The coveted event at the city of dreams, Lakme Fashion Week,concluded last month on positive note. The Stitch Times brings to youthe glimpses of the designer wear industry that unveiled the Creative FallWinter 09 collections.


With a series of fashion weeks annually scheduled one afterthe other; the calendar of the Indian design industry seems to be bookedcompletely. This time it was the turn of Lakme Fashion week in Mumbai. Over 60designers participated this season showcasing the extravaganza of colours, cutsand styles before the international buyers from the countries like Canada, Australia, Netherland, the US, among others. "LFW has steadily established itself as aplatform for attracting international designers and labels, a vibrant place todo business for buyers and inspiring a global pool of talent. It furtherreinforces our commitment to integrate India into the global fashion world,"said Anil Chopra, Vice President of Lakme Unilever.


The event was a motivation especially to the young fraternityof design industry as the number of participants for the categories like GenNext and emerging designers was more as compared to the previous season andfrom various states of the country. The established designer category included someof the famous fashion designers like Anamika Khanna who presented her grandfinale collection, Digvijay Singh, Nandita Mahatani, Tarun Tahiliani with his Levicollection, Vikram Phadnis, Wendell Rodricks, Vivek Kumar, Atit Bhatt, AnandBhushan, Tanvi Kedia, Abdul Haldar, Ruchi Mehta, Niak, Jyoti Sharma, ArchanaKochar and, Manish Malhotra among others.


There were some designers who stood out for their creativityand style like Nachiket Barve and Rahul Mishra, both for beautiful cuts and wearability,Arjun Saluja for a strong, graphic collection, and, Wendell Rodricks, NarendraKumar and Manish Gupta for their wearable collections exclusively for retailstore Westside.



 

Celebrity Presence


The five-day long affair was a star studded event with Shahrukh Khan gracing Manish Malhotra ramp, Akshay Kumar supporting Tarun Tahiliani for Levi. This season's celebrity turnout included Preity Zinta, Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone, Malaika Arora Khan, Madhu Sapre, Ujjwala Raut, Arjun Rampal, Mehr Jessia, Sushmita Sen, Farhan Akhtar, Milind Soman, Genelia D'Souza, Asin, Minissha Lamba, Kangana Ranaut, Mugdha Godse, Rahul Bose, Rahul Khanna and a few more.


International super model Naomi Campbell walked the Indian ramp for the first time in a fund-raising show at this prestigious event. Campbell and New York-based hotelier, Vikram Chatwal, put together a show called "Mai Mumbai" (I Am Mumbai), which saw the cream of the Indian and international fashion fraternity design clothes for auction. Named as 'Fashion for Relief' the show benefited the victims of 26/11 blast and conveyed the meaning that the city is open for business.


The emerging trends for the season


The Fashion Week was all about the trends and styles for the winter season of this year. Designers worked on various themes bringing forth the multiple hues of maroon, navy blue, forest green, black and grey apt for the fall winter season. The trends emerged were the tailored cut styles with varying lengths in skits and narrow bottoms in the trousers. The drapes were once again the highlight of the show with designers like Wendell Rodricks bringing sheer simplicity. The fabrics like velvet, raw silk, georgettes, satin, tweed, Suede were commonly seen on all five days.


The overall response toward the Fashion Week was a mixed bag. The "Mai Mumbai" show was one of the most entertaining and also gave the Indian audiences a chance to see creations by some big names in international fashion, such as Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Isaac Mizrahi, Matthew Williamson, Oscar de la Renta, Roberto Cavalli, Vera Wang, YSL and Zac Posen.


The 'Menswear Day' was a new experiment this season, although it was taken casually, apart from Troy Costa's sharp formal wear and Narendra Kumar's tuxedo jackets with different cuts. The first show on the same day was devoted to accessories, with four designers displaying their work.


Originally published in The Stitch Times, May 2009