This is the era of 'transmigrational fashion' in India. In no other time in history have Indian designers been so adept at sprouting wings and making calm landings on foreign shores. Really, it's only been seven years of organised fashion weeks in India and the fashion sensibility of the designers has metamorphosed in quantum leaps. Now you can speak very nonchalantly about say, Sabyasachi's collection on Style.com, Hillary Alexander's critique of Manish Arora and Varun Bahl in Milan. Kudos to the designers but more about them later.

What is intriguing is that the 'typical' (if you are reading this you are not typical) Indian fashion consumer - even with four fashion weeks in this country beating down style mantras for them in every media possible - remains fashionably unimaginative, unexperimentative and caught in a time warp hailing their favourite designers like cabs, for that 'kurti-cut' and 'fusion-lehenga'. Pity, you can't ignore them, they are after all moneyed to the gills. The beautiful bubble tops and the pin-tucked skirts that made them the hottest Indian trend from Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WLIFW) will be dry-cleaned to be exhibited in London, Dubai and New York.

The success of WLIFW must be given to the designers who have matured beyond the recognition of their own homegrown consumers. One look at the taffeta dress softly constructed by Shantanu and Nikhil and you know that along with money, to carry it off, great panache is required. The understated opulence of everyday throw-ons like shorts (in gold raw silk) or the delicately pleated chanderi top is but a few of the many stunning designs that have made this designer duo an example of unstoppable ascent (it also helped that this time there was no god or religion as creative muse). Then there was Cue with their Dutch dolls-inspired porcelain blue frocks and jackets with exquisite appliqués and hand-done crochet that spelt refinement and quality. Ana Mika once again made mere muslins and chiffons create absolute magic with her layers of superimposed prints making the collection exude a calming strength.