After two years of digital showcases, Lakme Fashion Week is back with a bang. This year, Lakme Fashion Week and the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) have teamed up to host a season-fluid edition in New Delhi.

Let’s take a look at everything that has happened so far:

RAHUL MISHRA OPENS THE FDCI x LAKME FASHION WEEK 2022

Rahul Mishra inaugurated the week by showcasing his exquisite collection, ‘The Enchanted Garden’ at Italian Embassy, New Delhi. The collection was a merger of a unique flirtation between experiences and fantastic imagination as nature has always been the mainstay and inspiration for Mishra. The silhouettes were utterly feminine well-structured and fluid, allowing the embroidery to do all the creative talking. The showcase featured sharply cut jackets, floor-skimming gowns, swirling lehengas and saris, which offered a variety of options. For the menswear segment, the models strutted down on the runway in floral blazers, pastel-hued sherwanis and sequin pants. Some of the iconic Italian brands were showcased as accessories in Mishra’s show were Zegna, Canali, Georgio Armani, Versace, Salvatore Ferragamo and Bottega Venetta.

OUTHOUSE OPENED THE ATELIER WITH ITS LATEST ACCESSORY COLLECTION

Outhouse founders Kaabia and Sasha Grewal showcased a new viewpoint of jewellery and accessories with their ‘Outhouse’ brand at the opening of The Atelier at the FDCI x Lakmé Fashion Week. Bringing the glam quotient of the ornaments to centre stage, the designers introduced a blend of silver-plating with matte silver as well as rhinestones and crystals. We noticed a perfect medley of colourful beads that created fashionable tunes along with pearls, resin, seed beads, feathers, rhinestones, raffia and even enamel, a remarkable take on the y2k comeback season. Focussing on a variety of statement neckpieces, brooches and rings, the jewellery gave an insight into futuristic ornaments for the upcoming season. The “OH DNA” bags were a new addition to the brand’s bag collection, which showcased adaptable belts that gave a new dimension to the bags, making them immensely functional. 

SHANTANU AND NIKHIL’S LATEST COLLECTION – NOMAD

The designer duo Shantanu and Nikhil collaborated with smartphone brand Realme, to showcase environment friendly, innovative and sustainably driven design elements. Titled Nomad, the collaboration brought to the forefront, a design model that balances Avant-Garde sensibility alongside maintaining the ease of functionality. The collection brought all that is happening around us through symbols, textures, shapes, and patterns as if we were nomads travelling the world. There were sweaters in rough knits that seemed like they were made of rope-yarn, suited to a breezy beachside, while classic intarsia featuring large leopard spots were cut into voluminous jackets for the urban jungle. Oversized sweaters, puffer jackets, huge bags, vintage fisher hats among many others were an ode to the nomad in all of us that involved comfort and couture, at the same time.

ADIDAS ORIGINALS X ANTAR-AGNI AND KHANIJO PRESENTATION FOR ‘SUSTAINABLE FASHION DAY’

Adidas Originals, previewed one of its most progressive and sustainable footwear collections created with long-time partner Parley for the Oceans, with a power-packed show in association with new-age designer labels – Antar Agni by Ujjawal Dubey and Khanijo by Gaurav Khanijo on the ‘Sustainable Fashion Day’ at the Lakme Fashion Week. Khanijo’s collection was inspired by the circus and was a metaphor for the never-ending show, presented through a mishmash of handlooms, indigenous embroideries, artisanal textiles into handcrafted pieces celebrating Indian craftsmanship in an artful streetwear collection. Whereas, Antar Agni’s showcase presented a new expression of the brand’s design aesthetic through graphic prints and bold colours like burnt orange, teal blue, ivory and of course the ever-popular neutral black, complementing the layers and silhouettes, brought together in a story of the paradoxes of minimalism and maximalism. The collection was lined up with jackets, kurtas, fluid salwar and trousers along with the New Age shackets. There was a marked emphasis on cleverly constructed jackets.