The bi-annual Lakme Fashion Week was losing sheen with not so great designers showcasing their work. But the lineup of designers for the Winter/Festive 2011 edition of Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai seems impressive and being a Delhi-ite I am only too proud to say that the sheen is added by Delhi designers.
Rohit Bal is doing an off-site show at the Winter/Festive 2011 Lakme Fashion Week. This doesn’t come as a surprise because Bal was inducted in the Team of Advisors of Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) last year. He is also on the Board of Fashion Designers Council of India (FDCI). What comes as a surprise however is the participation of senior Delhi designers who are (or were) in the Board of FDCI that holds the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW). These designers are JJ Valaya and Rina Dhaka. Wendell Rodricks lately became a regular at WIFW and many say that Rodricks had a fall out with LFW hence the new found loyalty with FDCI. Well Wendell Rodricks too is showcasing at LFW this time besides other stalwarts like Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Narendra Kumar.
Though the friction between FDCI and Lakme is currently at its minimal state, there’s no denying that there exists a shimmering rivalry between the organisors of the two fashion weeks – WIFW and LFW. Major poaching and lobbying takes place like alluring designers with sponsored shows and what not.
Now we also have a new Head of Fashion at IMG Reliance post the exit of former MD of IMG Reliance, Ravi Krishnan. Anjana Sharma, Director-Fashion at IMG Reliance seems to be a team worker and I have heard only good things about her till now.
Now that the Lakme Fashion Week has got an impressive lineup of shows, I sincerely hope that they also improve on the business aspect of the fashion week and not forget that Fashion Weeks are essentially Trade Shows and not Bollywood Tamasha. Heard that the business aspect has been rejuvenated too. Well I will reserve my opinion on that till the week gets over!
Karan Johar, the jack of all trades and Rohit Bal aka Gudda continued their tiff at the HDIL Couture Week. I believe the tiff started at the launch of The Collective in Delhi some weeks back where K Jo felt Gudda spoilt his skit. By the way, whoever saw the skit wondered what was it all about. Later at The Collective launch Manish Malhotra joined Karan Johar in bitching about Gudda and blaming him for spoiling the show. Gudda was apparently a bit late and a little tipsy.
At HDIL Couture Week, Gudda lambasted the Bollywood(isation) of the Couture Week. I totally agree with Gudda on this. HDIL was nothing but Bollywood Tamasha. K Jo +Varum Bahl’s show had Big B, SRK and Hrithik Roshan on the ramp and Mumbai went gaga about it. Jitesh Pillai of Filmfare tweeted 12hours before the show that K Jo’s going to recreate K3G on the ramp so all that drama of pulling out SRK from his seat to the ramp and all that bonhomie between Big B and SRK was pre-planned but was presented as something impromptu. In all this brouhaha, everybody forgot the clothes, which were rather nice, thanks to Varun Bahl’s creative genius.
Gudda however gave it back in his own way to KJo on his TV show by sticking to his guns that fashion shouldn’t be mixed with Bollywood Bling.