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Lakme Fashion Week: Set the trends for summer 2017

By Meenakshi Kumar

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Fashion

Like every edition, this Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2017 also brought in many facets of textile be it culture, heritage, next gen or sustainability. Here are some trendsetting nuances observed during the recent edition.

Upcycling the new norm

A group of designers showcased how materials and fabrics can be recycled and turned into great stylish items like clothes, jewellery, footwear, bags, scarves and accessories on the Sustainable Fashion and Indian Textiles Day at the Lakme Fashion Week. Designer Gaury Pathare's travel souvenirs like stones encouraged her creative juices to flow into designing for her label ‘Wandering Whites’. The fusion line of accessories was combined with brass, industrial waste and scrap materials. Circles entwined around the neck ended with strings and an imposing pendant; while metal clasps and stones were eye-catching centred for neck pieces. There were variations of necklace-cum-arm ornaments, large angular pendants, hanging changes on bangles and entwined neckpiece.

‘I Was a Sari’ founder said Stefano Funari worked with abandoned saris to create a line mainly of accessories. The show was designed and curated by Natalie Frost. The label showcased fashion from recycled saris. The colours were a riot of jewel tones as western, contemporary, casual, beach and resort wear appeared on the catwalk. Kaftans had fluid relaxed silhouettes, wraparound garments were comfy wear, while the scarves, bags, head gear, necklaces and accessories matched the look of the attire. Shubhi Sachan's label 'Jambudweep' turned waste into most wanted fashion. Created from non-hazardous materials, the collection was handcrafted from industrial designed into styles and accessories like shoes.

GenX riding high

Gen-next designers showcased their neo-futuristic designs in loose silhouettes and billowing layers. Pallavi Singh harnessed the power of indigo as her colour base along with a fusion of cotton and Chanderi. With nature as the theme, Nakita Singh started her showcase with black/white creations and used embroidery on natural fabrics like khadi and linen to present a cool summer look. Poochki focussed not only on Indian textiles and hand crafts but also projected their imaginative fauna prints with block carving and printing.

Soumodeep Dutta showcased an innovative line of garments inspired by sari drapes which had versatile garments’ backs often turned into the fronts and vice-a-versa. Rich indigo and khadi separates in a primary colour palette bought seasonless fashion to the forefront.

Urvashi Kaur

Pleated slip dresses layered with soft kofta jackets and overlays, saris paired with kurtas in an earthy colour palette were only a couple of the delights seen at Urvashi Kaur’s show. The garments were a perfect blend of conventional clothing with a gypsy touch.

Designers light up the ramp

Kunal Rawal continued his use of innovative textures and sleek separates to create modern Indian and Western formalwear for men. Marking his foray into separates for the first time, there were jacket kurtas, longline bundis, and high-low kurtas. Amit Aggarwal new life into old patola saris upcycling them into new creations. As usual, the designer managed to create his version of order from chaos. Rajesh Pratap Singh gave mundane a new cocoon, as ge rummaged through leftover khadi and reused denim from past collections, and recycled plastic bottles to drum up a novel thought.

Tarun Tahiliani’s wickedly opulent streak merged with the divine urgency of affordable clothes. The substance behind the pared-down fantasy, to represent India in a very modern way, found expression in his stylish separates that beckoned wearers to mix and match – draped blouses, embellished scarves, waistcoats and tunics with attached capes. The DIY styling of pairing a shirt, not choli, with an embellished skirt or pleated saree was reminiscent of Payal Khandwala's Fall/Winter 2016 showcase, though.

Narendra Kumar's Millennials collection was proof that he hasn't lost his knack for witty, incisive surprises. The spotlight was on a cast of new characters from Generation Z (aged 18 to 34), who are pushing for genderless clothing. A welcome antidote to tired ideas of power dressing, the on-trend athleisure unisex range of bomber jackets, suits and ties, cropped trousers, jogger pants and long shirts dazzled between jungle prints and khaki, punctuated with sparks of aqua. Abraham & Thakore's clothes spoke about fashion's craving for individuality, completed by a look that didn't take itself too seriously. The neo-dandy-themed collection had some nifty jackets in variations of bandgalas updated with shirt collars, at-ease two-toned Nehru styles, combat-ready kurtas with patch pockets and epaulettes worn over roomy patchwork denim trousers.

Handloom highlights

As a result of an initiative launched by the Ministry of Textiles on the second National Handloom Day (August 7, 2016), the traditional hand-woven products of West Bengal Handloom clusters have been transformed into high-profile fashionable fabrics. Due to the involvement of a reputed fashion designer (identified by MoU partner IMG Reliance) in training and product development, ‘Beyond Boundaries’, a garment range produced from the handloom products of West Bengal Handloom Clusters in Coochbehar and Udaynarayanpur, was showcased in the Lakme Fashion Week.

Lakme Fashion Week