DARKER SIDE OF BEAUTY: GORGEOUS GOTH
Toss the softer, sweeter side of you out of the window... it's time to go dark and wicked. From the House of Dior to our very own Fashion Weeks, Gothic influences were omnipresent in all ways possible. But the trick is to get this exaggeration just right, as the look is still beautiful, soft and very, very sexy.

Styling Mantras

• Permit your chiselled body to pull off volume with gracious ease - be it skirts, dresses, tops and tunics with godets, panels, engineered flares and ballooned up hemlines. Team this volume with a pair of cigarette pants or a fitted skirt and these copious silhouettes make for très chic options for lavish soirees. Opt for deep burgundy, mauve, plum or cherry red. You can also go for eternal black or brown embellished with peacock blue and fuchsia pink.

• For a touch of softness and sophistication in your glamorous ensemble, indulge in extravagant lace on woven silk, velvet or satin, elegantly cut and draped for gowns and skirts. Great options to go with are the Dior Gaucho bag and high voltage, stone studded cork heels.

• Bring out the charcoal eyeliner and kohl, mascara, fake lashes and loads of attitude - and you're the Goth-goddess. Eyes heavily done with eyeshadow, lined with kohl and finished with oodles of mascara with a dash of gloss will help with the finishing touch and make you look smoking-hot.

• For a more minimalistic but equally bold look, choose from a number of add-ons like chunky dark jewellery, diamanté glares, embellished headbands and hair accessories, fishnets, crystal studded stilettos, pointed pumps or boots in glossy PVC and oversized bags.

Go for it: Sushmita Sen, Bipasha Basu, Monikangana Dutta.
Collections: Namrata Joshipura, Rocky S, Carolina Herrera, Burberry Prosum.