Mystical Mumbai Lakme Fashion Week
(NEW YORK) Imagine if, say, at the end of Oscar de la Renta’s show, the lights dim for a beat and then suddenly loud music blares, and Julia Roberts sashays down the runway. At Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai this celebu-moment is called the “Showstopper” and any catwalk worth its rubies concludes with a big Bollywood star hitting the “ramp” (what Indians call the runway) to screams and uproarious clapping. It’s the equivalent of a cricket star hitting a home run. Without a cinematic Showstopper, it’s like the fashion show didn’t even happen. Sure, the front row is stocked with stars seated across from editors like Bandana Tewari and Priya Tanna of Vogue India and IMG’s Fern Mallis. But the crowd wants to see their stars model for the supper. “Indians love their celebrities,” explains IMG’s Nikram Singh. “They love celebrities here more than they do in America.”

It’s the 10-year anniversary of Lakme Fashion Week. Designers and divas are out in full force. “Fashion Week has evolved,” says style journalist Vinod Nair, the group fashion editor of the Hindustan Times who is like the Cathy Horyn of Bombay. “The designers have evolved. It’s growing bigger and bigger every year.”

DAY ONE:
Anand Kabra
Titled “Kumari” for the two faces of a woman–goddess and tempest–Anand Kabra’s collection races from white asymmetrical shirts hung loose over stone colored pants to big time bling, like the silver and gold sunray striped jeweled cocktail dress worn by a model with a spray of red paint on her forehead. But Kabra’s clean, Zen-like daywear is the reason he was voted “Best Emerging Designer” at the 2008 Marie Claire Awards in India.

Lakme & IMG Celebrate 10 Years of Fashion, Presented by Samira Habitats
To toast 10 years of Lakme Fashion Week, 20 “Grand Finale” designers (the last designer each season stages a lavish, fantasy runway spectacle) present an enormous show with looks from the past, the present and the future. The thrill is seeing all 20 designers on one stage, everyone from eveningwear king Tarun Tahiliani to traditionalist Manish Malhotra to Varun Bahl, who shows a pair of Lurex bubble shorts as a “future” look.

DAY TWO:
Gen Next Show
The Gen Next Show is where Indian fashion stars are made. “We barely charge them anything,” says Anil Chopra, the CEO of Lakme, which is India’s number one beauty brand. “At Lakme, we never use established girls as models. We like to discover people and make them stars. The same approach is used at Gen Next.” Two standouts of the six designers? Masaba Gupta and Mehak Jain. Gupta, a recent fashion school graduate, is deft at mixing East and West with Indian fabrics that feel ethnic, yet are constructed in a modern, chic way that would work on the beach at Le Club 55 in St. Tropez. Gupta’s black and white checked Sari with bright blue trim is perfect for Gwen Stefani to shop Fred Segal. Mehak Jain’s label Beyond has a rustic, urban vibe gone wild with crazy color combos and futuristic plastic shoes that look like Bjork’s cross country skis. Jain’s best piece is a mini dress in a multi-colored mosaic, which recalls early Todd Oldham. Gupta and Jain are designers to watch.
Aneeth Arora
Arora’s mostly red and white line of hand loom fabrics that use treatments like ikats and natural dyed khadi have a girlish, boho feel. A shift of intricate flower prints and teensy gingham strips is Mary-Kate Olsen casual cool, with small embroidered flowers adding a handmade quality.
Anuj Sharma
Everywhere you look at Sharma’s collection, there are buttons. But they aren’t there just for surface decoration. Sharma is an inventor. His collection of red, black and off-white pieces is rigged with straps and panels that can be adjusted with the buttons to completely transform every garment from loose to tailored, from a long gown to a billowy short dress. “You can make over 21 different looks for each garment,” Vinod Nair says. The geometric puzzle of Sharma’s pieces make his show one of the most fascinating of the week.
Nikasha
Working with silk, chiffon and georgette in a soft color palette of lotus pink, lilac, peach and lavender, Nikasha’s “In Full Bloom” show has an ethereal, Japanese feel. The embroidered cherry blossom trees and peonies are so subtly stitched on to flowy dresses and shirts that they look like prints.
Nachiket Barve
Small squares of transparent chiffon cling to Barve’s pieces as if the model had just returned from a glamorous party and been doused in confetti. A black sheer dress layered with a cascading waterfall of red, green and blue appliqués is the perfect dress for a Southampton red carpet party.
Anamika Khanna
A hanging cluster of light bulbs illuminates the middle of Khanna’s runway. Using a base of black and white clothes, Khanna’s shots of color - coral, fuchsia, aquamarine and bright red–are potent. Khanna’s collection has a relaxed, day at the beach mood, but then ends with two silver and gold zardozi lehengas, for those Bollywood bling moments.
DAY THREE:
Sanjay Hingu
The Indian struggle for independence sets the tone for Sanjay Hingu’s show, opening with Jawaharlal Nehru’s Independence Day speech. Freedom fighters Gandhi, Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose and Sarojini Naidu appear on the backs of well-tailored grey jackets. “Indian independence and those who fought for us are very important to me,” Hingu said backstage. “It’s a very big influence.” With a witty, political edge, Hingu could be India’s answer to Paul Smith, exemplified in a grey suit with political slogans embroidered in white down one side.

Troy Costa
Troy Costa opens his Havana themed show with two grinning, hyper-energetic salsa dancers straight out of Dancing with The Indian Stars. The clothes are more New York than Cuba, save for gigantic Ray Ban gold aviators, too-tan make-up and thick, menacing Pablo Escobar moustaches. Costa’s best pieces are two plaid tux jackets with shawl collars and a mustard velvet jacket piped in blue. For the finale, two hot young Bollywood stars, Aftab Shivdasani and Manoj Bajpai (both star in the upcoming film Acid Factory) close the show to thunderous cheers. “This is my first time on the ramp,” Bajpai tells me later. “But I doubt it will be my last.”
Krishna Mehta
For the first time at an Indian fashion presentation, a Sadhu Baba with floor length dreads opens the show by conch blowing, setting a spiritual mood for Krishna Mehta’s journey through the “Fantasies of Indian Magic.” As the Bikramjit Singh band chants “OM,” Mehta sends out two models dressed as sadhu and sadhavi, their mud-caked necks weighed down with multiple strands of rudraksh beads. From there, the menswear collection, which included a few women’s looks takes on a Goa MGMT beach concert feel, with great jacquard weave coats, metallic pants and tunics as light as tissue paper. “I use earthy tones that are a bit rusty,” Mehta says. “But there is refinement in the process. I like to mix metal with natural fabrics.”
Rocky S
The highlight of Rocky S’s show is not the moody, Gothic gear the designer is famed for (he should really design for Mickey Rourke), but the–insert dramatic drum roll–showstopper: handsome Bollywood hunk John Abraham. Donning a pimpy three-piece pin stripe suit decorated with strands of punk gold chains and crosses, Abraham’s entrance throws the crowd, which includes starlets Bipasha Basu and Dia Mirza, into a mad tizzy of hooting and hollering. John! John! Rocky! Rocky!
DAY FOUR:
Imcha Imchen
Inspired by the tribal attire of his home state, Nagaland, Imchen’s collection debuts with a tall male model wearing a fluted flower basket as a headdress. Gladiator sandals are worn with blue nail polish and organic cotton shorts for guys. A white mini dress is offset with a vest crafted from black straps of silk. Some models have feathered ankle bands that look as if their long legs might take flight.
Paromita Banerjee
Banerjee’s collection is a neutral story that starts with white and ecru and slowly introduces strong shots of bright red and orange. A highlight is a delicate Austrian looking flower bouquet embroidered on a graphic print, modernizing Banerjee’s villager-like ideas that he that pulls from Tibetan, Mughal and Ethiopian influences.
Rehane
With flirtatious, short summer dresses, Rehane is the Shoshanna of India. Her “Looks Like Love” collection in silk, organza, jacquard and chiffon arrive in Easter egg colors with bright embroidery at the hem. Rehane’s dresses work best when kept simple with touches like a metallic silver bib and geometric pleating.
Anupama Dayal
Anupama Dayal fuses the colors of India -electric blue, lavender, violet, scarlet, crimson and hot pink - into a very Western collection. The dresses are perfect for a pool party, embellished simply with a sequined trim or a wood bead 1970s style neckline. The best piece is a draping kaftan in deep shades of blue with shocking pink detailing.
Gauri & Nainika
Presented by Grey Goose Vodka, the martini is the focal point of Gauri & Nainika’s collection of over-the-top eveningwear. A sultry soul singer croons 1920s ballads at the foot of the runway, painted to look like a marble ballroom floor. Everything comes up roses and more roses. They bloom on the front of a satin red mini-dress, explode at a shoulder and sprout at the hem of a floor length ballroom gown. The showstopper? Bollywood sensation Deepika Padukone in a floor length mermaid gown covered in colored rosettes.
DAY FIVE:
Preeti Chandra
Chandra started her career in New York, twelve years ago, before moving back to her native India. Her collection is unabashedly girlish. A long, flower print dress is pure Scarlett O’Hara. A bright pink tunic with a white lace front could give Tory Burch a run for her money.
Raakesh Agarvwal
It’s all about opulence at Raakesh Agarvwal. In the center of his runway hangs a chandelier sculpture of dripping gold chains and endless silver disco balls. Agarvwal’s models sport headdresses of gold chains, reflected in eveningwear made up of molten metal, cascades of crystals and sheaths of chain mail that swing around the thighs like dripping silver rain.
Kallol Datta 1955
A 2006 graduate of Central St. Martins, Kolkata-based Kallol Dutta is the most avante garde designer at Lakme Fashion Week. His bold Marimekko-esque prints–fireflies, bugs and male/female symbols–anchor a line that shows off Dutta’s amazing knack for unique, origami-like folded silhouettes that surprise and excite. His series of “bullet wound” dresses feature a circle at the heart that protrudes as if the model has been shot from behind and the bullet has not left her body. His finale of big, bold black shapes on white dresses end what is a small, near-perfect collection.
My Village by Rimzim Dadu
If she wasn’t making clothes, Dadu could easily be a sculptor as evidenced in stiff jackets constructed to look like cages. A nude organza dress has cutouts of intricate paper latticework. A textile made up of hundreds upon hundreds of small black and white circles on the front panel of a reverse cardigan is a masterpiece of design.
Wendell Rodricks
With Zoran’s bare simplicity, Rodrick’s “Bossa Nova” collection manages to be steamy and sexy without crossing over to tacky or over-done. The Brazilian influences (segments are titled “Copacabana Sand,” “Brazil Forest,” and Gizelle Glam”) are subtle. A skinny cotton/viscose tufted boot cut trouser can pass for the softest of sheepskin. Rodricks’ piece de resistance is a “Brazilian Goddess” evening dress in viscose jersey that is so low in the back, that if you don’t have the butt of Bundchen, you shouldn’t even try it on.

Tarun Tahiliani
Tarun Tahiliani, the go-to guy in India for wildly extravagant red carpet looks, is the Grand Finale. Working with the theme of glamour, Tahiliani transforms the ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Hotel into a dressed-to-the-nines fantasy wonder-world, replete with three huge chandeliers wrapped in black muslin, walls swathed in lush, shiny green fabric and a stage with three gilded frames, used to introduce each model. Tahiliani has whopping 53 models in his show and each get-up is more regal and embellished than the last. Tahiliani’s message: Look at me!
PETER DAVIS
source : www.fashionweekdaily.com