Lakme Fashion Week24 in partnership with FDCI was held at the grand, sparkling Jio World convention centre, with its delightful shops showing master crafts people. ‘Lakme’ has produced cosmetics over decades, (Lakmi is a vernacular term for Lakshmi), while FDcI is the arbiter of style and fashion here. This event is the highlight for those who follow clothing trends and alas, the related pollution. Textiles produce 20 per cent of the world’s pollution and so designers seeking to ameliorate this horror elegantly and stylishly must be applauded.
Nexa supports new talent and provides an opportunity for designers to show their collections. Delhi designer Ashita Singhal of Paiwand Studio won the seventh edition of Nexa Presents The Spotlight. appalled by the pollution generated by textiles and fashion, ashita uses leftovers: cut bits of fabric from designer tables, fragments, and scraps. She turns them into high quality clothes, saris and furnishings. NEXa’s theme was ‘Urbane’, about city life, urban culture and the lively cries in streets with their art and garbage. her “city Blues” collection looked at Delhi’s urban waste: discarded leather, textile scraps, velvets, silks. She received R8 lakh from NEXa’s philosophy of ‘create. Inspire’ to work on her designs. ‘Paiwand’ comes from a Persian word meaning to patch, add, join and relationships. Singhal’s Paiwand Studio revives crafts and makes creations for contemporary life like casual wear with overlays, pants, tunics with rewoven, embroidered surfaces and appliques. She has answered today’s vital need for recycling. Elegantly!
On a still, cool, March evening at the Mahalaxmi racecourse, Rajesh Pratap Singh’s show was among the best this week. Two brains working together with great coordination, ie the horse and polo rider, were a joy to watch. La martina, the leading argentinean apparel brand, collaborated with Singh to show this fashionable clothing, especially created for polo players and enthusiasts. Singh, among India’s most talented designers, has received many honours like Elle’s EDIDa award and his work is at the permanent textile collection in London’s Victoria and albert museum. his experiments with Ikat, dyes like indigenous indigo, chanderi and Benares weaving methods were done at Neemrana and he has worked with Bhutan and Lenzing’s Tencel. This collaboration showed the elegance of polo in a lovely outdoor setting along with expert workmanship. rajesh, being from Jaipur and a polo lover, showed his inspiration: the city with its background of royalty and exquisite art. Jaipur’s architecture inspired his fine flat knits, zardozi insignia, Intarsia variations, along with today’s digital methods and handcrafted work. Special jacquard and silk twill weaves were used with glossy satins and linen for breeches. heritage, tradition but still as modern as today!
Archana rao’s lovely collection was based on the “Sun and moon” and showed contrasts of dark and light, covered with celestial motifs alongside flowery clothes, crystals, pearls and patchwork.
LFW is created by Lakme and the Fashion Design council of India and various sponsors. FDCI’s mission is to promote and nurture fashion, including heritage crafts. Lakme is India’s foremost cosmetic creator.
Designer Ashita Singhal of ‘Paiwand Studio’ shared: “We at Paiwand Studio are super excited to have won ‘NEXA presents The Spotlight’ and present on such a large scale. Bringing upcycling and handcrafts to the forefront of fashion feels like a big win, not only for Paiwand Studio but all the people associated with sustainable fashion and conscious practices. We are truly grateful to NEXa, Lakme Fashion Week in partnership with FDcI and rBL for supporting a young brand like ours and giving us the freedom to express our vision and work.”
Sunil Sethi, chairman FDCI said: “We remain committed to nurturing emerging talent in the fashion industry. collaborating with NEXa for another season of ‘NEXa presents The Spotlight’ was a thrilling experience, as always. We were pleased to see participants from across the country showcasing a wide range of innovative presentations, with ashita Singhal’s presentation notably standing out. We loved how she translated this collection to the runway inspiring future designers in the industry.”
Shashank Srivastava – Senior Executive Officer, marketing and Sales at maruti Suzuki India Limited said: “Since its inception, NEXa’s commitment to fostering a lifestyle-oriented brand has found resonance in the vibrant realm of fashion. … Ashita Singhal of Paiwand Studio captivated us with her exceptional design presentation and concept and flawless execution. as the deserving winner of the seventh edition of ‘NEXa presents The Spotlight,’ her interpretation of NEXa’s season theme, Urbane, left us exhilarated.”