Lakme Fashion Week: When the ramp gets real ready

After years of striving towards creating a picture perfect show, fashion designers appear to be challenging norms now. At the just concluded Lakme Fashion Week in the city, a few designers in the country challenged the concept of a model and a showstopper by making some unconventional choices on the ramp. Hyderabad-based designer Gaurang Shah made headlines when he got supermodel Carol Gracias to walk the ramp, cradling a baby bump. He was highly applauded for the bold step but he wasn’t anticipating such an overwhelming reaction. He was not the only one. Deepa Gurnani and the label Nor Black Nor White replaced models with backstage crew that included stylists, hairdressers and even bloggers and they were of all body types. Previously, Delhi-based designer Mandeep Nagi kicked a storm in the fashion corridors when she got her house-help Kamala to model for the clothes. The results were stunning, and opened a world of possibilities for the industry to explore.

For Gaurang, it was not a pre-planned move. He says that until the fittings stage, he was not aware of Carol’s pregnancy. But when he did get to know, he didn’t shy away from showcasing her on the ramp. The designer says that he has had a long-standing association with Carol and there’s no reason big enough for him not to choose her. “I knew Carol would be able to reflect the beauty of the collection well. Pregnant or not I’ll always choose her.” He adds that the reaction he got was totally unexpected. “This was not intentional and I’d never imagined that it would gain so much mileage. Carol has been with me since a long time and knows my textiles well. I’d booked her a month in advance but did not know that she was pregnant. It was only during the fittings that we came to know. We were going to give her a gown but decided against it, as a sari would make her look naturally beautiful,” says Gaurang.

According to veteran fashion choreographer Lubna Adams, the practice of showcasing real people on the ramp is not entirely novel. But this time, especially with Carol’s walk, it dispelled the notion of a perfect ramp body. Lubna says, “It shows that clothes designed are not just for models but for people as well. It’s to allay the notion that one has to have a perfect height and body type to slip into a particular outfit.” Speaking of Carol, she added, “Carol is a confident, young woman and she had no apprehensions about sporting her baby bump. It sends out a good message to women to not be conscious of societal pressures and be at ease with their body, even if it is going through a major change like in the case of pregnancy.”

Sometimes for a designer it is also to break monotony, as much as it is about challenging norms. Case in point, Delhi-based designer Mandeep Nagi, who says, “I guess each designer reaches a saturation point when he/ she wants to do something different. It’s also about how people are no longer imitating what stars do but are ready to embrace their imperfections.” Mandeep has always preferred getting non-models to showcase her collections. “I have never used professional models. My idea of fashion is all about simplicity and feeling good in your own skin,” she says. Speaking of how she roped in her domestic help for an online fashion showcase, Mandeep says, “I was toying with a few ideas for the collection, when Kamala came to my mind instantly. I thought she wouldn’t agree but she did. We were surprised to see how confidently she posed. We now discuss how her grandchildren would be amazed to see her other avatar.”

For New York- based designer duo Deepa Gurnani and Jay Lakhani, the LFW show was their first one in India and they wanted to do something quirky. So they got their backstage crew that included hairstylists, make-up artists and fashion blogger friends to walk the ramp for them. “This was our first show here and we thought this way we could give back to the industry that has given us so much. Mumbai is the hub of fashion bloggers, stylists, hairdressers and we thought they’d be very comfortable sporting the outfits. They have always worked behind-the-scenes, it was time the spotlight was on them,” Jay said.

Former model and fashion blogger Scherezade Shroff who strutted in a beautiful black ensemble for Deepa and Jay, said she had a lot of fun, even though it was not a first time for her. “I have been a model earlier, so this was familiar territory for me. But for others it was indeed a very new experience as they have always been behind the scenes. Designers want something different on the ramp, they want people to know that the clothes that they make are for regular body types too,” she says.