Lakme Fashion Week - India's Design Ascent

Indian fashion is at a crossroads – as the country rockets ahead and begins to take its place as an economic superpower, its design scene is poised to play the role of global ambassador, providing an image that instantly summarizes the culture’s modern appeal. At Lakme Fashion Week, which just concluded in Mumbai, the crisis didn’t seem to have the same effect as it had on Western runways, reiterating just how powerful the Indian economy is. Despite a slowdown in growth, the point is that the economy is still growing, unlike in Europe and America where the decline doesn’t show any signs of ending anytime soon.

The week’s highlights span a diverse range of design perspectives, from Anand Kabra’s fiercely modern silhouettes to Sabyasachi’s rustic layers, but they all share an investment in expanding the definition of what it means to be an Indian designer. Their ideas are bigger than stereotypes of ‘ethnic’ costume, and when they’re at their best, they can succeed in environments around the world, not just in their native context.

The first show that caught my attention was Anupamaa Dayal. Her vibrant print combinations, caftan-like cuts and beaded edges called to mind Zandra Rhodes, but seen through an Indian lens, and easily translated to both Western and domestic markets.

Anand Kabra is one of Indian’s leading young fashion lights and this season he took a giant step forward, moving away from his hybrid Indo-Western aesthetic and exploring a more architectural, structured silhouette. There were shades of McQueen in the structured shoulder minidresses and cracked mirror embroidery, but Kabra made it his own, all the while checking off some of the season’s relevant trends like a 40’s inspiration (his large shouldered- jackets had more in common with that era than the 80’s) and a mostly neutral palette.

Sabyasachi, perhaps the most famous designer to emerge out of LFW, shows regularly at NY fashion week, where he presents a ‘Western’ collection, and reserves his Mumbai show for an Indian collection. This season he made these distinctions irrelevant, sending out a collection that somehow brought together the fun and froth of the 1980’s and nostalgia for India’s rustic, rural innocence.  The first hint was the tulle underskirt in the first sari-inspired look – pure Madonna circa “Like a Virgin”. Then there were the sheer netted trousers worn with tunics, and more hints of tulle, all juxtaposed with antique brocades, and earth tones. It was the kind of masterful mix that Marc Jacobs has perfected in his own line and at Louis Vuitton, bringing in disparate ideas and somehow translating them into a vision that is unapologetically his own.

The big news of the week was Naomi Campbell’s descent, to walk the runway at the Mai Mumbai show, a benefit to raise money and awareness for victims of the 26/11 terrorist attacks on the city. Campbell’s Fashion For Relief charity was the recipient of a donation of over $20,000 from Vikram Chatwal Hotel’s, which also sponsored the huge cost of the celebrity-studded show, in which Bollywood stars, socialites and other celebrities modelled designs by both international and local designers.

Narendra Kumar, India’s pre-eminent menswear designer, sent out a stark black and white collection that incorporated graphic patterns, with a liberal dose of couture-like evening gowns thrown into the mix. Kumar has always had a penchant for minimalism, especially in his tightly tailored men’s collections, but this season, in particular, you could sense even more restraint, perhaps in reaction to the recession.

Finally, the show that was, perhaps, the most exciting was by Little Shilpa, who unveiled her fantastical headpieces and fashion jewelry as part of an accessories showcase. Shilpa, who is often referred to as India’s answer to Philip Treacy, splits her time between India and the UK, and the mix of British street culture, Bombay kitsch and the historical influence of colonialism comes together in a witty, wearable and completely new way in her collections. This one seemed to have a World War II inspiration (with perhaps some anxious undertones that expressed a fear of World War III), with stacked Indian flight caps forming surreal headpieces, propellers on hats, rifle shoulderpads, brocade epaulets, and much more. Shilpa sells around the world but she has the kind of talent that deserves major recognition – European houses would do well to take note, and to hire her to design their accessories lines.

 

 

 

Comments

[Spyware Removal]

Did you watch the Lakme fashion week in which the clothes of the models came off in the public. First it was Gauhar Khan whose top came off and then her skirt was torn from the back and then a model just managed to pull up her dress while it was falling down. Do you think it was intentional or just an accident. Please have ur say

[jerry fields]

Ohh I like the machine gun outfit the best. Is that Osama Bin Ladens design ?