Runway Fashion: Offbeat works but not for all

For a long time now fashion weeks have been synonymous with models walking down the ramp, showing off the latest creations of the designers. It still continues but there have been a few deviations in the recent past. The runway seems to being give a short shrift by some designers who want to bring in some novelty to the fashion shows.

Playing with different venues to showcase collections

Recently, Wendell Rodricks had a museum-worthy presentation at the Lakme Fashion Week where people didn’t have to jostle for seats or wait for celebrities to arrive. All one had to do was walk in, observe the details, freeze the images and then step out. At another show during the Lakme Fashion Week, Anand Kabra’s installation was held at the venue hotel’s parking lot. Similarly, designers Payal Khandelwal and Dhruv Kapoor chose the pool side to showcase their collections. Few seasons ago, Masaba Gupta had taken to the Instagram for a live show instead of the runway. In the West, designers have been making fashion shows more exciting. Designer Marc Jacobs’ summer 2012 collection for Louis Vuitton had models posing on a fairground carousel at the 2011 New York Fashion Week. Karl Lagerfeld installed a huge golden lion right under the glass dome of the Grand Palais in Paris for Chanel’s Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2011 show.

Indian audience not ready for offbeat shows

Even though one off offbeat shows get a good response, by and large people prefer the traditional ramp walk. The idea of a fashion show is linked too closely to models walking down the ramp. Rina Singh of Eka doesn’t believe that Indian audience are mature enough to look beyond the song-and-dance routine. When designer Masaba Gupta did an Instagram show, she did receive a good response from the audience. She finds that a runway show allows her to reach out to a limited audience whereas a show in a parking lot or Mehboob Studio in Mumbai would be far more interesting. However, for such innovations, the audience has to be game too.

Designer Anand Kabra believes that offbeat fashion shows should not be done just for the sake of it. It should be done only when the collection or the storytelling requires it. Rodricks is excited about the idea of a museum-style format and would like to explore other possibilities other than the regular presentation next time.

However, there are many who still prefer to stick to the traditional runway format. Designer Paromita Banerjee points out that a runway is essential to her collections because then she is able to show her collection’s mood by how the models walk, choreography and music. With a runway-presentation, the audience can be directed towards a certain mood. So, she would opt for the runway for showcasing her collections.