LFW Summer / Resort 2012: The gala fashion event is back...!

The most prestigious event in the fashion industry is back with Summer/ Resort 2012! This season promises several new initiatives to showcase designs from around the world, exchange of ideas, a networking base and a stage where artistic form of expression is celebrated. Leading the curve in promoting new talent, e-commerce and digital strategies, Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) continues to grow and expand its footprint across the world.

A few highlights of the season would be; firstly this time as a tribute to Indian textiles, LFW will be dedicating a day to Indian Craftsmanship and Textiles. All designers participating on this day will showcase Indian weaves and crafts. Krishna Mehta, a staunch supporter of Indian arts and crafts will curate the day. The event will see industry veterans participating in guest lectures, panel discussions and workshops. Through this initiative, LFW's endeavor is to aggregate the best designers who work with indigenous fabrics and put together a collection bringing the dominance of Indian textiles to the fore.

Sharing some insights of this initiative exclusively with Adgully, Krishna Mehta said, "I am so excited to be a part of the Indian textile Day and my collection would be more traditional this time. I have used a lot of mulmul and woven threads in the outfits. The emphasis is more towards Indian weave, crafts, textiles because I always wish to bring in the attention of the new generation to the tradition of our country. So, we have taken this initiative of dedicating one day to Indian weaves and crafts. What better than this platform to promote something like this where there is so much media and exposure".

Lakmé Fashion Week 2012 will also see iconic international designer Bibhu Mohapatra presenting a show on the LFW Runway. This will be his first time at a Fashion Week in India. Rohit Bal returns to the LFW platform as the Lakmé Grand Finale designer after 12 years; he will be interpreting the Lakmé Absolute range by Lakmé. Last season, "Source', the business hub at LFW had gone for a complete makeover to drive more business and meet the demands of buyers. This season LFW continues the re-vamp of the source and will be seen in a completely new look with installations and designer exhibits. The new "Source' will also see an interesting mix of art, culture and various other activities thereby making it the central point of business interactions.

Vaishali Shadangule, a designer and who is a part of the Indian Textile day told Adgully that she will be focusing more towards Maharashtrian textile and will be working with a not ' so ' known fabric called "Khund'. "People hardly know about this fabric and I wanted them to know more about this fantastic and beautiful fabric. The market of this fabric is very low or may die at any stage. It is a very skin friendly and summer friendly fabric so I wanted young generation to use and feel that fabric", she added.

And when it comes to fashion, who better than the designers to tell us what is new this season! Well known designer Payal Kothari giving a gist of what would be the focus and attraction this time said, "This time as its "Summer/ Resort', we have used much brighter and bolder colors - forest colors, flower designs and very light but bright colors. Also, I am expecting more business and other than that, as this time we are introducing bags and clutches as well, so we shall be promoting that as well."

Last time around, LFW introduced the "Talent Box', the international concept of showcasing designs in mini shows and was a great success. This season witnessed an increased in the number of applications. Almost 20 designers will showcase through the Talent Box shows this time.

Ritika Bharwani, a young and a "fresher' in the designing space will be a part of talent box this time. She is of the opinion that LFW has taken a very strong and effective step to promote young talent. Being a part of LFW for the first time, she is excited and enthusiastic about her collections.

Speaking about the same she said, "My collection would be fun as its "Summer / Resort'. There will be a lot of "maxi dresses', jump-suits etc with amazing and attracting colors. The color palette is full of bright but light colors from yellows to orange and so on. Fabrics used are also very summer friendly."

Speaking about how a marketer is looking at Lakme Fashion Week Summer/ Resort 2012, R.S Subramanian, Country Manager India, DHL Express said, "We have been associated with the fashion industry and fashion weeks and our association with LFW is long. We look forward for growth in the fashion industry this year in India and will support as much as we can. Like every year and in every fashion week, we have one show which is totally by DHL called, "The Future of Fashion' which brings in upcoming new talent to be a part and see how they can go further in the fashion industry."

Re-joining LFW as an Associate Sponsor for the 4th season is one of India's leading mobile services provider, Aircel. As LFW's longest running partner, DHL continues its support as the Official Logistics Partner of Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2012. Continuing their 4th successful association as well is India's leading fashion trade e-commerce portal ' Fashion and You as its Official Online Retail Partner. New sponsors on the board are INK Infrastructure ' Official Real Estate Partner and Forever Jewelry - Official Jewelry Partner'. Blender's Pride, the Official Partner

The Lakme Fashion Week Summer/ Resort 2012 begins from 2nd March to 6th March and we at Adgully will keep you posted about all the happenings at the gala event. | By Ankita Tanna [ankita(at)adgully.com]