Dressed in a tapered jacket and sleek pants, and with a shock of black hair, Verma cut a perfect schoolboy figure. But looks are deceptive, as he gets ready to buck the trend with his sartorial ode to the rage and aggression of youth. “Sometimes it is best to pay homage to the failure and weakness of youth. It is they who define fashion,” said the maverick, who is banking on colour and texture to deliver the blow at the fashion week.

“Giant”, his eclectic collection, had a Hollywood touch too with billowy dresses in diagonal stripes, silk jerseys in chic silhouettes, boxy jackets and digitally printed denims with geometric patterns. However, the talking point was his experiment with crepe bandage woven into the dress to look like a wound. While model Amanpreet Wahi’s firmly tailored, scarlet dress with an ample neckline was topped with a ribbon, the waifish Krishna Somaya pirouetted in a classic cream outfit trussed below the chest and paired with a cape.

Asked how the international arena has influenced his style (Verma has worked under the likes of Philip Tracy and Christian Dior), the designer said, “There is more of Mumbai in it with its sexy attitude.” Mumbai is also a market he has made inroads into, retailing in stores like Kimaya, and with a clientele including Natasha Poonawala. On the anvil is retailing in Kimaya’s Dubai chain as well.