Fashion that is sustainable is the way forward

NEW DELHI: Lakme Fashion Week, which is co-hosted by Lakme & RISE and the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), has been instrumental in launching numerous conversations about Sustainable Fashion and its effects on the community and ecosystem over the years.

The prestigious platform will launch the upcoming iteration of the event on March 9 at Jio World Garden, BKC, Mumbai, with Sustainable Fashion Day, a long-running property honouring sustainable innovations in fashion.

Harman Dhillon, Vice President Skin Care & Color Cosmetics at Hindustan Unilever Limited said, "Beauty and fashion are both an indicator and a catalyst of contemporary culture.

As India's largest platform that brings both these elements together, Lakme Fashion Week x FDCI has always championed thought-provoking discussion and provided a springboard to game-changing innovations and design disruptors. Implementing sustainable practices is the need of the hour for all businesses across industries.

At Lakme, this follows the commitment to Unilever's Positive Beauty philosophy. We are proud that through the Sustainable Fashion Day at Lakme Fashion Week, we can bolster ideas and actions for the good of people and the planet."

Sunil Sethi, Chairman FDCI said, "Fashion that is sustainable is the way forward. Talent across the industry need to start implementing greener ways of working into design process. With our focus on sustainable fashion at Lakme Fashion Week in partnership with FDCI, our ambition is to revolutionise the way the industry currently views sustainable fashion and make it more common place with each passing season."

Jaspreet Chandok, Head - RISE Fashion & Lifestyle said, "With each passing season, it is our continued effort to make the platform more inclusive, sustainable, and global. Sustainability lies at the core of all of our initiatives that we plan at Lakme Fashion Week x FDCI. With the upcoming edition, we look forward to bringing the best of talent, who will showcase sustainable innovations that will pave the way for the future of fashion."

The Sustainable Fashion Showcases are:

1 PM: ANAVILA OPENS 'THE ATELIER' Celebrated for bringing hand-woven linen saris into India's fashion landscape, designer Anavila Misra is set to showcase her latest presentation "DABU" as the opening designer of the Atelier. Anavila's showcase on 9th March 2023, will kickstart a series of presentations at the Atelier, a space designed for experimental presentations & shows.

Anavila's "DABU" will be an attempt to present the sari's stylistic nuances, philosophical metaphors and spiritual associations to nature in its raw form. The designer believes that a sari is not bound by zippers, buttons or belts, but like life, the sari flows into the vessel that is the body. The simple elegance of a sari, unstitched and exquisitely draped, is the marvel of unfettered and fluid creativity.

4 PM: R|ELANTM PRESENTS CIRCULAR DESIGN CHALLENGE - DOODLE | CHAMAR | IRO IRO - IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE UNITED NATIONS IN INDIA: Circular Design Challenge (CDC) presented by R|ElanTM is India's largest platform and award for design entrepreneurs working in Circular Fashion, in association with United Nations in India and Lakme Fashion Week in partnership with FDCI. This season, CDC will celebrate its fifth year since inception. To celebrate this milestone, Circular Design Challenge will be hosting a special showcase by three of its alumni - labels Chamar, Doodlage-Made from Waste and Iro Iro.

With the ambition to expand its presence and collaborate with like-minded partners and attract design talent across the world, Circular Design Challenge announces global expansion of its program from the next season onwards from October 2023. The program will collaborate with global partners including British Council for the UK, Berlin Fashion Hub for Germany and the Redress Award for Hong Kong/Asia Pacific among others in a bid to invite participation of talent from across the world.

Shortlisted finalists will get a chance to pitch their work to an esteemed jury at the October 2023 edition of LFW x FDCI, and the winner will be awarded prizes worth INR 20+ Lakh, CDC Trophy and six-months mentorship program, along with the chance to present a stand-alone showcase at LFW x FDCI March 2024.

5 PM: RISE WORLDWIDE PRESENTS BODICE RISE Worldwide, one of the key organisers of Lakme Fashion WeekX FDCI is set to showcase a unique, sustainable focused presentation with contemporary fashion designer Ruchika Sachdeva's - Bodice. Bodice will introduce its spring/summer '23 collection during the showcase.

This collection will celebrate the triumph of colour while unpredictably interacting with a variety of flowing forms. The unbleached shade of kora will be accompanied by vibrant pinks, tangerines, and electric blues, which will provide the ideal amount of restraint to a brilliant colour palette.

7 PM: FDCI INNOVATORS | AKAARO | NITIN BAL CHAUHAN The presentation, titled "FDCI Innovators," will highlight several takes on French culture from designers Nitin Bal Chauhan and Akaaro by Gaurav Jai Gupta. Nitin Bal Chauhan's collection named The Outsider derives inspiration from L'Etranger (The Stranger), a French novel from the 1940's by Albert Camus. The collection is a fashionable rendition and creative masterpiece of the emotions and views of the author.

While the novel emphasises on how an individual that acts against societal constructs is termed an outsider, Nitin Bal Chauhan translates this subtle emotion through tangible aspects in design. On the other hand, a visit to Paris that led to a three-year exploration, sparked the idea for Gaurav Jai Gupta's label Akaaro's upcoming collection.

The collection titled, The Sky Is Mine is inspired by the iconic shade International Klein Blue created by a French artist Yves Klein. Adopting the artists' unique approach to fashion, Akaaro presents its signature handwoven fabrics developed using materials like stainless steel, merino wool, monofilament silk and cotton, each offering an exploration of the sublime through pure colour.

8 PM: LAKME SALON X VAISHALI S' BENEATH India's leading salon chain and the pioneer of the beauty industry for 40 years, Lakme Salon has collaborated with globally renowned designer Vaishali S, first Indian designer invited to participate to the Paris Haute Couture and Milan Fashion Week, for the show - BENEATH, at the upcoming edition of Lakme Fashion Week in partnership with FDCI. The hair and makeup collection are inspired from the lifegiving oceans and the various mysterious creatures and elements it houses.

A continuation of Vaishali's signature style the special collection depicts the scary descent in the depths of the oceans and of the self, to discover the beauties that lie within. The collection will exhibit wearable art while keeping in touch with the heritage weaving traditions of India.

The hair and makeup are designed and curated to not only complement the designer's vision but also as an extension of this breath-taking collection. Staying true to the brand's purpose to 'Beautify The Future', the experts at Lakme Salon will bring the looks to life using sustainable practises with only real hair, recycled extensions along with eco-friendly colours derived from Ayurvedic ingredients.

9 PM: KHADI INDIA PRESENTS| KHADI INDIA COLLECTION I DIVYAM MEHTA | SUKET DHIR | SHRUTI SANCHETI A tribute to India's Fabric of Freedom - Khadi, the multi-designer runway showcase will feature a collection by Khadi India, and Khadi collections by Divyam Mehta, Suket Dhir, Shruti Sancheti that will aim to bring the beauty and glory of Khadi to centre stage. Khadi India's collection presents a collection of sarees and clothing that reimagines Khadi with a modern aesthetic. The traditional folk art of Gond, Madhubani, and Picchwai paintings served as an inspiration for the saree design patterns.

The Khadi collection by Divyam Mehta combines handcrafted fabrication and draping techniques with rows of darning stitches to strengthen seams. It is inspired by rural wall murals arranged in geometric patterns. The usage of Khadi in clothing for several seasons has been envisaged in Suket Dhir's Spring Forest collection for men.

The collection includes summer and winter clothing produced with various counts of Khadi cotton and cotton silks woven in plain, twill, and Jamdani weaves printed in vibrant hues.

The clothing is embellished with Kantha and other creative accents, trims, and embellishments. Shruti Sancheti uses Khadder, a material that was crucial to the Indian independence movement. The collection honours this enduring, adaptable, and seasonless fabric.