Lakme Fashion Week kicks off in style

MUMBAI: The Lakme Fashion Week Spring Summer (S/S) Collection 2008 kicked off in style here on Saturday starting with designer Neeta Lulla's collection for the Gitanjali Lifestyle jewellery extravaganza.
    
Her show featured 22 pieces that promise to speak of love, romance and all things feminine. The famed designer's presentation opened with a romantic sequence by dancer Sandip Soparkar.
    
"The collection in pastels described as An Eye for Excellence consisted of shades ranging from blue to earthy green, peach, pink and ivory in soft flowing chiffons, laces and georgettes. The embellishments were restricted to silver embroidery on borders and hemlines," Lulla said.
    
Abhishek Dutta, winner of Smirnoff International Fashion Award, presented designs both Indian and Western. Arshiya Fakih Eappen's S/S '08 collection consisted primarily of one piece dressing blending ethnic and vintage influences with contemporary and futuristic forms.     

Gloss by Nalandda Bhandari was marked by luxe fabrics such as French lace and rich satins with a sublime burst of colours.
    
Arjun Khanna, veteran menswear designer, paid rich tribute to the Yao tribe of Golden Triangle with his collection titled Peoples of the Golden triangle which made its debut at the LFW.
    
The Yao people trace their origins to east of Lake Alawi of a mountain called Yao. Later they migrated into Thailand, Cambodia and highlands of Laos, commonly known as the Golden Triangle.
    
"The area is facinating for another reason - within it live six culturally distinct people struggling to maintain their beliefs, customs and way of life in a hostile environment," Khanna said.
    
Their clothes are mainly made of indigo blue cloth called Hemp. Taking inspiration from the indigo blue of the Hemp, Khanna's creations were an attempt to capture the essence of the life and times of the Yao tribe with each garment paying tribute to their ceremonial robes and traditional dresses.
    
As many as 54 designers, 32 models, 91 buyers (international and local), 400 mediapersons, 14 sponsors and 500 people are expected to attending the week-long fashion extravaganza. The LFW has three show directors, Marc Robinson, Anu Ahuja and Lubna Adams.
    
Wendell Rodricks, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Narendra Kumar and Manish Malhotra will display their collections at the event.
    
Gini and Jony, India's first and leading kids wear brand, is set to showcase the season's hottest kid's wear collection by renowned designer Rocky S.
    
For the first time in the history of Lakme Fashion Week, kids will walk the ramp sporting Freedom fashions and Rocky's creations.