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The week that was...

The debate over whether Mumbai or Delhi is the fashion capital of India has been raging on for years now. It is also one of the reasons why there are two fashion weeks in the country - the Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai and the India Fashion Week in Delhi. They started as a joint property, which was then called Lakme India Fashion Week.
Today, there are as many as four fashion weeks in a year (Spring/Summer, Fall/Winter editions), plus a couture week in Delhi. As a journalist covering Indian fashion from Dubai, it makes things complicated. To travel so many times for these events can feel a little overwhelming - this year, I visited Delhi for the India Couture Week and Mumbai for both seasons of Lakme Fashion Week. The former had 10 of India's best names in bridal and bespoke fashion, including the likes of Pallavi Jaikishan, Rohit Bal and Tarun Tahiliani. Dubai is a market that loves all things bespoke, and many designers who participate in the India Couture Week often bring the collections they showcase to the city - Suneet Varma, for instance, should be here in a few weeks with his 'Naintara' line.
The reason I chose to cover Lakme Fashion Week is because it can seem more glamorous, something Dubai relates to. I have always felt the concept of a showstopper takes away from the fashion aspect of a show, compelling the audiences to focus more on a celebrity instead of their clothes. The audience, however, loves watching celebrities in a fashion show, as was evident at the Lakme Fashion Week where a pregnant Neha Dhupia walked for Payal Singhal and Veere Di Wedding actor Shikha Talsania closed the show for aLL - The Plus Size Store for a collection designed in collaboration with Narendra Kumar. These are women with real bodies; putting them on the runway proves fashion is inclusive. In that sense, the celebrity connect works.
Apart from its celebrity showstoppers, Lakme Fashion Week also celebrates mindful fashion - be it Urvashi Kaur's use of khadi, aka 'fabric of freedom', or Rajesh Pratap Singh's 'India Modern' use of tencel, a fabric made through an environment-friendly process (while the fibres came from Austria, the textiles were woven in India). Traditional fashion is part of daily lives in India. Hence, by giving a platform to textile expert Gunjan Jain's Odisha sarees, it is also being authentic to what Indian fashion truly stands for. On the other hand, there is always a show for GenNext designers who present collections that are often forward-thinking. For the finale, there was Monisha Jaising showcasing a collection of 'divaesque' red carpet gowns. You can say Lakme Fashion Week acknowledges that Indian fashion is a bit like 'bhelpuri' - a mix of things that beautifully represent Indian culture. And that is the point of fashion.
Of course, there is plenty of room for improvement. There are still many designers who do not really deserve a slot here. And the shows running over an hour late is simply not acceptable. The best option would be for Mumbai and Delhi to come together for one fashion week, hence avoiding designers who're only meant to fill slots. Doing so would generate greater excitement among those in the industry and fashionistas, in general. For now, having too many fashion weeks is diluting the essence of Indian fashion!
sujata@khaleejtimes.com