Paintings inspired designers at the LFW.
From paintings and murals to architecture, the Lakmé Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2017 ramp turned into an artistic canvas. HT Café brings you the best from the shows
Art is where the heart is, and fashion designers at the recently concluded Lakmé Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2017, revived myriad art forms in their collections. Inspired by the frescos from the 30 Ajanta caves, was Gaurang Shah, who used the frescos as handpainted kalamkari on Kanchipuram silk. “It was a true jugalbandi of two beautiful art techniques — kalamkari art and Ajanta paintings. For me, my kalamkari painter, who was adept in creating facial expressions and my weavers, it was a joy to create 40 beautiful pieces — a perfect tribute to the winter fashion season,” says Shah, adding, “As an ardent admirer of Indian heritage and craft, there was an alluring story every single painting offered to me. At that moment, I decided to bring the grandiose ancient Indian art alive on textiles using hand-painted kalamkari, and I was confident that it will give an enthralling festive gaze.”
Similarly, Neha Agarwal’s creations saw art works inspired by ancient forms of Madhubani. These were brought to life by hand embroidery derived from the age-old weaving techniques of Uktu. Agarwal is of the opinion that unexplored and the untapped art forms that have long been the mainstay of the princely families, will now adorn the sophisticated, discerning globetrotters turning heads and creating cultural pride at the same time. “An awareness and appreciation of the richness and beauty of Madhubani will definitely help revive the art form. The techniques and colours give vibrancy to the clothes that is unmistakably Indian, and appeals to a global audience,” says Agarwal.
Divyam Mehta also took a hint of inspiration from the artworks of French artist Jean Degottex to give a more comprehensive angle to his theme and designs. “Jean Degottex’s work can be described as moment art, nothing before, nothing after, but all in the doing,” says Mehta. All five days saw an array of designers showcasing their artistic side. That included Rahul Mishra, who had hints of the Mughal architecture in his creations, Ridhi Mehra’s collection, which was inspired by the beauty and intricate interiors of Islamic domes, Deepak Pathak’s designs that highlighted doodled artworks, and Masaba Mantena, who played with paintings, figure murals, which were turned into rich colour pigments and digital prints, among others.