Lakme Fashion Week celebrates 20th anniversary

Mumbai, August 11 

Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) rang in its 20th year anniversary with—Gen Next designers, industry veterans, make-up legends, models and celebrities—the people who have been a part of the fashion gala in its journey over the years.

From 33 designers in the year 2000 to a prestigious platform now showcasing over 200 labels, the LFW has grown from strength to strength with each season.

The fashion revelry on Saturday was attended by Gen Next designers like Nachiket Barve and Nikhil Thampi, along with established names such as Manish Malhotra, Narendra Kumar, Monisha Jaising and Shantanu & Nikhil.

Nikhil Mehra of Shantanu and Nikhil label said the LFW platform is "one of the most important thing to have happened to the Indian fashion industry".

"I remember back in 2000, Shantanu and I had our first ever show in New Delhi and that was the beginning of our careers. What I love about Lakme Fashion Week is that the platform is committed to the cause of growing with the designers and it's been amazing," Mehra told PTI.

Designer Nikhil Thampi, who was the Gen Next winner 2011, said his brand was born at LFW.

"They are family to me—more like parents who guide me, yell at me, but are also the most proud to watch me grow," Thampi told PTI.

Ashwath Swaminathan – Head of Innovations, Lakme India, said he can't give too much away about how the festivities would continue but the event is the kickoff of our celebrations.

"The celebrations will culminate at our first season in 2020, where you will really see how we are going to elevate Lakme Fashion Week to the next level with different curation of shows, the quality of content, the next set of programmes that we will unveil," Swaminathan told PTI.

"We have grown and thrived, consistently over the last two decades, with so many different people, yet we continue to be one big family that comprises designers, talent, hair and makeup artists, sponsors, showstoppers – everybody has played a role in making this platform what it is today," he added.

Jaspreet Chandok, Vice President and Head (Fashion), IMG Reliance, said this is just the beginning of another two decades.

"We are looking at felicitating all the individuals that set it up, curated shows, bringing back the classics and also look towards the future as well...

"While it is 20 years of Lakme Fashion Week, it is also LFW 2.0. We are going to break it all down and start building from scratch again," Chandok told PTI.

Celebrity make-up artiste Daniel Bauer and Sabina Chopra and models Candice Pinto, Sheetal Mallar, Sucheta Sharma James and Anjali Lama were also a part of the celebrations.

Faces of Lakme, celebrities such as Ananya Pandey, Isabelle Kaif and Shraddha Nigam were also in attendance.

Socialities like Nisha Jamwal, Diva Dhawan, Parmesh Shahani and Mohit Rai will were also present.

The event took place at the city-based Soho House. — PTI