DAY 2 - Designer Sanjukta Dutta, Inspiration The Curve by Prerna Adsul, Julie Shah and AOM by Gauri and Kunal @ FDCI LMIFW AW 19 in association with Liva

DAY 2 - Samant Chauhan at LMIFW AW 19 in association with Liva

Do you believe

In endless miracles

Do you believe

In the impossible

Do you believe

Sleep is a time machine

Do you believe

In curiosity

Do you believe

In what you cannot see

Do you believe

Life is a lucid dream

A life that manifests the reality of woman making her choices and daring to live her dream.  Samant garbs her in layers, capturing the myriad hues of her existence, the conflicts and harmony, the distortions and the truth weaved in detailed embroidery in jewel tones and shades of pink, orange, rust, and burgundy on structured silhouettes in whites and ivories. And he details the triumph of her spirit as she emerges from the chimera and walks her path holding aloft her essence …the flowery being that she is..casting her spell and enigmatic fragrance… the signature of her soul. 

Pledge against Child Labour by FDCI designers at FDCI LMIFW AW 19 in association with Liva

DAY 1 - Designer Rahul Mishra at FDCI LMIFW AW 19 in association with Liva

10 Years of Rahul Mishra: Retrospection. Metamorphosis. Reinvention.

I grew up in the sleepy village of Malhausi, some 83 km from Kanpur City. I set out in life armed with a degree in Physics. But, the scholastic facts that stimulated the mind of a young man, did not compare to the grandmothers’ stories that nourished the soul of a young boy. What was simply a delightful recreational activity in childhood, became a precious treasure trove of inspiration to deal with existential philosophies of adulthood. The artistic genesis of life, the spirituality in its pre-ordained symphony, the role of change in igniting its versatility – they all began to captivate me.

This collection looks back on a decade-long journey, that began with the exploration of an important fact of life – metamorphosis. I didn’t consciously intend to make the concept a brand signature when I launched ‘The Butterfly Effect’ back in 2010. Maybe, it has become one, because that first exploration was honest, straight from the heart; and steeped in the metamorphosis of the Artist from the Physicist.

Since I’m learning something new every day, this metamorphosis is continuous – both within me and within the brand.

I have tried my best to progressively build a crafts-based lineage that empowers the artisan. This lineage, at the heart of my brand DNA, is, in turn, a tribute to the universal DNA that has created a kaleidoscopic lineage of thriving life on this planet. In elevating the artisanal spirit and honoring the creative spark that gives it shape and form, I hope I am paying my dues to a beautiful life.

Embroideries hold instinctive appeal for me. I feel the holy forces of creation become meditative, magical poetry in the way the artisan’s needle and thread move through the fabric. This celebratory collection would be incomplete without a tribute to embroideries. They have come alive through intelligent separates. The separates themselves have a strong aura of dynamism because of the interplay between architectural silhouettes, vibrant colors; as well as prints and motifs inspired by the unapologetic, unbridled beauty of Nature.

My sacred relationship with metamorphic memories fuelled the shape-shifting level embroidery that defined my debut collection. Inspired by the tessellated prints of MC Escher’s woodcuts, these changing embroidery patterns seem to give the garment a life of its own. The depiction of life in motion remains to tell the tale of the hands that made them. As time passed, I found that the Physicist within me awoke from his deep slumber and produced the 2018 Spectral Forest Doppler dress. The Physicist-turned-Artist also metamorphosed into a Father. Growing up, I knew little of the world I saw and more of the world I imagined. I want my daughter Aarna to develop a fertile imagination too. I teach her how, through the only way I learned myself – spending time in Nature.

Once, Aarna and I sat sketching in a village near Nainital. Bold blue hydrangeas of varying sizes and distinctive tints inspired me to create life-like renditions for the 2019 Spring/Summer collection. It took months of arduous research and development to achieve a refined surface. But, the hand-embroidered organza petals in shades of blue, appliquéd onto light fabrics and embellished with Swarovski crystals are a story in themselves, of how the flawed perfection of the human hand can imitate and imbibe divine perfection. A private tour of Musée d'Orsay in 2016 brought me closer to the surrealist magic of Van Gogh. His ‘Sunflowers’ series reminded me of the flowers growing wild and free in Malhausi. The sweet nostalgia manifests itself in the diaphanous silk gown from Fall 2017-18 gracing the runway tonight.

Many of the looks in this collection have never been showcased in India. They are reminiscent of the 10 Paris Fashion Week collections, that have given me the privilege of presenting the best of Indian handicrafts on an international platform. The collection includes a range of fabrics and techniques, from gossamer tulle and organza to plush velvets; and traditional aari work with resham threads, to French knots inspired by pointillism art. The idea is to combine Eastern mysticism with Western meticulousness and highlight the overlap; so as to demonstrate that the world shares common ideas of timeless intricacy and elegance in fashion.

With the ‘Rahul Mishra in Retrospect’ essence of this collection, I wish to share with you a message that is very close to my heart – coming full circle and returning to the source is a celebration of our roots and a testament to our ever-evolving aesthetic. As Rumi once said, “Let the beauty of what you love to be what you do.”

DAY 2 - Designers Dhruv Vaish, Kommal, and Ratul Sood and Manoviraj Khosla @ FDCI LMIFW AW 19 in association with Liva

Dhruv Vaish presents his A/W 2019 collection “Meld” which is inspired by Modern Industrial Art. Taking the masculine sensibilities of the art the collection is an amalgamation of Geometric prints, textures and slick solids in very easy going yet refined silhouettes. In keeping with the gleam of metal an experimental fabric for men-  Satin makes its debut in his collection alongside more conventional choices of cotton and wool. The glitzy fabric has been juxtaposed with very earthy handloom cotton in contrasting hues of dark navy, purples, browns alongside vibrant yellows. The colors and fabrics in the collection are such that they can be worn all year round and not just in peak winters. 

Smart Bombers, long coats, hybrids, double layered jackets, High wasted pants, woven T-Shirts etc are the perfect blend of tailoring and casual. The innovative cuts and details that the brand is synonymous with are again seen in the entire collection. 

DAY 2 - Designer Nikita Mhaisalkar, Nirmooha by Preeti Jain Nainutia, Pooja Shroff and Siddhartha Bansal @ FDCI LMIFW AW 19 in association with Liva

Pooja Shroff’s A/W'19 collection is inspired by a line of handmade Indonesian batiks that she acquired during her travels to Jakarta. She has named it Resist Aur Dye. The name takes after the process of making Batik. It comprises of a few couture statement styles but the majority of the collection comprises of prêt pieces colors black, gold, greys, dominate. Suede, silk, crepe cotton are fabrics used.

Pooja Shroff’s Spring Summer 2019 collection – Resist Aur Dye – is a tribute to Indonesian Batik fabric designing. Batik is a "resist" process for making designs on fabric. The designer has used wax to prevent dye from penetrating the cloth, leaving "blank" areas in the dyed fabric. The process, wax resist then dye, helps in designing beautiful designs with multiple color variants as well.

Pooja has done batik designing on various fabrics like cotton, silk, and other natural fabrics. This method required mastery of color mixing and over-dyeing; as each layer of dye is applied over the last a new color is produced, and Pooja has excelled in all the challenges in her new collection.

DAY 1 - Liva partners with FDCI to showcase India’s first Green Heart Fashion Show

Liva, the leading ingredient consumer brand of the Aditya Birla Group announces its partnership with Fashion Design Council of India’s (FDCI) to showcase India’s first GreenHeart Fashion Show with a thought leading initiative to promote the concept of sustainability through their collection and products. This initiative by Aditya Birla was the reflection of their commitment towards breaking the myth about eco-friendly materials and also educates the users about the need for utilization of sustainable materials to avoid environmental hazards in future.

In order to enhance and promote sustainable development, Green Heart Fashion Show showcased collections by well-known designers: Rina Dhaka, Sahil Kochhar, Shalini James and Samant Chauhan who created fluid garments using Liva eco. The show reconciled sustainability with the fashion industry, ethics and responsibility with beauty, luxury and comfort with style and elegance. The collection shattered the myth of sustainable clothing being boxy, stylishly textured, and fashionable while highly breathable.

“The mission was to showcase a series of the collection featuring designers championing sustainability and eco-friendly fashion practices. Liva has taken this step of associating with FDCI to support responsible fashion across the value chain,” said Mr Rajeev Gopal, Global Chief Sales, and Marketing Officer, Birla Cellulose on Liva’s association with FDCI. “With textiles consumptions increasing by the hour and the emergence of fast fashion, the industry at large must realize the need for sustainability to save the future” he further added.

“FDCI is forging ahead to take fashion on a greener path with a generation of new-age eco-warriors. We believe sustainability and conscious consumption is the need of the hour. Thus, we are extremely proud to begin this new chapter with LIVA as our Associate Sponsor, as we share a common ideology,” says FDCI President Sunil Sethi.

Rina Dhaka - Since red is the color of blood it has historically been associated with sacrifice, danger, and courage. The color of passion and drama. As red attracts the most attention and is associated with strong emotions such as love and anger and black is the color of mystery. It conveys pessimism and it is one color which speaks in many different forms. It is truly up to us what we choose to keep and what to let go. Florals are no longer sweet, mix and match is the charm. distortion of lines and distortion of prints with old tribal prints which come from Bandhej. Cowl necks, Big shoulder, Big sleeves, Asymmetrical skirts, checks 

Shalini James - Chitrakoot, a forested hill in Madhya Pradesh is often called a hill of wonders. Fabled to hold a blue, illuminated lake in its caverns, accessible only to the truly pure of heart, Chitrakoot, with its thick, dark woods, narrow ridges and gurgling streams has for long been the perfect sylvan setting for many a  legend and lore that set childhood dreams afire.

The collection, Chitrakoot, is inspired by this ancient forest and is closer to nature in more ways than meet the eye. Its fabric is the eco-friendly LIVA, made from wood sourced from FSC certified forests. Its inherent fluidity and high receptiveness to color make it ideal for a palette of dark, mysterious forest colors in natural dyes, like jackal brown, peacock blue, berry red, acai green, and sultry indigo – so reminiscent of the River Mandakini snaking through the forest on a moonlit night.

In this collection, the resist-dyeing and block-printing techniques of Bagru, in Rajasthan, come to life with new innovations and design inputs. Chitrakoot brings together a sensuous interplay of deep forest hues, a wild mating of foliage prints, and the lush texture of LIVA for Lotus makeup India Fashion Week A/W 19

DAY 1 - Designer Amita Gupta Sustainable, ARCVSH by Pallavi Singh, Diksha Khanna @ FDCI LMIFW AW'19

The AW’19 collection is an inspiration from the thought – “The beautiful Lifestyles that we have created and enjoyed by imprinting a rather devastating and catastrophic impact on our Environment and its Natural resources leading to ceasing its own Existence”.

 “We are in Charge-Now” as our collection expresses is how we would like to remind ourselves at least on our stand against the Earth’s Questionable future as we are experiencing it today and calls for a conscious effort in using the materials that have the least impact on earth if discarded.

We see it should be more of a practice than an ideology. And we strongly feel, it's time now to take Re-usability/Sustainability up as the primary focus and implement as part of our Design creation and our overall business operations. It has become intrinsic to Fashion now more than ever. It is the need of the hour as this is the way the fashion should pave its way out for the future, as it helps reduce the waste and chemicals generated every year to support the clothing industry.

DAY 1 - Pramaa by Designer Pratima Pandey and Vaishali S in association with Liva

The designer said - I observed the same when I recently visited Guledgudda, a small but historically rich oasis of fabric in Karnataka where the art of the centuries-old weave “KHUN” has been close to death.

Despite being a symbol of cultural and spiritual significance for centuries, the modernity has shrunk KHUNN to just a few looms today in a small village called GULEDGUDDA in Karnataka. Thus, this collection BISRA (Forgotten one) is a desperate attempt to seek the attention of the fashion world to the charismatic charm and glory KHUNN inherits.

The collection is a modern interpretation of traditional aesthetics and exploration of relevance to the contemporary understanding of global fashion. The collection is a compilation of modern silhouettes to translate the glory and deep cultural significance of the textile KHUNN. The color story includes pink, orange, green, red and a few more bright colors as an identity of Khand

DAY 1 - Pramaa by Designer Pratima Pandey and Vaishali S in association with Liva

DAY 1 - Pramaa by Designer Pratima Pandey and Vaishali S in association with Liva

DAY 1 - Designer Suket Dhir at FDCI LMIFW AW 19 in association with Liva

Almost surreal, a beautiful blend of quirk and structure- SUKETDHIR' latest collection spells playfulness in all forms. The way the iconic golfer print dances lightly on our contemporized fabrics, the way our tailored silhouettes integrate nazakat..

The highlight of the collection is 'He for She', menswear silhouettes for women. Blazers, bombers, shirts, and trousers all in slimmer fits and softer cuts. Brocades are interpreted into a chic fabric with a faded sheen and digi-prints, satin-silks are translated into comfortable lounge suits and cotton and khadi render into mesmerizing falls.

The menswear collection takes the brand's aesthetics a notch higher with less is more philosophy further transforming into ethereal timeless pieces. The delicate jamdani weave plays with iconic brand motifs of clouds, umbrellas, mango and mango trees. An ode to the memoirs of childhood and those days of merrymaking.