20 best fashion design collections from the five-day long FDCI X Lakme Fashion Week

The recently concluded FDCI X Lakme Fashion Week featured interesting colour palettes, amazing textures and techniques. Here’s what we at Ivorystation found truly fashionable and new-age.

Day 1

The INIFD Launchpad show presented 20 student designers at the FDCI x Lakmé Fashion Week. The students worked on a pre-designated theme for INIFD Design Festival Season 6 and took inspiration from an OTT series or movies to create fashion collections and interior design sets. A jury panel of fashion and interior design experts along with Neeraj Gaba, TV and OTT personality, and Shefalee Vasudev, Editor in Chief, The Voice of Fashion selected the winners.

Samant Chauhan is known for his extreme embroidery, which is his creative forte. He presented heavy metallic looks that brought a new dimension to the ensembles. The silhouettes, however, were elaborate and majestic. The showstopper Manoj Bajpayee walked the ramp in a grey silk two-button jacket with two vents, peaked lapels and lavish floral embroidery on the front and shoulders. The matching trousers and black shirt completed the look.

Designer-duo Shantanu and Nikhil in collaboration with realme presented a gender-fluid collection titled, ‘Nomad’. The collection was inspired by symbols, textures, shapes, and patterns from all around the world and presented from the lens of a nomad. Fabrics and textures such as knits, voluminous jackets, leopard spot intarsia, weaves leather fringes, chiffon made up the collection. 

Day 1 ended with veteran designer JJ Valaya’s show. The designer celebrated 30 years in fashion by launching a new wear brand JJV. Titled, ‘Rumeli – The Summer Story’, a bridge-to-luxury brand was inspired by the royal life of Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala, which was very evident as the creations emerged with great grandeur on the ramp when the designer unveiled a grand sartorial story that will be desired by his loyal fans. Mrunal Thakur walked the runway as the showstopper.

Day 2

The sustainable fashion day saw Vaishali S’s collection titled, ‘Fil Rouge’ start with stark neutral black and then moved to festive tones that exuded a certain balance and tranquillity in the ensembles. “Sustainability being the strong focus and with the aim of making it transparent also to the customers, the designer, through her pieces, has traced all processes through Blockchain in order to make it clear and certain”, stated LFW’s Instagram account.

adidas Originals association with designer labels Antar Agni by Ujjawal Dubey and Khanijo by Gaurav Khanijo showcased a perfect blend of effortless style and innovative sustainability. Gaurav’s collection was presented through a mishmash of handlooms, indigenous embroideries, artisanal textiles into handcrafted pieces celebrating Indian craftsmanship in an artful and inclusive streetwear collection. 

Payal Pratap’s collection titled, ‘Java’ was full of simplicity, elegance and timelessness.  The colour palette ranged from indigo tones to deep shades of burgundy and ivory and then moved to brown, rust, brick and gold to form myriad patterns of dots and strokes. The tailored, structured jackets, appliquéd jackets, wrap jumpsuits, lungi skirts, wide-leg pants, knotted skirt and wraparound bodice silhouettes highlighted the 3D textures of the flowers and motifs. 

Diksha Khanna’s collection titled,  ‘Julley’ featured fabrics from three states– Chanderi, linen and denim woven in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bengal. The silhouettes reflected the traditional costumes with minute detailing and contemporary touches that brought into focus some contrasting shapes. The denim-oversized shirt with an abstract appliqué gave an unconventional treatment to the fabric while the blouson in the same fabric with the embroidered kangaroo pocket had a relaxed fashion vibe.  

Day 3

Versatile and powerful- the boat X HUEMN’s collection displayed hand-drawn prints, inclusive fits powerful statement pieces, and meticulously handcrafted textures. The signature handmade HUEMN gorilla, which has been a constant in the brand’s earlier collections, this time too, weaved its way through the ensembles, a reminder of the ever-evolving HUEMN. All their creations were accentuated by boAt’s uber-cool wearables and together, this collection brought forth a unique flair to the runway.  

Aisha Rao’s collection titled Divergence was true to the brand’s sustainability mindset. Mira Kapoor was seen closing the show for designer Aisha Rao in a colourful lehenga set. Aisha’s new line-up combined slow, planet-conscious fashion with unrestrained glamour. All the ensembles, thus, lead to a show-stopping wardrobe that masters impeccable construction, fit and dexterous details.

For Rimzin Dada’s show, metallics in shades of blue and emerald were the actual show-stoppers. The collection called, ‘A Sea of Million Stories’, featured the designer’s signature cord technique and reimagined cocktail dressing to create fluid yet structured forms. Featuring clean cuts, sharp silhouettes and molten metallics, the dresses were a perfect combination of contemporary and luxury ready to wear.

 

Manish Malhotra talks about this collection, “Diffuse is a very vibrant collection it is fun wear. The collection features different mixes, amalgamation of different silhouettes and has blazers, saris, lehengas and dresses too.” Manish Malhotra with a bow with the stunning Siddhant Chaturvedi and Shanaya Pandey. 

Day 4 

Suneet Varma in association with Bata India presented a collection titled, ‘The Eternal Lightness of Being’ featured 32 pieces out of which 26 were womenswear and 6 were menswear. Suneet’s effortless, feminine and elegant designs with youthful charm, made for a perfect prét line.

Pankaj and Nidhi presented a collection featured a wide range of clothing to name a few bomber jackets, coordinated sets, feminine dresses; sheer fluid blouses. To add more glamour to the line there were strapless minis, tiered flared dresses, shorts, double-breasted jacket, one-shoulder kaftan, culottes, jumpsuits and bralettes under softly structured covers. The husband-wife duo showcased contrasting shades, floral embroideries to statement sleeves and structured silhouettes. 

Tarun Tahiliani turned the grounds outside Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium as his runway to showcase a total of 85 styles that embodied the synergy of modern and traditional. The high-energy show also saw a live performance by Ma Faiza and actor Kriti Sanon walking the ramp. Tarun’s collection was presented by Nexa celebrated metallic tones of blacks, golds, greys, and blush pinks. The womenswear showcased lehengas, conceptual sarees, structured body corsets, kaftans, jumpsuits, gowns, co-ords, and dhoti pants. The menswear featured kurtas, banddgala sherwanis, bundi jackets, dhoti pants, pyjamas, and churidars.

Shivan & Narresh created five hand-painted, reinterpreted prints to adorn their creations in the five fashion categories. The categories featured a safari, ski, cruise, swim and resort line. Techniques such as hand knitting, crochet, hand machine embroidery and shuttle needle lace beautifully enhanced the outfits. Fabrics displayed were crystal mesh, chain mail fabric, pure cotton, silk, linen, as well as silk jersey and quilted puffer textures along with delicate knits and finally embellished with 3D motifs.

Day 5 

MYNAH’S REYNU TAANDON + NIKHITA’s collection titled, ‘I’m Worth it’ was divided into three colour groups of prints, consisting kaftans, tiered skirts, maxis, one-shoulder gowns, and separates, the collection was well structured. Coordinates like the tie-up blouse with matching pants were just perfect for the coming season but it was the tiered, rust, printed skirt edged in white with a matching blouse that created a fashion statement.

Pawan Sachdeva’s collection titled, ‘Men’s Verse’ had an interesting colour palette of ivory, beige, grey, sun yellow, strong orange and tanned blue. The brilliant orange side buckled jacket and the beige belted kimono-style one was great diverse silhouettes that the designer brought to centre stage. Black and white was the normal staple monochrome, which appeared for a drawstring blouson and a jacket with a black/white striped shawl collar.

Siddharth Tytler’s collection took inspiration from the art of “Sometsuke,” a Japanese term referring to the technique of decorating ceramics with brush-painted designs in underglaze cobalt blue on a white ground. This collection comprised of applique, crystal splashes, heavy sequin sheeting, ruffles and digital prints. Showstoppers Aditya Seal and Neha Kapoor walked in a blue kurta and golden separates respectively.

Falguni & Shane Peacock collection titled, ’Earthbound’ was showcased as at the Lakme Absolut Grand Finale. The collection consisted big and bold shoulders, bright colours, and plenty of rock chic, edgy, unconventionally futuristic outfits, and statement styles. The amalgamation of real with virtual resulted in over accentuated, highly stylized silhouettes with splashes of crystals, dome shaped diamanté’s, abstract sequins, and faceted beads mixed with the unmistakable rock chic elements. The collection reimagined body suits and short bodycon dresses with striking cut-outs, and unique hemlines–giving it a modern, glamourous homage to futuristic and space age.

By Rashmi Hemrajani

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