So Lakmé Fashion Week starts today. As 88 designers take to the ramp, all eyes will be on their collections. There will be some designers who delight and some who disappoint. Traditionally Lakme Fashion Week has been known for bringing new talent to the forefront and giving a younger designers a platform to excel at.
With Tarun Tahiliani, Manish Malhotra and Arjun Khanna showing you can expect to some of the “old-timers” to add some authority. Here the shows you should not miss:
The “Gen-Nexters”
The first show at the Grand Hyatt today is the “Gen-Next” show. For all of us in the industry this is often the most important show of the week. All designers in the show are making their catwalk debut, and have been through a vigorous selection process.
Masaba Gupta, Nikhil Thampi and Yogesh Chaudhury are just some of the designers showing at the week who have been” Gen-nexters”. This time I have feeling 24 year old, Ragini Ahuja’s resort collection inspired by origami may just be the one to look for.
Surendri by Yogesh Chaudhury moved out of Gen-Next last season and his “Miss Pac in the District” was an instant hit—selling out at stores and also catching the eye of Bollywood fashioniastas Sonam Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez and Chitranganda. Let’s see if his new collection, Dip Dip, Dip My Sunken Ship lives up to this. Let’s hope he is not a one hit wonder. He show is on Tuesday at Noon.
Anushka Khanna is another one, like Yogesh, who needs to impress. She made her debut at Talent Box and moves to the main show area for the first time. Her collection, Looking Through The Window, will use a lot of light fabrics like organza and georgette. She is known for her easy yet glamorous use of embroidery. Her sister happens to be Vogue’s very chic Fashion Features Editor, Priyanka Khanna, so she has her own in house critic to help her review and edit the collection. Her show is at on Saturday at noon.
The Reel Ramp
Manish Malhotra’s 100 years of cinema is inspired by the three main eras of fashion in Indian Cinema, right from 1913 to 2013. Get ready for a journey into costume design by the most prolific designer in the industry. Am looking forward to seeing the tight salwars of the 60’s the disco fever of the late 70’s and the frill of the 80’s.
Adding the real feel of movie magic will be directors Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar and Anurag Kashyap as well as actors Varun Dhawan and Siddharth Malhotra who are all taking the ramp for Manish. Young Siddharth is obviously a favourite with Manish right now—as you may recall he walked the ramp for him just last week in Delhi. His show is tonight at 9.30pm.
The International Touch
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Probably the most awaited show is that of New York based Naeem Khan. His father S U Zariwala actually designed my mother’s wedding saree, and it was fully sequined sheet and the workmanship is spectacular. A true heirloom piece. Naeem combines great tailoring with this fine workmanship and it is no wonder Michelle Obama wore his dress when she made a special appearance at the Oscars.
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Though this dress will not be a part of the show, you will see other dresses that made an appearances on the red carpet as well as pieces from his Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter collection. This show has been specially curated to give us a real look into the Naeem Khan’s aesthetic. His show is on Saturday at 9.30pm
Beyond The Ramp
Lakmé Fashion Week is not just about the shows— the week is always full of lots of fun too. All action this time should be at the Tigre Blanc Lounge. This French luxury Vodka brand has a special VIP lounge, which will be the place to be seen at. They are hosting special parties for four designers. Masaba Gupta, Shivan and Narresh and our own MissMalini host the first Tigre Blanc Fashion week party tonight.
Rocky S and Arjun Khanna, Kunal Rawal are also using the Tigre Blanc lounge as their party spot. A fashion week is never complete without some revelry. These designer soirees seem set to be the must attend events of the week. The best part is you do not have to leave the venue to attend!
