Lakme Fashion Week: Manish Malhotra kickstarts show with elements of glamour, opulence

With young stars Arjun Kapoor and Jacqueline Fernandez as his muses, ace designer Manish Malhotra on Tuesday raised the curtains on the Lakme Fashion Week, showcasing his beguiling spring summer collection Elements .

Malhotra used his ensembles to present the four elements -- earth, water, wind and fire and so, models sashayed down ramp wearing clothes mainly in hues of blue and white.

"The show is dedicated to beauty, to celebrate the feel of summer... This whole collection is very much focused on that," Malhotra told reporters here after the show.

While Roy star Jacqueline Fernandez looked stunning in a shimmery silver evening gown which she wore under a sheer pink cape, Arjun appeared dapper in a dark blue sherwani with a plain silver jacket and a dupatta.

"Manish has dressed me on many occasions but I told him I just want to look my best today. The dress that I am wearing today, I never felt more beautiful and more like a princess.
This is by far the most beautiful I ever felt, so thank you," said Jacqueline.

Arjun, who has been styled by Malhotra in his upcoming film Ki & Ka , added, "On behalf of the Indian film industry, I thank Manish for his contribution. In terms of fashion, he has gone beyond everything."

The 50-year-old designer was also all praise for his showstoppers. "Arjun is a really sweet youngster who is into clothes, is fit and particular. And this girl (Jacqueline) I met her after she became a heroine and I told her, Oh my God you are so beautiful."

The silhouettes included long skirts, off shoulder tops, harem pants and usual evening gowns for women, and sherwanis, suits for men.

 

A video posted by Manish Malhotra (@manishmalhotra05) on Mar 29, 2016 at 1:05pm PDT

Cheering the designer were his friends from Bollywood like Kareena Kapoor Khan, Farah Khan, Bhumi Pednekar, Pernia Qureshi, Sangeeta Bijlani, Dia Mirza, Zoya Akhtar, Sooraj Pancholi, Shriya Saran and Ashish Chaudhary.

A total of 90 designers will display their collections on the runway this season, which includes Neeta Lulla, Nikhil Thampi, Anita Dongre, Monisha Jaising, Rahul Mishra, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Masaba Gupta, Payal Singhal and Nishka Lulla.

About last night at #LakmeFashionWeek| @Asli_Jacqueline worked out her way in this beauty by @ManishMalhotra pic.twitter.com/gFmcmLZUrS

— 6Degree (@6degreeplatform) March 30, 2016

Eleven models will make their debut at Lakme Fashion Week this time. Also seen would be international models, Azura Skye and Smita Lasrado walking the ramp.

The five-day long fashion extravaganza will serve as a fashion and trade platform for 29 upcoming designers. 

The fashion week will also see six international designers like Lina Wassong, Melissa Coleman, Valerie Lamontagne, Igor Knezevic, Kristin Neidlinger and Chritian Bruns joining hands for the first time to present a collective showcase of fashion and technology titled "ElektroCouture".

#LFW2016 @arjunk26 walks like royalty for @manishmalhotra05 ~ WE LOVE! #LakmeFashionWeek pic.twitter.com/qPIsOXEdbG

— YRF Talent (@yrftalent) March 29, 2016

The show will comprise of digital knitting and weaving, traditional hand processes to achieve radical shapes to 3D printing etc.

The collaborative collection will be showcased tomorrow and said to be one of the highlights of the season.

The second day of the fashion week titled "Sustainable and Indian Textile Day" will demonstrate eco-fashion in India, covering key values of sustainability holistically and at the same time celebrating the rich heritage of hand-woven luxury and contemporary aesthetic work happening in Indian handlooms and textiles.

Celebrated designer Rohit Bal, who is completing his 25 years in the fashion industry this year, will close the fashion week with the off-site grand finale at St Xavier's College on April 3.

The set was one of the highlights of the show.

Created like a forest with a big white tree built on the ramp and sound of birds chirping put in the background, befitting the show's theme, which centered on nature.