A RAINBOW OF MONOCHROME
From celebrating monochromes to reminiscing Indian crafts, Day 1 of Lakmé Fashion Week was a runway full of surprises
The palette may have been neutral but Day 1 of Lakmé Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2018 was a colourful treat. The runway saw an interesting array of sombre shades, modern designs combined with Indian ethnic textiles and crafts, and live performances with a dash of chaos. What caught our attention was the flamboyant performance by actor and model Sushant Divgikar aka Rani Ko-HE-Nur, when he crooned to the popular number ‘I will survive’ as music artiste Ashvin Mani Sharma hit the right notes to complement his performance. Divgikar who walked for fashion designer Sohaya Misra, had the audience pumped up even post the show. Misra’s show, which revolved around gender fluidity, had no separate line for men and women. The models wore the clothes as is, thus, leaving it up to the audience’s imagination. “For me, age, size and gender are no bar. There wasn’t a thought process signalling what’s specifically for men and what’s for women. Everything is for everybody. I hope people get more open, tolerant and that there is less hate and more love,” says Misra.
Black played an integral role in most collections including Antar-Agni by Ujjawal Dubey, Amrich: by Richard Pandav and Amit Vijaya, ‘Bye Felicia’ by Chola. It also reflected in the designs of Abraham & Thakore and Shweta Kapur. We also saw a mixed palette of browns, beiges and mustards teamed with elegant embroidery, motifs and prints. Day 1 came to close with an interesting concept put together by Good Earth titled ‘The Miniaturist’. It brought together the centuries-old craft legacy of fine handmade Gota work. The show also comprised a set of soulful melodies performed by Hindustani classical vocalist Suchismita Das, who crooned to songs such as ‘Sajda’ (My Name is Khan; 2010) and more.