It was a return to the roots for designer Tarun Tahiliani, who celebrated the spirit of India in his fall/winter collection at the opening day of the 15th Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week.

The collection which largely drew inspiration from textures of Byzantine, mixed with colours of Amrita Shergill and paintings of Anjali Ela Menon was a treat to the eyes of onlookers who were mesmerised by its beauty.

"I have used very dull colours like brown, steel and burgundy. I consciously highlighted Indian fashion layered in medieval modernism because when a buyer looks at my design he should say they are from an Indian designer," Tahiliani said.

However, Tahiliani who has dressed up Bollywood celebrities like Shilpa Shetty and has bought a string of stars like actress Deepika Padukone and Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar as showstoppers in the past, chose to go ahead without the celebrity quotient this time around.

"I opted for it because I wanted to be serious and and never wanted dhamaal for the sake of it. I wanted to use this as a business platform and this time the showstoppers are my clothes," he said. Tahiliani's show was the highlight of the event today, which got delayed by a day as the organisers did not have necessary permits from fire department.