Breaking stereotypes, the forthcoming season of Lakmé Fashion Week (LFW) Summer/Resort 2017 focuses on “inclusivity in fashion” through its shows, designers and models.
The five-day gala will commence on February 1 at the Jio Garden here.
From the first ever plus-size show with a retail brand last season, Lakmé Fashion Week is taking the conversation on inclusivity further with a #TagFree show this season. The #TagFree show will be curated by Kshitij Kankaria, showing designers such as Dhruv Kapoor, Sanchita Ajjampur and Suket Dhir. The show will bring forth women from all walks of life who are labelled and stereotyped by society.
Another highlight this season is the Dharavi project. Godrej India Culture Lab is collaborating with SNEHA, an NGO which has done extensive work in Dharavi for ‘Fashion Funda – A Dharavi design dialogue’ at Lakme Fashion Week. The event will explore the possibilities of design innovation in Dharavi, a hub for artisans who have serviced the fashion industry for decades.
Mohammad Ismail Ansari, an embroidery artisan from Dharavi, has joined hands with fashion designer Jay Ramrakhiani to create an exquisite ensemble that will be showcased at the event.
Ansari and Ramrakhiani will then join Nayreen Daruwala, head of SNEHA and Kruti Saraiya from the Dharavi Design Museum for a panel discussion. Parmesh Shahani, head, Godrej India Culture Lab, will serve as a moderator.
“With the aim of evolving mindsets and creating a more inclusive conversation around fashion, we have opened our runway to diverse and unconventional models and are curating some path-breaking shows that will further highlight our commitment to continue the conversation on inclusivity which we started last season,” Jaspreet Chandok, Head- Fashion, IMG Reliance Ltd, said in a statement.
Transgender model Anjali Lama from Nepal was chosen as one of the winners of the model auditions to walk for the season. The model talent this season will also have a gender-neutral model – Petr Nitka from the Czech Republic who has walked numerous international runways. Janvi Deori from the northeast region — who was one of the winners of the model auditions in the north east last season — and Nepalese model Varsha Thapa will continue to be part of the model pool this season.
The second day of the event will be dedicated to conversations and experiences around sustainable fashion in India. Lakme Fashion Week has collaborated with Kranti – an NGO that empowers girls from Mumbai’s red light areas to be agents of social change and Mandeep Nagi of Shades of India – one of India’s textile labels to present a unique presentation.
The event also aims to showcase the work of grassroot level artisans of Kutch and make them a part of the designer talent at the fashion week in a ‘Artisans of Kutch’ show by IMG Reliance.
“We truly believe that beauty is about being confident and unique,” said Purnima Lamba, Head of Innovations, Lakmé.
