Lakme Fashion Week 2021 Goes ‘Phygital’

The Lakme Fashion Week 2021, making history for more than a decade-and-a-half, is going phygital in these post-pandemic times.

The event is being held from March 16 to 21 with designer Anamaika Khanna poised to hold the opening show. Industry bigwigs FDCI, Lakmé and RISE Worldwide are trying to bring meaningful initiatives to drive growth in the post-pandemic world. The event will have a special “unity logo” designed to mark this occasion.

The opening show will make way for a five-day Phygital fashion extravaganza that will comprise a host of varied showcases.  Each of the virtual showcases have been created using state-of-the-art technology during an extensively designed and carefully planned on-ground shoot in Delhi led by the FDCI and by Rise Worldwide in Mumbai.

Sunil Sethi, chairman FDCI (Fashion Design Council of India), commented, “The Fashion Design Council of India for decades has tirelessly worked to make the design industry lead from the front and leave a global footprint. The pandemic has darkened the clouds, this will add a silver lining to the business of fashion and help sharpen the needs of the fast-changing world. Lakmé, RISE Worldwide and FDCI will now have a shared purpose and belonging as we both reinvent the wheel in uncertain times. We are delighted to present this fashion week together.”

Anamika Khanna is set to present her latest collection ‘Timeless the World’ at the opening showcase of the joint fashion week being organized by powerhouses of fashion and beauty in India ---- Lakmé Fashion Week (LFW) jointly organized by Lakmé & RISE Worldwide (formerly IMG Reliance); and Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI).

The opening show will be presented jointly by FDCI and LFW on March 16 and will kickstart the five-day Phygital fashion event.

Talking about the collection and upcoming show, designer Anamika Khanna said, “It’s an honour to be doing the opening show for FDCI x LFW’s joint fashion week. The past year has been a challenging one to say the least, and I am glad to have the opportunity to use this platform to showcase my work, and the incredible artistes I work with. My collection is a collaboration of art and textile and will be a homage to the fact that what is created will one day perish. What is left behind is legacy, and what matters most is what you do with it.”

Experts said the pandemic-induced angst is still in the air. But it has dawned on all of us, from organisers and designers to end-users, that rather than an interregnum, prudent partnerships and phygital fashion weeks are the way forward, at least for the foreseeable future.

“I have always believed that the way forward is with alliances. Today, businesses are still struggling, and everyone has realigned their models. For the upcoming show, the duties, roles and operations of FDCI and LFW are independent of each other, which means that we are all putting our best foot forward. This coming together is in the best interest of the industry and designers. Now, the line-up will include some of the best names in fashion, from the emerging ones to the stalwarts, and from across cities. Plus, the shows will be presented on both our platforms,” said Sethi.