Lakme Fashion Week 2010 Designers

The glitz, glamour and celebrity quotient has been high at every season of the Lakme Fashion Week (LFW), but when it came time to mark a decade the event since its initiation, the celebrations that ensued knew no bounds. The 10th anniversary of LFW held in Mumbai had every present-day top designer who got a foothold in the fashion industry courtesy of Lakme. IMG, a leader in fashion week events and a top-modeling agency has been supporting the brand ever since its inception.

"LFW is one of the most established primary fashion councils in this industry that encourages new talent as well as help veteran designers build their brands. With the passing years, it has come of age with changes in the market, demands, lifestyle and a greater fashion awareness. It has become the most sought-after events to showcase a designer's talent,'' explained Rocky S, Mumbai-based designer who began his career with LFW and has now become a big name.

The Lakme Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2010 season had around 50 designers showcasing their creations including an entire section for GenNext designers and another one for promising designers. The established designers included Manish Malhotra, Narendra Kumar, Rocky S, Vikram Phadnis, Anita Dongre, Krishna Mehta, Neeta Lulla, Wendell Rodricks and others showing their collections for buyers from India, US, France, Hong Kong, the Middle East and South Africa.

The Week began with the 'Then-Now-Forever' themed show. The grand finale showed designers who have showcased their collections in the last 10 years including Ritu Beri, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Suneet Verma and other big names. Delhi-based designer Tarun Tahiliani concluded the event.

Designer Anita Dongre who has made it a mission to use organic fabric, dyes and designs and colours of rural India came to the ramp, just a day after the demise of her father. "The show must go on," said the diva who showcased the prints, colours and hues of Rajasthan. The Jaipur-born designer titled her presentation 'Jaipur, My Jaipur'. The collection showcased the vibrancy of Rajasthan, one of the most colourful states of India and famous for its bandhani (tie-knot) prints. Anita who is usually known for sober pastels, went all colours this time. She said that "I am presenting at LFW after a gap of two years and I find the event getting better and better. I am glad the recession hasn't affected the fashion industry much." She lit the ramp with brilliant-coloured lehengas, skirts, churidar-kalidar kurtas and saris, which received a huge round of applause.

Digvijay Singh, a designer from Ahmedabad (Gujarat), said, "This is my third back-to-back show, and I enjoy showcasing on this platform where I know I will get an audience from the Hindi film world, the best buyers from the international market and off course the best media coverage."

Probably the first designer to showcase a unisex collection at the event using organic fabric and dyes, Digvijay wondered why designers aped the West. "Indian designs are so different and unique! The West has enough designers to create their own style. So why should we copy their waistcoats, their style of shirts and trousers? We can stand apart in the international market and be noticed if we create something of our own," he said. Members of both sexes could easily wear Singh's designs of narrow-bottomed pants and kurtas, which could be tied across the waist in natural dyes.

The youngest to showcase in the GenNext section was Masaba Gupta. Famous for being the first love-child of India, the daughter of film and television actor-director Neena Gupta and Vivian Richards, the former captain of West Indies cricket team, Masaba proved that she is a future designer diva in the making.

The 21-years-old girl said, "Showcasing at LFW was an eye-opener for me." Using very bold colours and a unique styling of dresses, she said, "I love the rough incomplete look of Ikat cotton from Hyderabad and Mangalore and so have designed everything in that fabric. I presented fusion wear but I do create ethnic wear as well. Although I presented attires only in cotton, I equally like to create them silk and that too in the rough feeling silk."

Kallol Datta of Kolkatta, who came to LFW immediately after participating at Kolkatta Fashion Week (KFW) said, "I had prepared for LFW earlier. KFW happened later. So there was no clash and this is my 3rd presentation here. I have always loved all kinds of cotton and silk. And please, no embroidery and bling for me. I had enough of it as I grew up in the Middle East. So at present I will stick to only silhouettes, prints and colours." He added that "LFW is more professional and the crowd is mind boggling here. At one go a designer gets everything—star-power, media and industrial presence."

If it is Bombay and LFW, Manish Malhotra, Vikram Phadnis, Narendra Kumar (all from Bombay), Wendell Rodricks (Goa), Raakesh Agarvwal (Delhi) have to be there. Raakesh presented an opulent bridal wear. The centrally-hung chandelier was the main draw of the show. The collection had lehengas, jackets, saris and gowns in myriad colours such as violet, aubergine, fuchsia, plum, peach, indigo, purple to ivory, ecru, crÃ¨me and of course gold. The fabrics that he used ranged from silk, tulle, net, satin, chiffon and jersey. He had more Western cuts with his favourite shaded effect.

Wendell Rodricks collection known as 'Bossa Nova' had comfortable silhouettes in shades of earth and tan for jerseys, in crisp linen, silks and eco-cottons. He said, "The cottons we use in our collections are raw cotton which have UV-protective, antibacterial and machine washable properties."

Vikram Phadnis was another designer who presented a magnificent bridal wear. He unleashed an array of brilliant colours on the ramp. The riveting point of his collection was heavily-worked texturing and surface ornamentation throughout the collection. Lehengas replete with the heaviest of zardozi and crystal work, dupattas and cholis that varied from tiny bustiers to long raja-coats to kurtas and sherwanis lit up the ramp. Saris in net, chiffon and silk had ornate gold, crystal and silver borders. The grooms-wear was restricted to sherwanis, kurtas and knee-length coats matching the bridal wear. All in all the tenth anniversary of the LFW didn't disappoint anyone present.

Captions
1. Rocky
2. Anita Dongre
3. Kallol Datta
4. Masaba
5. Rocky
6. Digvijay Singh
7. Masaba