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Lakmē Faces Over the Years: (L-R) Shimona Nath, Indrani Dasgupta, Lisa Ray, Lisa Haydon, Sarah Jane Dias and Roshni Sharma.
Lakmē Fashion Week, in partnership with FDCI Mumbai edition, may have come to a close, but the celebrations have only just begun. It was a gala night where the best in the fashion industry came under one roof to celebrate the legacy of Lakmē Fashion Week and the people who have been associated with it for 25 years.
A sit down gala hosted at the Lotus Ballroom at the iconic Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai, saw renowned comedian and actor Kal Penn take to the stage to start the celebrations. Indulging everyone in the audience including fashion designers Manish Malhotra, Tarun Tahiliani in some fun fashion banter, Kal Penn shared a couple of his own fashion moments with the members of the audience, leaving everyone in splits.
Keeping it sassy and cool, Kal Penn’s humorous opening act was indeed the highlight of the evening, to be honest,better than most Bollywood stars who opened shows this season at fashion week. Kal, don’t be surprised if you get offered to open for a fashion show next season.
Lakmē Fashion Week is incomplete without Sunil Sethi, chairman, Fashion Design Council of India. A force of nature, Sethi shared a heartfelt message on Lakmē Fashion Week completing 25 years and in the process expressed his gratitude towards Jaspreet Chandok, group vice president, Reliance Brands Limited, for being supportive and for the balancing act throughout this partnership.
“I find myself a bit emotional and overwhelmed with nostalgia as I stand in a room full of designers who have been my co-passengers all the time in this journey. We extend our deepest gratitude to Lakmē and Reliance for their unwavering support to us. A special mention to my partners Lakmē’s Sunanda [Khaitan, Lakme Innovations Lead] and Reliance Brands Jaspreet [Chandok]. JC, you are the balancing act of this partnership and both of you for this platform. I look forward to us standing together for the 50th anniversary,” expressed Sunil Sethi, chairman, FDCI.
As the night was gearing up to celebrate the past while looking into an innovative fashion forward future, the stage lit up as Kal brought the OG Face of Lakmē, Kareena Kapoor Khan. Kareena who has been the face of brand for 13 years and then took a four year hiatus, is finally back home. Looking like royalty in a Manish Malhotra saree, Kareena beamed with joy as she walked down memory lane sharing her magical runway moments with Kal Penn.
25 Years of Lakmē Fashion Week is incomplete without fashion and its designers, models, stylists, hair stylists, makeup artists, choreographers, light and sound engineers, set designers and many more.
The Lakmas Fashion Week X Fdci Gala Night Runway Like Going Through an Old Photo Album Featuring The Archival Creations of Esteeemed Designers Including Tarun Tahiliani, Gauuri Nainika, Rit Beri, Varun BaHl, Monisha Jaisingh, Ashish Soni, Falguni Shane Peacock, Narendra Kumar Ahmed, Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna, Razesh Pratap Singh, Raw Mango, Pankaj Nidhi, Alpana Neraj, Namrata Josipura, Shanipnu & Nikhil, Bibhu Mohapatra, Rina Dhaka, Amit Agagarwal, Rahul Mishra, Anshu Arora, Bodice, Gaurav Gupta, Anamika Khanna, Suneet Varma, Malini Ramani, Manish malhotra, Anita Dongre, JJ Valaya, Ritu Kumar, and the Late Rohit Ball.
Each archival piece was celebrated by renowned Indian fashion models. The highlight was Carol Gracias who looked stunning in an Anamika Khanna 2004 archival piece and Lakshmi Rana exuding elegance in a Manish Malhotra showstopper look from 2001 and Manish also recreated the iconic black and gold sling designed for Shah Rukh Khan.
Each archival and recreated piece not only celebrated the designer but their journeys and how far have they come. The fashion show ended with the OG faces of Lakmē over the years making an entrance as the audience cheered along. The runway saw Lisa Ray in Ritu Kumar, Indrani Dasgupta in Rohit Bal, Lisa Haydon in Anamika Khanna, Sarah Jane Dias in Tarun Tahiliani, Shimona Nath in Rahul Mishra and Roshni Sharma in Malini Ramani.
As the curtain drew on the 25 years of Lakmē Fashion Week, each and every designer came up on stage to celebrate with their fellow designers who have been a part of their journey on the prestigious runway.
Here’s to an unforgettable night of India’s fashion history!
Delhi, India, India
