New designers blaze a trail at LFW opener

MUMBAI - New talent took centrestage at the opening show of the Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) Friday - from futuristic designs to collections inspired by human emotions, there were varied designs, approaches and colours put together by six young and upcoming designers.

The show kickstarted with sisters Riddhi and Siddhi Mapxencar’s western line collection in shades of grey and blue with a touch of red. Models were seen sporting construction headgear.

In the next segment, models walked the ramp in the soft, flowy drapes of Juilee Bendhkale, which were patterned geometrically for an urban look. While the collection boasted of fabrics like silk, georgettes, chiffons and raw silks, the colour palette ranged from blacks to greys with a hint of orange.

“My collection was inspired by the human emotion desire. I particularly used the silhouette of the 1980s with puffed sleeves to exaggerate the shapes of the human body,” Bendhkale told IANS, describing her collection.

Fazal Mahmood and Akanksha Arora’s designs focused on the Gen Next and the designs were purely futuristic with one of them even having lights on the jacket.

“We showcased a completely conceptualised line where we drew inspiration from transhumanism (the use of science and technology to improve human mental and physical characteristics and capacities). We have used a lot of velvets, polyester and organic fabrics and also recyclable materials like tyres, pipes and

tetrapacks,” said Arora.

Pragya and Megha Samor’s bright and vibrant collection was dedicated to the media fraternity with an amalgamation of colours like black and white with various fluorescents, while Jelin George offered a total black outing. With mirror works on evening dresses and a little bit of shimmer thrown in, the collection was a blingy affair.

The show concluded with Ruchika Sachdev’s biomechanics inspired collection.

“I showcased a futuristic collection, the reason why I used a lot of silver to get that fact across. I’ve tried to keep it as urban and international as possible with junky jewellery and hardware on clothes,” said Sachdev.

On the whole, the first show of the first day show has impressed the fashionistas who are eagerly lookign forward to other shows.

Ace designer Wendell Rodrigues, who was a part of the jury that selected the new designers, was elated with the success of the show.

“I have selected designers for gen next shows earlier too, but I have to say that this is the best Gen Next batch I’ve had. I was very pushy, but I’m happy with the end result,” said the designer.