Anu Raina made a relatively quiet debut last season with her mostly dark and somber textile handiwork. But this season, she made a literal splash with a series of bright, paint splatter dresses.
The designer was inspired by multicoloured Murano glass chandeliers, which are handcrafted using an age-old technique in a glass blowing furnace. Not dissimilarly, the details on each of the dresses were drawn and hand-painted by the designer. The centrepiece was Raina’s simplest creation: a white maxi dress printed with a chandelier in the colours of Murano glass. Simple and striking—not the easiest combination to achieve.
In the past, Raina has said she doesn’t do trends—not the obvious ones at least. In a season where designers have habitually referenced other, usually better designers, Raina remained smartly committed to her own vision while incorporating subtler trends like the Peter Pan collar or practical flourishes like dresses with pockets.
Anu Raina’s collection was also incredibly wearable and earned points for being young, fresh and vibrant. There were paint splatter dresses and dresses with delicate impressionist brush strokes. A few pieces reminded me of Cy Twombly—the shirt dress with muted scribbles and the tent dress (and matching skirt) with energetic swirls—without seeming deliberately “borrowed.” Nothing was new here. But everything was clean, current and well-done.
Raina delivered what she could confidently execute. The flow-y numbers were matched by well-tailored pieces like the tuxedo shorts and the crisp white jacket. And, it wasn’t all about paint splatter on white canvases either. Other pieces included a bright petunia-stamped dress, a Turkish blue maxi skirt, and a neon tie-dye schoolgirl dress.
Finally, Raina’s collection was cohesive (which it also was last season, though not as memorable). The only oddity was a wayward retro strapless dress that looked a little Target-ish. If Anu Raina wasn’t one to watch this season, she certainly will be after her second collection.