archana Rao Label pieces from Hyderabad showcased clean, classic lines incorporating mute tones and prints with quirky contrasts.

In the accessories range, Kokommo presented a glamorous range of its new collection of clutches, cross body bags and fashion jewellery. 'Natty MRKT – Design Shop' brought together more than 25 stationery and desk accessory brands from around the country.

As artists and designers lit up the venue with their offbeat and extremely glamorous collections, the co-founder and organiser duo celebrated the success of the event.