All the highlights from the Lakmé Fashion Week X FDCI 2023

From the cities of New York, London, Milan, and Paris, the fashion parade has finally come to India with the Lakmé Fashion Week X FDCI 2023. The five-day fiesta began yesterday at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi, and we can’t wait to see leading designers from India showcase their collections. There's a lot to look forward to—think innovative designs, new trends, and a lot more. 

Here are the standout moments from the week.

October 15: Day Five

The fifth and final day of the Fashion Week was one to remember. It had a host of A-listers from Bollywood walk down the ramp as they turned showstoppers. This included Sobhita Dhulipala for De Belle's 'Nazara', Kriti Karbanda for TATWAMM’s collection named 'Sobo Sassy', Diana Penty for Paulmi and Harsh’s ‘Rooh’ and Rajkummar Rao for Park Avenue’s premium casual collection. 

 

Actor Adah Sharma was the showstopper for designer Sanjukta Dutta for her collection 'SAPOON' and looked gorgeous in a pleated yellow saree. 

 

Having shown his swag on the cricket pitch, Harbhajan Singh brought his style and charisma onto the ramp as he turned showstopper for designer Pawan Sachdeva who presented his Infinity collection. He looked dapper as ever in a black ensemble that included a black sweatshirt, a black long coat, a black turban, and formal shows. Making things more fun was his walk which saw him jiggle and wiggle his way on the ramp in front of the crowd. 

The best was saved for the last as New York-based Indian designer Bibhu Mohapatra presented his 'Come Home' collection in collaboration with Lakme. Having made a name for himself through his stunning designs, Mohapatra paid homage to these iconic muses via a collection that perfectly brought together classic and contemporary beauty and fashion. Muses from both past and present included Ananya Panday, Lisa Haydon, Bipasha Basu, Vipasha Agarwal, Simone Singh, Carol Gracias, and Shimona Nath.

Basu, walking the ramp for the first time after giving birth to a baby girl last year, set the ramp on fire in a red gown in a glorious display of confidence and style. The flowy gown had two heart-shaped broaches and a cape with a long train. 

Lisa Haydon wore a pastel colour gown and satin bottom that was all things glamorous. It was an outfit with a very deep sleeveline that fully displayed the pearl embellishments she wore. Panday, on the other hand, donned a chic ensemble that featured a satin top with a pair of shorts and a three-quarter-sleeved floral blazer to go with it. 

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October 14: Day Four

The fourth day saw actor Kiara Advani turn showstopper for Falguni Shane Peacock. It was a bold street-luxe collection that was inspired by street culture. The actor wore a bodycon gown, that was figure-hugging and had a corset-like structure, with golden embellishments. What added to her bold street-luxe look was her long bubble braid, smokey eyes, and black heels. 

While the day witnessed a host of wedding collections presented by brands and designers such as Tasva, Anju Modi, Bhumika Sharma, Mahima Mahajan, and Vvani by Vani Vats, it was the Péro show that was the highlight of the day.  

It was the ultimate Péro party as it witnessed technical skill and imagination brought to life by Aneeth Arora. The play of pattern-on-pattern intertwined with a mix of colours hit the highest fashion notes. It featured a host of jackets, skirts, shirts, co-ord sets and pants drenched in vivid colours and deep-tones that were offset by psychedelic flowers and stripes. Add to that the floral motifs, medallions, and other geometric forms came alive through the 3 dimensionality of crochet, laser-cut fabrics, beadwork, stumpwork, patchwork, appliqué, and cutwork. 

October 13: Day Three

 

It was a terrific third day as Janhvi Kapoor, Athiya Shetty, Disha Patani rocked the ramp as showstoppers for Amit Aggarwal, Shivan & Narresh, and Kalki, respectively. 

With her kohl-rimmed eyes and lustrous waves, Kapoor looked like an absolute diva in a black bustier and body-hugging skirt as she walked the ramp.

 

Shetty, too, donned a black bustier that was paired with a nude skirt, metallic footwear, and golden earrings.

 

Patani looked ethereal in a pastel blouse and lehenga set that featured intricate floral embroidery. 

 

Aggarwal's chic collection was a mixed bag of deep blue, red, black, and grey in patterns ranging from loose shirts and off-shoulder dresses, to stunning jackets and more. Shivan & Narresh's collection drew inspiration from the Suomi Series which finds its roots in the designers' recent trip to Finland. Kalki's very first show at the Lakmé Fashion Week with the collection 'Zayra' consisted of graceful gowns and elegant sarees.

'Raga by Titan', the collection by designer duo Pankaj & Nidhi featured the designer's signature monochromatic style. It included appliqués, lattice-work, trapunto quilting, pixelated florals, and pearl-esque cord work on tailored jackets and high-collared dress shirts in black and ivory.

Gauri and Nainika showcased their Spring Summer 2024 collection that saw models dressed in floral ensembles and with Caprese handbags from their new collection. What made this collection all the more special was that it featured Indian squash players, including Joshna Chinappa, Tanvi Khanna, Anahat Singh, Dipika Pallikal, and Abhay Singh as the showstoppers. 

October 12: Day Two

 

The standout shows on the second day were the ones by designers Payal Pratap and Abraham & Thakore. The former's collection 'The Soft Parade' was an ode to the rich craft of Kutch and featured a mix of handwoven khadi cottons and handloom linens, woven stripes, chambray weaves, silks, chanderis, and bandhani prints on silk.  

On the other hand, Abraham & Thakore’s collection named 'Body Language' celebrated the timelessness of black and white with typography at its core. Blurring the lines between casual and formal, the collection was an exploration of fabrics like ikat, ajrakh, and brocades, and quintessential Indian craft like badla, sequin, and fine laser cut work. 

Amongst the other designers were Amita Gupta Gupta whose sustainable collection 'The Age of Urban Reforestation' drew inspiration from the bond shared between nature and humans as she captured his relationship by incorporating elements such as organic textures, earthy tones, and fluid silhouettes. Vibrant as ever and layered with texture and motifs, Swatti Kapoor's collection 'Sahaara' was a take on the largest desert in the world. 

Ka-Sha’s collection Milan/ मिलन was inspired by nature’s free-flowing roots of trees, from man-made bridges and their geometry, that saw patterns being translated via appliqués, hand-embroidery amongst others. Verandah's collection 'Anjuna' had the colours of brick and coral placed side by side to the shades of green and blue with hand-painted prints depicting the beauty of Goa's architecture. 

October 11: Day One

 

The start of the Fashion Week was a star-studded one as a host of A-listers from Bollywood walked the ramp as showstoppers. This included Alaya F who looked stunning in an ensemble that had abstract beaded embroidered pants that was paired with a matching bralette top for designers Paras Bairoliya and Shalini Jaikaria of Geisha Designs as they presented their collection titled ‘Profusion’. 

Their show also featured actors Saba Azad and Imaad Shah, who together are part of the electro-funk band Madboy/Mink performing an electric jazz music set on the ramp.

 

Then there was Jim Sarbh upping up the style quotient on display as he turned showstopper for designer Samant Chauhan who presented his collection named 'Ice Watch' that was inspired by the beauty of glaciers. The look saw him don a cream-coloured shirt with matching pants and a textured jacket that had floral patchwork at its back. 

 

Then it was actor Hina Khan turning showstopper for the students of INIFD. She wore co-ord set that included a cream-coloured cropped blazer with long sleeves and a wrap-over pink skirt with a front slit.

 

The day also had some of the leading designers from the country present their collections. This included Varun Bahl's festive collection called 'Inner Bloom' which was inspired by his close connection with nature. It was a sustainable collection that was brought to life via 3-dimensional embroideries, and luxurious materials seen across a spectrum of shades on custom-woven eco-friendly R-Elan fabrics.

 

The loudest cheers of the night went to Tarun Tahiliani. The designer collaborated with Kohler to integrate the theme of 'A Celebration of Self-Expression' by merging new-age forms with classic artisanal crafts.

 

Designer Ashish Soni's collection saw him draw inspiration from the 70's Retro Vibe The collection comprised bold colours and patterns and plaid as the main fabric in focus.

October 10

Sanjay Garg kick-started the Lakmé Fashion Week with his collection ‘Children of the Night’ at the Indira Gandhi Stadium.

 

The collection featured a mix of knitwear, kaleidoscopic weaves, and metallics, and the trio of Karisma Kapoor, Saba Azad, and Kalki Koechlin walked for the designer. 

 

Kapoor donned a gold and black pantsuit made of gotta and silk with a half-blue and half-gold overcoat. The look was completed with a sleek half ponytail and smokey eyes.

 

On the other hand, Azad walked in an all-gold gotta and silk pant-top set, and Kalki was draped in what was a fresh new take on the sari.