The Lakmé Absolute Grand Finale was a fitting end to the glam-filled, awe-inspiring week, with designers Rimzim Dadu and Saaksha & Kinni showcasing their collections with Mrunal Thakur as the showstopper. Taking inspiration from the beauty theme of the season, Spotlight, designer Rimzim Dadu’s collection featured sculpted metallic silhouettes and signature cords. While Saaksha & Kinni’s collection was inspired by the banjara tribe, featuring hand embroidery, mirror and thread work.
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We caught up with the Lakmé Absolute Grand Finale designers to learn more about their collections, the challenges they faced while prepping for a digital show, and everything in between.
ELLE: Tell us a little about your collection at LFW 2020.
RIMZIM DADU: This festive collection takes inspiration from our sculpted metallics and signature cords and introduces geometric and floral patterns in our signature materials. The focus is on flow and movement of textiles, and micro-units coming together to create larger surfaces. The collection includes our debut line of clean, minimal yet statement lehengas, signature metal saris, short metallic dresses and sculpted tops for the upcoming festive season in shades of yellow gold, antique gold, fresh silver, black and rich emerald green.
SAAKSHA & KINNI: The collection was inspired by The Banjara Tribe – particularly a strong, independent, and highly skilled women. Their use of hand embroidery – the mirror and thread work is exquisite and one that has been passed down from generation to generation. We wanted to showcase the mirror work reimagined as both prints and embroideries and also experiment with shapes and silhouettes.
ELLE: What was it like presenting for a digital show? Were there any challenges you faced while preparing for it?
RD: It was a very different experience. Usually, I’m a control freak and like to go over everything in minute details personally, but sitting in Delhi and monitoring the show being shot in Mumbai definitely involved a lot of nerves and mastering the art of letting go! But on a broader scale – the shift to Digital is here to stay and all brands have to become good storytellers along with good designers.
S&K: Not being able to have a live audience is in itself a challenge because the garments you are producing will only ever be watched through a lens. That made us more determined to showcase a range of textures, embroideries and colours that would keep our audiences engaged, interested and make them feel like they could almost touch and feel the surface techniques themselves.
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ELLE: What do you think will be the future fashion trends post-pandemic?
RD: The future of Fashion is going to be consuming with more meaning, things that resonate with us on an emotional level and Fashion that can be used is a more versatile manner.
S&K: Fashion needs to be season fluid from here on out – it is important that designers create garments that are not restricted to any particular time frame. Designers also need to become more ethically and socially responsible. Collections need to be reduced to two a year and the number of pieces within each collection needs to be given a lot of thought in order to prevent unnecessary amounts of fabric being thrown into land fill sites.
ELLE: Do you see fashion films becoming permanent in the Indian fashion industry?
RD: Yes. For sure. It’s a great medium for brands to connect with audiences on a larger scale and tell their vision and brand story.
S&K: Fashion films excite us. They add a dimension to a regular look book or runway show. They create art within the fashion space which is a powerful tool. To be able to see such movement, to grasp a feeling and tell a story is a movement in itself and we hope they stick around for many more years to come.
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ELLE: Your favourite piece in your collection?
RD: Has to be the metallic polka dot sari.
S&K: Our favourite piece in the collection is the jacket worn by Mrunal. It took 200 man-hours to complete and is an intricate hand-embroidered metal, thread and mirror work garment. It depicts the future of fashion – a design created to highlight our artisans and crafts – to celebrate how talented our karigars are and to promote the use of hand skills.
Swipe through for a look at Rimzim Dadu and Saaksha & Kinni’s collections at the Absolute Grand Finale of Lakmé Fashion Week 2020:
