By Dimple Sanghani
THE 2020 Lakme Fashion week celebrated its 20th year of being held in Mumbai earlier this month, but started off on a sombre note after news broke ace Indian fashion designer Wendell Rodricks had tragically passed away at the age of 59.
Everyone from the film fraternity to the fashion industry paid glowing tribute to the designer and gay rights activist, calling him an irreplaceable loss.
When the fabulous fiveday extravaganza did commence, it had everything associated with high fashion in India, including new design talent, established names, trend-setting outfits and high profile celebrities walking the ramp as showstoppers. It was one of the highest ever turnout of celebrities in the event’s history. Some of the many movie stars that walked for designers included Janhvi Kapoor (Rahul Mishra), Vicky Kaushal (Kunal Rawal), Sunny Leone (Swapnil Shinde), Neha Dhupia (INIFD Launchpad), Aditi Rao Hydari (Ritu Kumar X Ecovero), Bipasha Basu and Karan Singh Grover (Sanjuktta Dutta), Dia Mirza (House of Kotwara), Tabu (Gaurang), Aditya Roy Kapur (Chola), Soha Ali Khan (Shahin Manan), Shraddha Kapoor (Pankaj & Nidhi), Athiya Shetty and Ileana D’cruz (Mrunalini Rao) and Kareena Kapoor Khan (Amit Aggarwal). Also spotted on the catwalk were sports stars Shikhar Dhawan (Samant Chauhan) and Sania Mirza (Eka).
The grand fashion event gave a great indicator of interesting trends to look out for in the warmer seasons ahead. These included interesting adaptations of exaggerated trends that have been popular in recent years, including big prints, flirty ruffles, bold polka dots, extreme layering, voluminous silhouettes and oversized blazer blouses. The ever-reliable summer pastels, white dresses and florals were also popular with various designers.
The plunging neckline and inner wear as outerwear trend were there for those who dare to bare. Fluorescent colours will be popular for those who want to get noticed.
Perhaps the most interesting trend was giving the ethnic outfits a contemporary twist and this is something many designers embraced, including pairing a lehenga with unconventional tops. There were also pocket detailed lehengas, the wonderful lehenga saris and innovative sari drapes.
Apart from the outfits, there were beauty trends to help fashionistas get ahead, with the most interesting being bold eye shadow, graphic eyeliner, textured waves in hair and bedazzled makeup. The classic red lip and glossy skin will also be going strong in the season ahead.
For those who think less is more, then minimally embellished garments are a must and a basic silhouette is a go to. In terms of accessories, the mini bag is still going strong.
Last but not least, India has fully embraced the global goal of sustainable fashion and offered up many timeless looks that will remain hot for years to come.
