Deepika Padukone, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Sonakshi Sinha brought Lakme Fashion Week to a glittering close on Sunday night, dazzling in contemporary Indianwear by Anamika Khanna.
Kapoor, accompanied at the event by her husband, Saif Ali Khan and sister Karisma, was the showstopper for Khanna’s collection in a flowing black-and-white look, but she says her personal fashion is about “jeans and shirts”.
“Fashion, for me, is all about being comfortable, and I believe that whatever I am comfortable in, becomes fashion. There is no style greater than being comfortable, even if its jeans and shirt, a gown or dress... I think that’s what people like about me,” Kapoor said.
“In my personal space, I prefer being very casual and I don’t opt for gowns till the time it’s for a red carpet. It’s just being more casual clothes, jeans, track pants, T-shirts.
“It’s not like my wardrobe is full of best gowns. I think people must be thinking that I must be having 20,000 gowns hanging in my wardrobe,” quipped the actress.
“Most of my fans love my Indian avatar and I am also personally comfortable wearing that. But when I am not shooting and off work, it will just be jeans and shirt,” she said.
The theme of the collection was Sculpt, the Lakme beauty statement for the season, played out in silver, gold, ivory, gunmetal, black, soft pink, nude and a strong blue. The fashion gala marked the completion of 15 years of LFW.
The designer explored embroidery like zardosi, thread and metallic work to reinvent it to match the inspirations for her strong but quiet creations.
“It has been an absolute honour to be part of this grand 15 year celebration. Lakme’s Sculpt statement was a very inspiring theme to work with for my grand finale collection.
“It is an eclectic mix of construction and deconstruction and I have played a lot with drapes, Indian dhotis and long flowy jackets — all silhouettes that truly capture my vision of Sculpt,” said Khanna.
Also at the final day was Shabana Azmi, who walked the catwalk to music by her husband Javed Akhtar reciting couplets from a poem at the Mandira Bedi show. The veteran actress wore a glittering red sari with a turquoise blue blouse; Bedi’s focus in the collection was on the Banaras sari, woven in Varanasi.
She opened the show with a white and pink bordered silk sari with a giant flower applique on the pallu. What followed were saris with luxurious gold, yellow, pink, magenta, orange assorted silk and brocade borders that appeared horizontally on the sari.
Two-toned versions with solid and brocade mix were another alternative. Multi-borders appeared on net, while the tulle segment looked glamorous with varying applique options.
Aartivijay Gupta’s line took its inspiration from the art of mosaic glass, with images of parrots, fish, birds, houses, trees and peacocks prancing on her basic silhouettes.
Kunal Anil Tanna’s line was inspired by Japanese culture. Based on traditional Japanese festivals when the plum and cherry blossoms come to life, Tanna used the techniques from that country for the tie and dye effects for airy summer voiles and textured cottons. Actor Rajkummar Rao turned up as showstopper for Tanna, and he flaunted a suit in varying shades and textures of maroon.
Shivan & Narresh presented a poolside show of colourful cruise and resort styles called “Henri’s Garden”, taking inspiration from French artist Henri Rousseau and his visuals of visits to botanical gardens on canvas.
The mix of cruise, resort and jewelled swimwear was highlighted by the brand’s signature cut-outs.
