‘Lucknow is thriving as a new fashion hub’
Fashion choreographer, model trainer and reality TV artiste Jagnoor Aneja finds Lucknow as the new hub of fashion in the country.
“It’s growing by leaps and bounds as a new thriving fashion industry. Though pandemic has slowed the pace of work that was happening in the state but nevertheless it will soon bounce back for sure,” says Aneja who has been integral part of over 80 fashion shows held in UP alone in the last few years. Talking about the art and craft of the city, he shares, “Lucknow is best known for a vast variety of hand embroidery work. The work is absolutely incredible and is difficult to find it elsewhere in the country. The artisans weave in magic with every piece and that’s the reason each part of it is truly exclusive. Not just Lucknow art of other cities of the state too is exemplary and admirable. Be it chikankari, mukaish, zardozi, aari, dabka you name it you have it all. I hope more efforts are put by the government for the artisans to survive this tough phase.”
Aneja adds, “When you have such strong backing of art and craft then sky should be the limit for the youth there. I have noticed that the UP youngsters have awakened to the fact that they are nowhere less than the metro city lot. During my prepandemic show in the city, I got to train and meet a large number of local models. And, what took me by surprise was to see how well-equipped most of them were and how remarkably they were making use of social media to carve a path for themselves,” he adds.
Being a trained choreographer, Aneja has also been part of reality shows like both the seasons of Love School and Hear Me Love Me. “I am open to more work on TV as a performer though I am more connected with the entertainment industry as a fashion trainer. So maybe you do get to see me doing a few acting projects in near future along with many fashion shows,” he adds.