From ramp to road: LFW 2018

Deepa Reddy, founder of ‘The Open Trunk,’ talks about the Lakme Fashion week Winter / festive edition 101

The bi-annual fashion week happened in the last week of August which showcased the winter/festive collection. Even though there were repeats, there was plenty to look out for as well. The major theme showcased was the extensive use of eco-friendly textile and other eco-friendly materials at the LFW 2018.

Apart from this, we saw the traditional 9 yard come back in a new avatar. The timeless classic, the quintessentially Indian saree was given a face lift by designers playing with fabric, styles of draping and actually using the technique of layering in an effort to make it appeal to the bolder Gen Z.

The destressed denim saree caught everyone’s eye. This got the nod of approval by none other than the reigning fashion queen Sonam Kapoor who wore it at one of her promotional events earlier this year.

Some of the trends we feel will be seen across the country and among the NRI crowd can be listed down as below:

Golds and pastels
They were a big hit with quite a few designers incorporating them in their collection making it the colours of the season. We saw use of the colour gold in various fabric from traditional silks to chiffon. Designers did not shy away from using metallic colours and we saw show stopper Kareena Kapoor sport an outfit in holographic colours.

Layering
Winter is not far and with the wedding season crossing path with the winter in the north and some cooler regions in the south, this style is sure to make a debut in mega parties and traditional occasions this year. For this festive and wedding season, we feel a combination we saw on the ramp will be popular. Layering of light and heavy fabrics in an attempt to add character to the look, add embellishment to a simple piece. Layering western wear with something desi or teaming an embroidered Indian saree with light jacket with a dazzling brooch will definitely make heads turn and make you stand apart.

Clash of Prints
This trend has always been off-limits, but 2017 saw designers innovating and making the print on print a trend that anyone can sport. We saw this trend in its all glory with polka and geomatics prints and so on.

Black is back
The colour has always been everyone’s wardrobe staple for parties but not so much during festive/ wedding season. Urvashi Joneja gave the colour a new look by adding a rich golden hand-embroidery.

Pant suit
The global trend was given an Indianised twist by adding bold embroidery in gold. We saw pant suits in shades of black, red and white, which would be a great addition to one’s collection for this festive season.