Phygital Fashion Week 2021: How a virtual fashion week fell short

That moment when Manish Malhotra picked up the sweeping oneshouldered sparkly sequin cape attached to a bodice worn by actor Kiara Advani and gently flung its corners around his shoulder as they walked the makeshift ramp with Kartik Aryan unwittingly delivered a metaphor for fashion itself picking up the pieces of our postvaccine selvesldquoItrsquos a reality the pandemic that exists but itrsquos not wrong to dream I am a dreammaker my shows celebrate crafts culture and are always about looking forwardrdquo informs the designer before his primetime IRL show held as part of the lsquophygitalrsquo season of Lakmeacute Fashion Week LFW organised jointly by Fashion Design Council of India FDCI and Rise WorldwideLast year we took notes while watching diaphanous slip dresses and spiffedup drapes whoosh past our laptop screen during the fully digital fashion week Last week March 16March 21 the new season unfolded in a combination of physical and digital rollouts showcasing collections by thirtyplus designers including Anamika Khanna Ritu Kumar Shantanu amp Nikhil Suneet Varma Masaba Gupta Huemn Payal Pratap Payal Singhal Bodice by Ruchika Sachdeva Gauri amp Nainika and Bloni byAkshat BansalCouture bridal showcase by Manish Malhotra who walks with actors Kiara Advani and Kartik AryanldquoWe have got to start somewhererdquo reasons Singhal apropos her decision to do a live inperson show to launch an Indian athleisure line called Kismet featuring maskless models to a socially distanced audience seated in their respective cars ldquoThere are some who are in it industry for the eyeballs and entertainment but we forget that fashion week is above all a trade show It means bringing in new business for us that will support our staff of 150rdquo she tells midday in a chat preceding her show Does fashion still matterDepending on who is asking fashion is vain highbrow obtuse political girly antifeminist and basically a frivolous cultural kink barely worth the fingering And yet the frivolous RippedJeans seriously trends on social media with torrid tweets posted by all the aforesaid women collectively hitting back at a ldquosexistrdquo remark by the Uttarakhand CMWell almost allAnd yet the frivolous industrymdashas part of the textiles and apparel sectormdashis our countryrsquos largest employer after agriculture Despite a 27 per cent drop in size in 2020 the Indian apparel market is expected to touch R5781 billion by 2024 according to a report by Boston Consulting Group ldquoOn one level the industry provides jobs but it is also the most culturally potent force that drives social changesrdquo says Pranav Misra cofounder and designer at Huemn Itrsquos been exactly a year since the framework in which the fashion systemmdashwith all its exclusivity and whimsymdashoperated fell like dominoes While the jury is still deliberating on whether fashion weeks are now pointless this FDCI x LFW season could be interpreted as a defiant shout to the show must go on ldquoFashion weeks remain relevant it is the largest lifestyle property in terms of the quantum of business or investments and sponsorships The pandemic however has made certain aspects of the event redundant Going forward what will matter is how we do itrdquo Jaspreet Chandok head of lifestyle business at Rise Worldwide had told midday during an interview on March 1And what about the customer The folks who wear the clothes and give fashion its superpower Are they still interested in ldquotrendsrdquo That whole machinery muddled down into slots of capitalism and influencer cult seems a little glib and morally incorrect right now We would rather rush to get the vaccine and rebuild our mental and social lives than fortify our wardrobesWith the fashionrsquos rhythm of certainty and surprise having been broken isnrsquot it a glorious time to pivot on a show of the personal on feelings values and mindful consumerism to reset rules and take a moment to extend that magic of storytelling Everyone has a story telling them helps make fashion matter without the circusBut instead of imagining a new way of life not a new normal but a new ethos most shows with few exceptions this season were moving lookbooks staged to replicate the ghosts of exfashion weeks pastLong hemlines for tight purse stringsBodice by Ruchika SachdevaFashion is a social mirror and thank God for designers who received that memo Whenever the economy is troubled hemlines get longer as if long lengths go well with being in the doldrums Below the knee midcalf hovering around the anklesmdashall of these felt relevant at the Bodice show as a way of expressing a sense of agency The brandrsquos designer Ruchika Sachdevarsquos study of optical pleating was as always ingenious and intelligentPayal PratapWhile most designers desperately chased a return to crowds and chaos Payal Pratap found limitless freedom in confinement Using florals for spring is certainly not groundbreaking Floral patterns against a dark background however is a mood Or as Pratap notes in a social media post ldquoCelebrating the good in usrdquo Out came the long skirts and dresses with longer jackets their shape and silhouette tailored to follow the body contours rather than the other way aroundKeeping it personalThe PELLA fashion film Hive was shot on Tonglu Peak at Singalila National Park DarjeelingThe best virtual shows at this fashion week were those that didnrsquot pretend to be fashion shows Anamika Khanna is one instance and PELLA by Priyanka Ella Lorena Lama is another Their respective films were a celebration of the melancholia surrounding impermanence but also argued that the certainty of decay can inspire creativityIndustry veteran Khanna played with the idea of transience that situation between the weird and wonderfulmdashan emotion thatrsquos more than palpable right now There were pointed ankle boots Also skirts from dhoti drapes hemmed in flat metallic embroidery to a armourinspired version in scallop beads Tailored coats in antique textiles accentuated with fringe threadwork details and a bomber jacketmeetsshrug pair sparked memories of intricate Kutchi handwork Balancing good taste with a desirable effect Khanna gave us something to cheer aboutTimeless the World by Anamika KhannaldquoMy collection takes inspiration from time the understanding of life in slow motionhellip an end of something and the beginning of anythingrdquo narrates the designer to introduce Hive her collection The fiveminute film by PELLA worked on several levels at once While romancing a humanistic quality it pointedly communicated the labelrsquos approach to slow fashion that cuts waste and lasts longer The billowing somewhat unhinged shapes built from homegrown fabrics spilled across genders and sizes and were anything but too loose or too contrived Effectively delivering a metaphor for thoughtful wellmade garments that are no longer up for negotiationMasaba GuptaTwo words elastic stretch One buzzword athleisure madeup of terms that fit somewhere between athletic or leisure pursuits While yoursquore at it add a fanny pack to the cartIf the video starring Deepika Padukonersquos hip hopping in a Masaba Gupta ldquotrackeerdquo and bucket hat was a teaser the full picture unfolded at the designerrsquos show Gupta dressed her men and women in a range of knotted crop tops cape blouses dresses and duets of sareeblouses and track pantshooded jumpers drizzled over in a combination of signature prints the holy cow lipstick bullets palm toffee wrappers etc Impressive in the comfort concept as was the notably diverse choice of models albeit post review it felt more like a compilation of old hits rehashed from familiar styles and trimmings without really evolvingHuemn by Pranav Misra and Shyma ShettyPayal Singhal put an Indian stamp on her streetmeetssportswear collection that appeared to strategically focus on styles that were younger and not overly complicated or pretentious Made from fabrics recycled from PET bottles courtesy RElan the styles included dhotisarees kurtajogger sets and ribbed crop topjogger sarees finished in a twist of thread and wool embroidery and the labelrsquos characteristic tassel and pompom detailsldquoExcept maybe for running a marathon you can do just about anything in our sports sareerdquo Singhal says NotedKismet by Payal SinghalAn oversized sweatshirt is the new tailored blouse really ldquoWhile we have been doing outerwear for a while and it comes naturally to us as a brand philosophy the WFH and stepping out remotely has pushed our narrative of cool and responsible clothingrdquo says Pranav Misra of Huemn The brandrsquos small collection of oversized sportswear was crafted in homegrown cotton and silk with couturelevel 3D embroidery embossing that had a cool looseness and coarseness to it