Fashion brands stores/Retailers shut shops in the wake of the pandemic

As the news of the pandemic has made sweeping newspaper headlines recently most fashion brands have shut shops and are increasing their online presence as talks of a global economic slowdown are being discussed by fashion experts.

Leading brands in the country and fashion retailers have been badly affected by the virus and they are going all out to reach out to their customers by way of emails/messages to stay home and shop online!

Even those fooreign brands who did not have an online presence have launched their websites. Marks and Spencer and vero Moda are few such brands offering online discount vouchers.

While the long term impact of the pandemic is being discussed, most brands are sending out messages and emailers to customers saying, 'your safety is our priority'.  

Eka shocased at Lakme Fashion Week Summer Resort 2020

Eka and Telangana State Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society Ltd showcased at Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2020

Stirred by Jo March of ‘The Little Women’, the collection celebrates the art of unconventional dressing as a powerful expression of modern femininity 

Mumbai, 14^th February 2020: On Sustainable Fashion Day at Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2020, Eka by designer Rina Singh presented an unconventional take on Telangana textiles in collaboration with the Telangana State Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society Ltd (TSCO). Stirred by the modern spirit of ‘Jo March’ from Louisa May Alcott’s 19th century classic, ‘The Little Women’, Eka’s Autumn-Winter 2020 collection explores different paths to female self-actualisation with a deeply romantic aesthetic.

A registered apex organization for Telangana State (Govt. undertaking), TSCO’s main motto is to up-lift the handloom sector by providing continuous employment and Market access to handloom weavers. Govt. of Telangana State extends support to TSCO by directing all the state government welfare departments to purchase their required cloth through TSCO only. TSCO also provides requisite training including development of new designs to the weavers and special efforts have been put forth to revive the languishing handloom products such as Gollabhama Sarees, Pitambari Sarees, Armoor Sarees and Himroo Fabric.

One of the interesting additions is the buniyaad machine that will increase productivity as well as quality. The Ministry of Textiles has planned to give 20 machines to the cluster.

"Our main motto with this collaboration is to enable skill development at the grass root level that would in turn create employment opportunities for the artisans. While the artisans are masters of their craft, the design intervention brought about by Rina Singh of Eka showcases the textiles of Telangana in a new light. With Lakmé Fashion Week's global outreach and Eka's scale of international business we truly look forward to globalizing Telangana textile," Mr. Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary of the Industries & Commerce (I&C) and Information Technology (IT) Departments of the Telangana government. 

India Sustainability Report launched during Lakme Fashion Week Summer Resort 2020 by Voice of Fashion

Voice of Fashion launched the ‘India Sustainability Report’ at Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2020.

Mumbai, 14^th February 2020: The ‘India Sustainability Report: Between Science and Sentiment’ was released by The Voice of Fashion www.thevoiceoffashion.com, a daily digital magazine published by IMG Reliance on 13th February, 2020 at the Lakmé Fashion Week.

The launch, a part of the UN Circular Design Challenge saw Renata Dessaillien, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in India release the first such white paper presented to the Indian fashion industry that gauges the consumer mindset and brings insight from manufacturers and retailers. An agenda setting document, it combines a consumer survey on sustainability awareness and choices among respondents from 5 cities in different target and age groups with a qualitative survey that studies sustainability practices, compliances and goals among 17 of India's top fashion and retail brands.

The consumer survey revealed that Delhi as a city was more environment conscious as 42 per cent respondents admitted having taken corrective measures for balancing the city’s carbon footprint. Kolkata and Bengaluru followed with 39 per cent and 32 per cent respectively. Mumbai (59 per cent) and Ahmedabad (23 per cent) lagged behind, with respondents admitting that they are yet to start taking active measures to counter negative impact on the environment.

Almost half the respondents studied (46 per cent) were not familiar with the term sustainable fashion. Among other key findings, 65 per cent consumers said they would be willing to sometimes pay more for a responsibly made fashion garments and 63 per cent of the respondent group believed that fashion should be produced sustainably.

The study locates where India stands in the global sustainability movement. The document informs, course corrects, analyses and offers a way forward in the scientific pursuit of sustainability that is close to India's artisanal aspects of India's crafts and creative industries.

The study carries a keynote message from Smt Smriti Zubin Irani, the Union Minister of Textiles and Women & Child Development. Produced in partnership with SU.RE, IMG Reliance, and supported by R|Elan and Lenzing, the report has been published as a book on recycled paper.

Shefalee Vasudev, Editor, The Voice of Fashion said, “India is not just another link in the world’s fashion supply chain. Its value and distinction is critical compared to manufacturing hubs in other developing economies given the uniqueness of our crafts industries that global and Indian fashion relies on. The Voice of Fashion leads a fashion-specific exploration to bring systematically researched information on the fashion industry's environmental impact.”

About Lakmé Fashion Week:

Lakmé Fashion Week is jointly organized by Lakmé, the No.1 cosmetics and beauty services brand in India and IMG Reliance Pvt. Ltd., leaders in sports, fashion and entertainment marketing and management. Lakmé Fashion Week has been conceived and created with a vision to “Redefine the future of fashion and Integrate India into the global fashion world.” Lakmé Fashion Week is organized twice every year. For further information log on to http://www.Lakméfashionweek.co.in

Designer Anand Kabra showcases beautiful wearable traditional designs during Lakme fashion Week Summer Resort 2020 at Jio Garden

A model walking the ramp at the Lakme Fashion Week Summer Resort 2020 for designer Anand Kabra. The designe's collection was ispired from the rich heritage and traditional embroidery from Hyderabad.
The collection showcased was wearable with a lot of style and substance!

Sustainable Fashion Day on February 13th at Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2020

~ ‘Circular Design Challenge’ is a collaborative initiative of RIL’s R | Elan ‘Fashion For Earth’, United Nations Environment Programme and Lakmé Fashion Week ~

~Winner to be announced on Sustainable Fashion Day at Lakmé Fashion Week on 13^th February~

Mumbai, 6^th February 2020: After the successful launch of India’s first sustainable fashion award at Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2019, the premier fashion platform is set to return with the second edition of the ‘Circular Design Challenge’ - a collaboration of Reliance Industries Ltd.’s (RIL) R | Elan ‘Fashion for Earth’ initiative, Lakmé Fashion Week (LFW) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in India.

The platform has announced a shortlist of five design entrepreneurs who were chosen based on innovative collections using materials from diverse sources of waste including plastics. The aim of this initiative is to bring to the forefront environmental champions of tomorrow in the Indian fashion and textiles industry.

While commenting on the second edition of Circular Design Challenge Mr Vipul Shah, COO – Petrochemicals Business, RIL said “We are pleased to see the unprecedented consciousness for creating sustainable, scalable, circularity concept based, creative apparel and accessory offerings throughout the entire textile value chain. We are eager to see innovations, new designs and concepts that will be presented by the shortlisted finalists.”

The chosen applicants will be mentored across personality, pitch and presentation development. There will be a final round where an esteemed panel will choose the winner on 13^th February 2020, which is celebrated as Sustainable Fashion Day at Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2020.

The winner will be felicitated with a 20-lakh cash prize, presented by R Elan to build their sustainable fashion brand, and will also avail an exclusive opportunity to showcase at Lakmé Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2020.

Circular fashion is a concept aimed to reduce waste by increasing its lifespan through reusing and recycling the materials and creating new products out of them. The finalists– SKILLED SAMARITAN by Gauri Gopa Agarwal, CANCELLED PLANS by Mallika Reddy, CHAMBRAY & CO by Esha Agarwal, MALAI by Zuzana Gombosova and Susmith Chempodil and OFF GRAIN by Varsha Rani Solanki were chosen after a rigorous selection process. The challenge saw over 85 registrations from over 40 cities across the country.

Mr. Atul Bagai, United Nations Environment Country office, India said, “UNEP -India office is proudly associated with the Circular Design Challenge. We strongly believe that sustainable fashion is the way forward for the fashion industry as we face climate crises on a day -to-day basis. The Future of Sustainable Fashion will be Design Led. The Circular Design Challenge is a great initiative to have young upcoming designers incorporate sustainability in their designs thus creating a trend in itself amongst the fashion fraternity. UNEP congratulates the shortlisted designers for coming out with such ingenious innovative ideas.”

Mr. Jaspreet Chandok, Head - Lifestyle Businesses, IMG Reliance Limited said, "The winner of the first edition of Circular Design Challenge experienced immense growth through this platform both in terms of exposure and business opportunities. CDC shall continue to change the lives of innovators and entrepreneurs who are working towards making circularity & sustainability the new normal."

The designers were required to incorporate circular components across the textile value chain in their design through the application of circular-design principles and demonstrate a positive impact on the environment and on society. They were evaluated and scored on usage of waste in their collection, fashion & aesthetic quotient, business viability/scalability, value chain and collaborations.

From aluminium to bio-composite to Chambray, the shortlisted designers used a wide variety of materials as their fabric base to create quirky accessories and clothing. An array of techniques from croquet to charpoy weaving to fermenting bacterial cellulose were applied to upcycle and give new life to the waste in a sustainable and eco-friendly way.

Four new designers to debut as 'Gen Next'at Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2020

Mumbai, 13^th December 2019: Lakmé Fashion Week announces the 29^th batch of one of its most coveted talent discovery programs - Gen Next. The four selected designers will be presenting their creations at the upcoming Summer/Resort ‘20 edition scheduled to be hosted between 12^th to 16^th February 2020.

The programme this season, received over 300 applications by aspiring designers from across the country. The 4 winners were handpicked by an esteemed jury that comprised the likes of Amit Aggarwal, Tina Tahiliani and Gen Next mentor Sabina Chopra among other industry experts.

Since its inception, the Gen Next mentorship programme has been celebrated for identifying new talent, providing young designers with a nurturing platform and turning them into formidable stars. In the past, the program has been credited with introducing talent some of the most well-known names in the industry like Kallol Dutta, Rahul Mishra, Ruchika Sachdeva, Nachiket Barve, Masaba Gupta and many more.

Announcing the latest batch of Gen Next designers, Ashwath Swaminathan, Head of Innovations, Lakmé said, “Discovering talent is one of the most critical pillars of Lakmé Fashion Week. The Gen Next program is a testament to the platform's commitment towards identifying, nurturing and promoting young designers who will define the face of tomorrow's fashion. We look forward to seeing the 29^th batch showcase their creations on the runway this season.”

Talking about the Gen Next programme Jaspreet Chandok, Head - Lifestyle Businesses, IMG Reliance Ltd said, “The Gen Next programme gives some of the most exceptional young talent in the country an opportunity to showcase their work on a large platform like Lakmé Fashion Week. The winners have been chosen from a bunch of extremely promising entries and I welcome the new batch of Gen Next designers and hope to see them flourish in the fashion world.”

29^th Batch of Gen Next designers:

AKHL by Akhil Nagpal

ALL2DEFY by Ananya Modi Jain

C H A N D R I M A by Chandrima Agnihotri

GRAINE by Mannat Sethi and Harshna Kandhari

 

Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort to take place at Jio Garden BKC from February 12th to 16th

Mumbai, 10th December 2019: Lakmé Fashion Week is set to once again enthral the world of fashion and beauty with its Summer/Resort 2020 edition. The five-day fashion extravaganza is scheduled between 12^th to 16^th February 2020 at JioWorld Garden, BKC, Mumbai. Paying tribute to its 20 year anniversary, Lakmé Fashion Week will have a celebration of curated experiences and special events under this LFW 2.0 edition

Over the years, Lakmé Fashion Week (LFW) has grown from strength to strength with every season. From 33 designers in 2000 to now featuring over 200 labels, the bi-annual fashion celebration is also the most digitally followed fashion platform in the world. Ever since its inception, LFW has been instrumental in revolutionary initiatives that have known to set trends and raised benchmarks in the beauty and fashion space. The platform will take the tradition of presenting large-scale fashion showcases at interesting outdoor venues a notch higher, championing sustainability through pathbreaking initiatives while further spreading messages of inclusivity and diversity.

Mr. Jaspreet Chandok, Head - Lifestyle Businesses, IMG Reliance Ltd said, “With the Summer/Resort 2020 edition, we also mark the beginning of LFW 2.0 – a journey where we revisit past while building the future for the next 20 years.”