On Wednesday afternoon, we walk into Anamika Khanna’s store on Outram Street for a preview of the Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2018 grand finale collection that she will showcase in Mumbai on February 4. We are greeted by Anamika, dressed in all-black — a super stylish ensemble comprising a pair of Zara track pants, a Uniqlo heat-tech tee, a sheer drape over it and a silver coin necklace with red pom-poms. Only Anamika can make tracks-and-tee look this cool! On the sidelines of the preview, Anamika gives t2 a sneak peek into her thoughts that will culminate into the LFW finale at the Bandra Fort in Mumbai.
MILLENNIAL MUSE
I just feel that this collection is going to be by far my most experimental collection. You know, sometimes you just feel like there are not going to be any rules and boundaries and you just want to go and do what your heart tells you. You can pull out each piece from the collection and actually be able to wear it, that’s what it’s all about. And it’s very difficult to describe it as one story, because there are stories that flow from one to another. So it starts with this nude story and where it ends is impossible for even me to explain.
The new millennial is my muse… they wear their attitude on their sleeve… they are individuals and they show their individuality… and that’s what my starting point was. This whole collection is about individuality, there are no rules, you just make your own rules. You want to pull out a lehnga and wear it with a roadside T-shirt and some couture jacket on top of it, it’s fine.
So the attitude is very powerful, it’s very strong, it’s not at all a soft, feminine, flowy, cape-y collection.
GRUNGE MEETS COUTURE
Lakme’s palette is nude and it’s about diversity… about how many nudes there are in this country, how many different shades of nudes there are that exist in this country. So we have taken the diversity factor and pushed it to diversity of form, colour, texture, people, and the works. I have never had so much fun in my collection ever.
It’s inspired by street wear. It’s grunge, yet it’s couture, very casual, very strong… you know it’s like limitless…. There’s a tribal space, yet it’s so modern… it’s so hard to describe. It starts with a nude palette and then it starts going slowly slowly very dark. It’s not like it’s not embroidered… it’s still a very embellished collection, a lot of drama. Then we are combining it with some surprises in the show. I don’t want to give that away.
You know how the collection started? My choreographer said, ‘Ana, all the clothes should be like how you will style it yourself… each piece should be something that you are making for yourself to wear.’ I was like okay, that’s what I will do… you know like how I put things together.
Going by the look that she put together for herself on Wednesday afternoon, we are totally looking forward to it!
For its colour statement of summer 2018, beauty major Lakme is telling a “social story” — a story about the “democratisation of nudes”. Purnima Lamba, head of innovations, Lakme, tells t2 all about it, when we catch up with her on the sidelines of the preview of Anamika Khanna’s LFW grand finale collection.
Tell us about the idea behind Lakme’s new range of colour cosmetics that will be unveiled at the grand finale of LFW…
The first thing is that we have decided to introduce a range which most Indian women would be more comfortable to wear in terms of colour. Over the past few years, we’ve been doing a lot of reds and pinks and corals. And while young girls have taken to bright lips in a big way, with this collection we are taking it to a different direction. We are doing a nudes collection for the first time.
It’s an interesting journey because as the brand that knows Indian skin best and knows the shades that suit Indian skin best, we have reinvented nudes into a palette that does not fade on our skin. Where as if you pick up a classic nude internationally, it would pale on our skin. We have created a set of shades that goes with the diverse skin tones in India.
It’s a great exercise and we have collaborated with Sandhya Shekar who is a make-up artist and she has created the shades. It’s been a different approach from the usual collections we do. So you will see that while traditionally you expect nudes to look pale, our nudes look fairly strong.
Apart from that, this pencil we have, Kohl Ultimate… our kajal pencil, it’s the blackest black kajal pencil in the market. We have actually done a lot of different bright shades in that… so there’s a beautiful plum, purple.
So the new Lakme range has a social angle to it…
Yes, I think after a very long time we have a social story to tell. I think the world is telling the story now, so we have to participate in the dialogue that has begun. It’s the right time for us to take notice and do something about it.
How is Anamika’s finale collection inspired by the Lakme range?
We talked a lot about two things. First we talked about nudes and the colour palette, which was interesting because it’s not nude in the traditional sense. So for Anamika to take on the diverse shades of nudes in India was very exciting.
The other thing which I think really got her interested was the democratisation of nudes. Because it’s not a one-colour-fits-all kind of approach. We took each skin tone and discussed what is the right shade of nude for that skin tone, so that opened up a new way for her. What appealed to her was the thought of the diversity of the shade, and the fact that we have designed for the diversity of Indian skin tones.
Over the past few seasons, LFW has had initiatives promoting gender neutrality. Any specific social issue you are addressing this time?
Two things we have made our mainstream conversation — one is our voice against stereotyping, like gender stereotyping. We had Anjali Lama (transgender model) on the ramp a few seasons back, then we had two gender neutral models. There’s a lot of fluidity in that space now, it’s time that we recognise that.
The other one is of sustainability. What started off as Indian Textile Day at LFW is now Indian Textile and Sustainability Day. We actively scout and create projects with people who are working with handloom experts. In this LFW, you will see there is a Northeast focus show… it’s a collective show by Northeastern designers, one from each state. We invest a lot of time between fashion weeks now in going across to these states and finding them. We work with handloom experts, and sometimes connect them with designers. We are working on the Usha Silai Project, where we have connected the designers to the women who are learning to sew and they will present a show.
You have a new Lakme face — Isabelle Kaif.
We have had a stream of ambassadors in the past like Yana (Gupta), Katrina (Kaif)… they started their journey with Lakme. In fact, when we had the conversation about Isabelle, Katrina said ‘this is how my journey started’. So it’s a sentimental connection with Lakme, she introduced us to her sister. Isabelle is a young, fresh face, and we had a gap in our portfolio and she fit the bill.
Smita Roy Chowdhury
Pictures: Pabitra Das
