Sustainable Fashion and Indian Textiles Day at Lakme Fashion Week 2017

A new year, a new season and with it new fashion! The annual Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2017 show was recently held between 1st to 5thFeburary 2017 atJio Garden, Mumbai. The five-day fashion extravaganza showcased both prominent as well as upcoming designers and their innovative designs. What was particularly interesting about this year’s show was one day being dedicated purely to sustainable fashion (link to article on sustainable fashion) and Indian textiles. The second day of the Lakme Fashion Week 2017 was the day that celebrated traditional Indian handlooms and weaves, along with fashion that is environmentally friendly.

The day began with a curtain raiser runway showcase titled ‘Reincarnations’. This showcase wasaimed at sustainable fashion and how waste can be up cycled to create highly fashionable clothes/accessories. The opening show was by the jewelry label Wandering Whites conceptualized by designer GauryKirtikarPathare. The collection featured quirky out of the box jewellery made of stones, metal and even some up cycled brass waste/scrap! The shows that followed under this showcase had designs from Jambudveep and I was a Sari. All these designs had a mix of Indo-Western garments created using sustainable and up cycled waste materials. SmritiDixit’s collection that followedshowcased jewelry designs that experimented with fabric and fibers of different kinds. The Stitching Project and Kuriowas the last show of this segment, which had sustainable and quirky bags, shoes, stoles and jackets.

Wandering Whites Jewelry

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The next segment had a showcase by designers/labels SaileshSinghania, GalangGabaan and House of Milk. The showcase started off with SaileshSinghania’s collection of hand woven khadi saris with zari borders, intricate detailing of floral and animal motifs. These saris were paired with bright and pastel colored organza blouses. The next show by GalangGabaan was a ready-to-wear indo-western collection. The hand spun cotton garments were in muted shades of white with checks and stripes in earthy shades of maroons and reds. The last show of this segment was by House of Milk. House of Milk is known to use fabrics that are non-toxic and treated with natural ingredients such as Ayurveda herbs and essence. This all white collection had a good mix of easy wear garments great for the body and mind!

The showcase that followed was by designer/labels Padmaja, Indigene and NaushadAli.This segment began with Padmaja showcasing a collection of garments in flowing cuts and muted colors all made from handwoven fabrics. Indigene’s collection had garments with patchwork and tie-dye detailing in metallic and dark earthy tones. Naushad Ali’s collection featured floor length kaftan style and draped dresses made from hand-woven saris.

Designs by Sailesh Singhania

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The next sets of shows were by labels/designers Amrich, SayatanSarkar andSoham Dave.Amrich was the fist show, which had a black and white collection of sustainable garments. The collection by SayatanSarkar washand-woven western garments comprising of dark hues with pastel colored checks. Soham Dave’s show concluded this segment with another black and white collection bringing in shades of grey and gingham checks.

Similar to the opening showcase was a segment titled‘Artisans of Kutch’. This segment focused primarily on sustainable garments made with the traditional printing, weaving and embroidery techniques of Kutch. The first show of this segment was by Sufiyan With Madame Hall followed by shows fromChamanSiju,Shrujan and Somaiya Kala Vidya.These shows comprised of an array of contemporary garments on display with ajrakh prints, traditional embroideries and kala cotton sarees that stole the show.

Regina Cassandra walking the ramp for Shailesh Singhania design

(Image Source : http://lakmefashionweek.co.in/home/image_gallery )

The day concluded with a spectacular showcase of menswear clothing titled ‘sustainable man’ by designers Pero, Abraham &Thakore and Rajesh Pratap Singh. These collections were aimed towards environmentally friendly yet stylish menswear. The segment began with Rajesh Pratap Singh’s collection which showcased garments made from yarns made out of damaged cloth and plastic bottles. This was followed by Abraham &Thakore’supcylced and recycled garment waste collection comprising of a mostly black and white collection. The day came to a close with a show by Pero that comprised of a sporty themed collection made of khadi and cotton.

Adah Sharma for Galang Gabaan

(Image Source : http://lakmefashionweek.co.in/home/image_gallery )

The Loom offers some great designs at great prices that can help recreate similar runaway looks. Here are three styles that can help you recreate the runway looks:

1. Sari Styles: The runway showcase had a series of different sari styles from handwoven khadi with zari borders to simple ajrakh block printed ones. Whether you choose hand block prints or zari borders, the Loom offers both the styles!

Sari Styles

(Image Source : The Loom )

Sari Styles

(Image Source : The Loom )

2. Black-White and Checks: This year the runway has lots of black, white, pastel and earthy tones. Also apart from traditional block prints, check prints were quite prominent. Pick between all white or simple checks with these choices available on the Loom.

Black White Checks

(Image Source : The Loom )

Black White Checks

(Image Source : The Loom )

3. Handwoven fabrics: Handwoven fabrics like khadi and hand spun cotton were the choice of most designers for their garments. Channel the cool khadi vibe yet remain fashionable with these looks from the Loom.

Handwoven Fabrics

(Image Source : The Loom )

Handwoven Fabrics

(Image Source : The Loom )

By Arzoo B. Dhanda