A week-long bacchanal of fashion, art, trends, creative innovation, design intervention and fierce networking has finally seen the curtain call at Lakmé Fashion Week’s 2018 Summer/Resort edition.
During a time when the concept of seasons seems diminishing faster than ever before, we found ourselves amongst a sea of traditional Indian techniques translated through modern aesthetics to cast an international appeal. Each past season at Lakmé Fashion Week has seen an increased business response on the buyer’s front with more and more countries demanding Indian-made designer wear.
Additionally, the talent and professionalism that Lakmé Fashion Week and IMG Reliance have to offer, surpass most of the international fashion weeks, thereby making this event an ideal location to scout for fresh and new design aptitude.
The Day 5 of the fashion extravaganza boasted of more dreamy and glamorous collections in comparison to the previous 4 days. Bollywood celebs like Kareena Kapoor Khan, Vaani Kapoor, Pooja Hegde, Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Tisca Chopra, Swara Bhaskar and Saiyami Kher walked for ace designers in floor-grazing gowns and bespoke dresses in mesmerising silhouettes that got us mentally filing our dream outfits.
Here, Narendra Kumar deserves a special mention for taking an innovative approach by shying away from his usual designs and featuring into a new territory altogether. The designer targeted the millennial generation by introducing streetwear inspired pieces that gained both our respect and admiration. The collection presented to the lyrical chants of “Fake It Till You Make It”, and focused on high-street casual, athletic day-to-day wear and ath-luxe categories which are a definite trend globally.
The grand finale was courted by Anamika Khanna who also targeted the generation in-focus – the millennials – by fusing traditional Indian aesthetics with edgy and refined cuts. Following a ‘Nudes reinvented’ theme, the designer explored a mashup of textiles, colours and prints inspired by skin-tones of Indian women. The collection hence followed custom-made nude shades ranging from caramel to plum.
Apart from the business, talent and glamour aspects, the show did not disappoint on the influencer and streetstyle front with Day 5 being a Sunday also marking a scurried gathering high on trends and style. The central area was upbeat with fashion bloggers and style enthusiasts flocking to the camera lenses of streetstyle photographers like moths to a flame.
With so much in the offing, this season proved to be more satisfying in terms of organisation, design intervention and variety than in terms of celebrity spotting (which is has us breathing a sigh of relief!).
Here are a few of the main collections, apart from the ones mentioned above, that stood out in terms of design as well as commercial value, on the fifth and the final day of Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2018:
Tahweave
For their Summer/Resort 2018 collection Sweta Tantia and Priyangsu Maji presented “Breathing Spaces”, under their label ‘Tahweave’ at the show. Fluid silhouettes in pastel hues adorned with minimal floral embroidery signalled in a vacation wardrobe apt for the approaching season. The designers played with natural fabrics, layered silhouettes, linear patterns and floral motifs over feminine midi and calf-length dresses, asymmetric kurtas and draped skirts.
Jayanti Reddy
For her latest collection, Jayanti Reddy targeted topics of women empowerment and emancipation, wherein the silhouettes just like her muse were structured but retained their fluidity. Whimsical embroidery also came alive over unconventional silhouettes that followed a monochrome palette of classic black and white.
Details such as off-shouldered blouses, capes sporting cold shoulders, peplum silhouettes, scalloped hemlines, playful tassels and ruffled dupattas highlighted the collection with contrasting tinges of gold embroidery amidst the monochrome colourways.
Ridhi Mehra Sekhri
Ridhi Mehra brought about a mélange of cultural accents with her latest collection dubbed “Cinco”, at LFW S/R 2018.
Known for modernising conventionality and tradition, Ridhi presented an amalgamation of five different cultures that have helped shaped her past collections. Following a fusion of Islamic, Indian, Spanish, French and Chinese art forms, the silhouettes were intricately rendered with a high level of workmanship over surfaces juxtaposed with Japanese and Indian Mughal prints.
Highlights of the collection include Spanish open jackets and fringed epaulettes contrasted with French flared sleeves, smartly tailored attire with printed Islamic motifs and indigenous embroidery entwined with conventional fits and a blend of Islamic prints.
Dramatic details such as jaal, tassels, zardosi, ostrich feathers and bugle beads gave the garments a modern twist whilst retained their originality with the inclusion of gotta work lent a contemporary feel to the collection.
Neha Agarwal
Inspired by nature and wilderness, Neha Agarwal’s latest collection “Lost in the Woods” under her ‘Agami’ label, fuses Indian couture with contemporary silhouettes.
Gowns, kurta dresses, tunic blouses, jackets, saris, crop tops, lehengas, pants and trousers in colourways of mint green, grey, silver, powder blue and yellow dominated the collection which follows an East-meets-West aesthetic.
Details such as intricate silver and gold thread zari work, bugle beads, fabric cutwork, handmade textured surfaces and sequins adorned silhouettes in organza, cotton, tulle, crêpe and silk fusions, such as silk-nylon, silk-linen and silk cotton.
