The grand finale at the Lakme Fashion Week Winter Festive was a surprising affair as young designers Kallol Datta and husband-wife duo Pankaj and Nidhi received a standing ovation and Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor walked the ramp for the young designers.
“I am very happy to be able to encourage new talent. It is an honour to be wearing their clothes. I should be thanking them for giving me the opportunity to wear these clothes,” the actress said.
Kapoor looked her best in a long black and white jacket dress over a black bustier and leggings for designer Kallol Datta. She sported an edgy look for Pankaj and Nidhi with a jet black signature basket woven topwith “long fringe detailing.” Last year, Kapoor was seen in an angelic avatar, walking the ramp for fashion designer Manish Malhotra for Lakme Fashion Week.
The finale set was elaborately decorated with huge revolving mirror walls and metallic cut outs hanging from the ceiling.
The futuristic collections were a part of the Lakme Absolute’s Monochrome collection. A common theme of black and white ran through both the collections.
Kallol’s collection included prints on knee length dresses, pants and skirts having monochromatic undertones.
Pankaj and Nidhi’s collection included dresses, jackets, with tassels, and pants.
The duo said they felt excited when Kapoor agreed to walk for them.
“She is a huge star who is currently at the top her game. She is a fantastic performer. She is so beautiful and versatile with the ability to carry something so modern,” said Pankaj.
While Kallol started his career few years ago, Pankaj and Nidhi made their debut in Mumbai on Tuesday.
“When we got a call we couldn’t believe it for a while. It’s a great opportunity for newcomers like us,” Pankaj added.
The Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2012, which started on August 3 ended on Tuesday night and saw as many as 86 participating designers and 10 sponsors.
Also for the first time, celebrated couturier Pallavi Jaikishan with over 40 years in the fashion industry was seen on the LFW runway, alongside other renowned designers like Neeta Lulla, Anita Dongre, Krishna Mehta and Ritu Beri.
Atithi Gupta
If she wowed movie buffs with her performance in Gangs of Wasseypur (GOW), actress Huma Qureshi impressed fashionistas when she walked the ramp on Tuesday in a black dress as showstopper for Atithi Gupta.
For Qureshi, Gupta created a black dress with uneven drape hemline and teamed it up with golden zardozi sleeveless shrug.
“I work on detailing. My garments look simple but there is lot of texturing and gathering. I wanted to keep it minimalistic, stylish and different,” Gupta said.
When asked why she chose Qureshi as her showstopper, the designer explained: “In her forthcoming movie Gangs of Wasseypur 2, Huma plays the love interest of a gangster. There is lot of drama to her character in the film, she tries to imitate Madhuri Dixit. I thought this would add drama to my garments and that she would do justice.”
The music of Wasseypur played in the background when the actress sashayed down the ramp. Director Anurag Kashyap, who showed up a little late, was there to cheer for Qureshi.
Gupta’s collection offered dresses, pleated skirts, draped outfits, jumpsuits and she also experimented with unique jackets and fluid pants.
She used a mix of fabrics like georgette, wrinkled crepe, chiffons and cotton silks to give a feminine and classy feel to her garments. A wide range of colours including blue, pastel purples, black and grey was used.
The final day also saw collections by new designers Nupur Kanol and Ruchika Sachdeva.
Rajat K. Tangri
His work in upcoming Bollywood gangster flick Shoootout At Wadala inspired designer Rajat K. Tangri to showcase a whole collection based on the concept of “mafias, spies and gangsters” on Tuesday.
“I was inspired by my work in the film Shootout at Wadala and so decided to go with this theme. I even had the music match the feel of my collection,” Tangri said.
The designer brought alive the dark and dramatic theme of the movie on the fashion ramp through fitted dresses and jumpsuits for women, and sharply tailored suits for men.
As for the colours, he said: “I have used very elegant nudes and beiges with metallic gold. I also used teal blue, metallic green and black.”
His show was followed by designer Sailex’s line, inspired by pin-up girls of 1950s.
The line showcased evening wear, especially blingy ensembles like satin blazer suits, full length gowns, skirts and saris.
“My line had a very vintage look and feel to it,” he said.
Archana Kochhar
Ace designer Archana Kochhar brought a zeal of freshness with retro-themed digital prints and actress Sameera Reddy added glamour to it by walking the ramp on Tuesday as a showstopper.
The collection titled Retro-Metric had range of digital print saris, cocktail dresses and sari-inspired gowns.
“I was inspired by retro looks and while I was doing my research I realised how this look had a lot of geometric designs. I saw that it was very big in the retro era of the 1960s and the 1970s and decided to bring this into my collection,” said Kochhar.
Reddy walked the ramp in a stunning blue-black sari with digital prints.
“I completely loved walking on the ramp. It was great fun to be a part of Lakme Fashion Week. I feel there is a big synergy between Bollywood and fashion. I loved Archana’s collection,” the actress said.
Kochhar displayed an interesting mix of contemporary elements and retro, which made the garments look timeless and unique.
One of the highlights of the collection was a long flowing black and white gown with a chessboard digital print.
Kochhar revealed she will launch her new line around Diwali.
“The common man hardly gets to wear the clothes designed by designers. It is very different to be wearing an Archana Kochhar. I want the whole of India to wear my designs,” the designer added.
