New Delhi : Dark hues of grey, chocolate and brick reds, were the main colours in designer duo Shantanu and Nikhil's deforestation-inspired collection on the opening day of the second edition of Van Heusen India Men's Week (VHIMW) on Aug 27.

Called 'Death of A Tree' collection, the fabric for the line had a variety ranging from cable knits, handloom tussars, net, silk, uncombed and unfinished wool yarns, and jacquards with cottons and silk weaves not to miss a lot of dying effects.

'Our collection is an inspiration from what is going on around us - deforestation due to rapid industrialization. We wanted to give it a different colour palette altogether as to how a tree changes colour,' Nikhil said after the show.

Added Shantanu: 'It was also the optical illusion during deforestation that inspired us as how to use the colours.' The traditional silhouette of bandhgala and achkans were twisted around to befit the theme with liberty. Appliqueing was predominant on balls. What stole the show was an 'exaggeration of a floral drape sherwani' which was an amalgamation of multiple textures.

'We used a lot of textures for the collection - as much as 47 where usually only 15 textures are used,' Nikhil told reporters. A lot of partial gloving both in hands and feet, a striking dhoti gown and corduroy lowers were predominant. Noteworthy is the models didn't change the lowers despite displaying different numbers.

'That's because the core of a tree never changes but it is the upper portion of the tree that does. A tree never dies from below but it starts dying from the top,' Nikhil told reporters.

The models also sported haggard hair that was symbolic of 'how the wind has become harsh over the course of time and has changed due to industrialization', he added.