Banner Source: Vogue
The Lakmé fashion week this season emphasized on revolutionizing the "Ready to Wear" fashion scenario. The LFW 2017, widely promoted Indian Handloom with Contemporary designs also with the timeless five-metre saree heating up the runway. The designs were perfect to inspire you to get ready for the upcoming festive season. Be it a bridesmaid’s lehenga or an outfit for your upcoming Diwali party, there were silhouettes and fabrics for all kinds of occasions.
As the youth is making smarter choices, the designers this season mainly focused on sustainable fashion. They worked with various textiles and experimented with the weaves. The textile and sustainable day began with the "Paramparik Karigar" show which depicted the amalgamation of fusion of present meeting the past created by young designers and traditional artisans. This ally brought mainstream designers and master craftsmen to create something modern out of the traditional textile crafts like Bagh, Chanderi, Shibori, Batik, Banshee and Ajrakh.
Talking about the designers and their collection, the runway had versatile fashion.
Designers and their work
Gaurang Shah
His collection "Chitravali" had core use of Jamdani, reinventing traditional cotton, Khadi, Kanjivaram and Kalamkari silk on dupattas and 9-yard sari. Quoting Shah, " The collection brings to life the frescos from the 30 caves of Ajanta alive on textiles using hand-painted Kalamkari with a festive twist. Rich Kalamkari art is depicted on Handloom fabrics like Kanjeevaram enhanced with Badal and Chikankari."
Anavila Misra
Showcasing sustainable fashion through her collection "Blur" brought a colour story of myriad light hues bringing back tones of black to life. She depicted the soft and romantic side of black. The embroidery was subtle, prints could also be noticed which added charm to trench coats, peasant style blouses, capes, jumpsuits and skirts.
Jaya Bhatt and Ruchi Tripathi
Her label "The Indigene" presented Modern Luxury. Asymmetrical Chola, collard shirt, chequered jacket over loose-fitting pants. Indigene’s ethnic look for the men’s collection had blue headscarves with kurta teamed up with classic black pants, red chequered dupatta and hand wraps like a bandana.
Kriti Tula
She brought fun and pun element to her collection the “Doodlage” with a social message using Converse India’s Upcycled plastic ' Lifafa' fabrics with addition of patchwork, prints and embroidery inspired by city grids and disappearing foliage. The line was titled Dreams and Dystopia. This was in collaboration with Diesel. Corset waists, dresses made out of scrap fabric and electric handmade masks were decorated with twigs and waste material.
Anjali Patel (Verandah) X Sarfaraz Khatri
The Ajrak story of label Pracheen had a legacy of hand block printing. It was associated with Anjali Patel’s label 'Verandah' incorporated high-end boho chic cuts. From Kimono Sleeve Wrap Blouses to jackets, bralette top and pleated pants, the collection has everything you need in your wardrobe right now, truly showcased some up-market cuts and flairs!
Gaurav Jai Gupta
The show was supported by the Australian Foreign Affairs and Trade departments.
His collection "Akaaro" made headlines. The line was titled Irreverence. This label played with the textiles patterns and weaves in the most interesting way. There were silk and wool which were interwoven with metal yarns which gave a very rustic but a unique festive vibe in its own way. It gave a futuristic aura to a sustainable textile.
Mohammed Yusuf Khatri X Vineet Rahul
Teaming up with Mohammed Yusuf Khatri, Vineet and Rahul unveiled their collection "Raag" which had neon Indian slim line kurtas, wrap trench coats, quilted skirts and more. Inspired by the age-old craft Bagh, the designs drew inspiration from the fauna and architecture of the land, river Baghini and the enchanting heritage of this craft-rich town situated in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh. Dipped in classic tones of maroon, black and beige, the collection did justice to the Bagh colors and gave the craft the attention it deserves.
Neha Agarwal
Her collection was titled ‘Mithila in Soho’. It revolved around bringing back Madhubani folk art. She used ‘Urtu’ an ancient hand weaving technique to recreate imageries using fish motifs forming peacock or nestling belly of an elephant. The designer created her garments using Matka Silk fabric.
Ritu Kumar
The look was accessory dominated, leather corset bodice vamped up the runway look of layered ensembles. Also to give it a more festive and fun vibe, embroidered tassels, scallops and plaque work were tasselled around the bodice.
Anuj Bhutani
In collaboration with Geetanjali woollens, the designers’ focal point revolved around sustainable wool patterning. He created unisex casual clothing immersed in a muted color palette.
Manish Malhotra
The season ended with a star-studded event presenting Manish’s line. The collection was titled ‘Tales of Indulgence’. The colour palette was mostly black, white and chrome. The collection had fancy silhouettes with embroidered fabrics giving a very conventional festive look to the garments.
Masaba
With the trademark vibrancy of the designer’s style, the collection featured a colourful and fruity range of fabrics. Her collection screamed quirky modernisation with patch worked flows skirt teamed up with bow tie top and printed cape over it. As said by the designer her collection was based on water which is easy fluid and pure. Color palette comprised of pink, green and blue with dark shades like black and maroon.
Rahul Mishra
His collection had his signature traditional techniques and Handloom embroidery, broadly inspiration by the departing monsoon. He used fabrics like Chanderi, Maheshwari and Banarasi. Major motifs, that were the core of his designs included lotus, marigold and Arabian jasmine. The colour palette had kaleidoscopic yellow, purple, furs his, orange, red, coral and black along with pastel hues.
MATR
Matr’s ‘Bihar Khadi’ collection was in collaboration with Koppal New York. They explored the fabric Khadi with dyeing, printing patterns and embroidery techniques. Kopal’s collection had handwoven fabrics cut into western silhouettes, keeping it simple yet classy. Fabrics from MTR was transformed by “Because of Nature Australia” into beautiful ensembles. Innovative sari with ruffled up pallu and classic neat dresses with loosely fitted jackets to mention a few.
Paramparik Karigar
Five designers came together to showcase this craft highlighted collection. It also brought a subtle hint of Japanese and oriental nuance to match the requirements of the season. The collection used textiles like Shibori, Bandhej , Ajrakh and more. You can get hold of these beautiful fabric pieces at our online retail store Fabriclore to create your own contemporary design for the upcoming festive season or a casual wear.
Ethicus
The collection named ‘Matchmaker’ was to bridge the gap between farm and fashion. The collection showcased handloom saris, blouses, kurtas and dresses which had colourful geometric farmlands seen while travelling via rail in the countryside. The cotton made in Kabini is ecologically sourced. The colour palette had natural colours from blues to green, earthy brown and black with striking mandarin.
Huemn Project
The collection ‘Reflection’ was in the link to sustainable fashion. It urged consumers to upscale, recycle and strip down fashion traces. It depicted human models as the human race perishing in a world of our making. The collection had garments made out recycled clothes sourced from cutaway waste. The designs ranged from patchwork jackets to printed patterned shirts and trousers.
Sonam and Paras Modi
SVA by Sonam and Paras Modi brought natural and beautiful landscapes of Kashmir onto the ramp. Motifs like China’s tree, twines, floral vines and birds were the soul of their collection. Fabrics that used were sheers, velvets and silk which were hand embroidered.
Anushree Reddy
Here inspiration was Niloufer, the princess of Hyderabad. The royal theme was entirely dominated by intricate hand embroidery. The collection had easy to wear silhouettes. The color palette had peachy pinks, burnt orange, sunset hello and gold perfect for the festival season. The designer used fabrics like handwoven Ahimsa Silk, Organza and pure organic Mul Mul.
Craftmark by AIACA
Designers Anush Arora, Hetal Shrivastav and Sonal Chitranshi presented their collections in collaboration with drifters The Crafts Collectivities, The Sandur Kushala Kala Kendra, the Parul Stree Shakti and the Natha Foundation. The collection had various techniques like Lambani embroidery from Karnataka, appliqué and patchwork from Uttarakhand and Phulkari from Punjab.
There were a lot of design houses presenting their work. A lot of them played intelligently with the fabric such as Fur, which was subtly incorporated into designs in patches. Shane and Falguni Peacock crystal-laden gown, Shriya Som ivory jacket or popping out of Manish Malhotra all-black ensemble as a broach are few elements to mention.
We could also notice experimenting with tulle. Monika and Nidhi frosted green and blue bridal lehenga had ruffles and scallops and Resham embroidery. Anushree Reddy used tulle to create floor-length skirt paired with a sardonic silk blouse.
To conclude the Lakme Fashion week worked towards bringing a transformation in the Global fashion scenario as Indian textiles being valued all over the globe and being appreciated and valued by the foreign market. To keep up with the fashion trends, at Fabriclore you can select from a wide variety of Indian handloom textiles and contemporary fabrics; from flaunting Banarasi, Modal and Mashru silk, Chanderi Mughal prints and Lucknowi Chikan to soft cotton fabrics available in a plethora of crafts, ranging from Indigo, Kalamkari to Ikat, Shibori and many more.
You can buy a varied variety of fabrics online at Fabriclore, to go with your festive look and design your own! Don’t forget to share your look with us at 
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Banner Source: Verve Magazine
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