Designer speak: Priyanka's bob was inspiring

At first glance, Swapnil Shinde looks more like a basketball player or wrestler than a designer. But underneath his rugged exterior lays a fashion-focused mind and a keen eye for style.

Rediff.com caught up with the designer on Day Five of the Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai.

Tell us about your collection, in terms of inspiration, colours and shapes.
It was inspired by video games, which is why I had Mario Bros for the music. In a video game, you have a good guy fighting a bad guy to win the girl. It ended with a lot of feminine, sexy evening gowns.

There are a lot of colours: spruce, hot pink, purple, dalia pink, amber, black, white, electric blue.

As for shapes, usually I do a lot of fitted silhouettes, but the buyers wanted a bit more loose this time, with a bit more comfort, which is why the first half was in that line. But then I have a lot of these young starlets and actresses that I cater to, and they want these fitted gowns, extremely sexy. So that's why you saw those in the second half of the show. Since 80s
and 70s are in trend, I had a lot of cut-outs.

Most common fashion mistakes?
To follow a trend. One should not follow just any trend, because trends don't necessarily work for everyone.

What are some of your favourite trends for the coming festive/wedding season?
Very honestly, apart from patterns, a lot of colours are going to be in trend, a lot of colour blocking is going to be in trend.  In India, the trend for long gowns has never been this strong.

What is one item that women Must Have in their closets?
A basic black fit-to-flare dress. It's something you can team with anything. If you want to go casual, you can team it with something casual. If you want to be sexy, you can pair with stilettos. And it can be daywear as well as evening wear.

Person you would like to work with most?
I'm designing a lot for Priyanka Chopra these days. She had a bob going on for a while, and since I was there, it was quite inspiring for me to work with.

Also, the face of Lakme, Amrit Maghera, is a huge inspiration for me. Especially for this collection.

Personal style?
Sporty, but I like my shoes and chappals to be a bit different. Otherwise, it usually jeans and t-shirt.