When the story hit home, and models smiled

The special attention placed by the camera on the gnarly hands of an artisan spooling Kala cotton yarn highlighted a tiny detail that went into the making an 1111eleven eleven indigo jumper in a film screened as part of the first digital edition of IMG Reliance Lakmeacute Fashion Week LFW last week Presented in collaboration with Fashion Open Studio an initiative by Fashion Revolution UK the nineminute film concluded with the artisan sewing an NFC Near Field Communication button a techaccessory that allows a consumer to trace the stages in the journey of the garment from weaver to dyer and final creationThe designers behind this Delhiborn label Shani Himanshu and Mia Morikawa while curating an equitable supply chain also reminded us that fashion is essentially a creation of the human handLFWs season fluid digital chapter unfolded to include a multimedia rollout of fashion films postshow interactions with select designers and a podcast by Nonita Kalra former editor Harpers Bazaar India It also embedded serviceable tabs like virtual showroom buy nowshop the look except unlike its physical avatar where accredited members of the media could access the buyer stalls and exhibition area entry was denied to the online eventOn the whole this season can be read as a billboard for saree brandingmdashthe garment that looks great whether on a rail or in a digital film Also for once the models smiled Who better than textile expert Gaurang Shah to turn smiling into a fashionable act I didnt like this digital avatar says the Hyderabadbased National Award winning designer in a postshow interview I am missing my backstage I am missing tamasha and tension the gadbad But now I realise its digital great I am connecting to many more people than a physical showThe Indian fashion industry could do well to take a lesson from Shahs humility and dedication to craft He followed a different road with Taramati a range of 30 sarees clubbing the Kanjeevaram weave with Kutchi embroidery Kota Doria together with Chikankari and Parsi Gara and French knotsRaw Mango by Sanjay GargRaw Mangos Sanjay Garg is another old soul who believes Indian textiles can both seduce and inspire His Moomal collection delivered on both counts with a mist of Park Avenuescented nostalgia He misses home enough to have taken viewers on a trip to Rajasthan through a mosaiclike film reimagined against the backdrop of a local wedding Here Garg performed an aboutturn from his signature sarees focusing instead on jeweltoned lehengas bearing the zardozi peacock leitmotif and brocade salwar sets The saree entered our home only from my mothers generation but the lehenga has been part of the daily life of Rajasthani women for long the designer mentions during the filmAnavilaIf Gargs film was a groovy commentary on conforming awkwardness why didnt people smile in old photos a sweeping arid landscape and preinternet Rooh Afza melancholia the All About India group show nudged a discussion around women in a modern location The film announced IMG Reliances craftbased initiative with Creative Dignity a volunteer movement for relief and rehabilitation of indigenous crafts and artisans It included representation from Anavila Misra Payal Khandwala Satya Paul by Rajesh Pratap Singh Suket Dhir Urvashi Kaur and Abraham amp Thakore Each designer took handwoven textiles and techniques as a starting point for clothes that were sophisticated and assured if sometimes styled to the point of finding a home in a glossy centrespread model Anjali Lama for Suket Dhir stretched her hands across a table at the St Regis coffee shop as contemporary folk duo Hari amp Sukhmani rendered an updated Gul naal ishq mitha track as the background scorePayal Khandwala But amid all the calculated levity the showmanship was inescapable Singhs version of Puttapaka ikat weaves a labour intensive double ikat which is a 200yearold tradition was absolute while also primed for a revolution Khandwalas Phulia Jamdani sarees in her specialty colour blocking style were brought to life with sprays of metallic wildflowers For a decade Misras mantra has been pastels sell She is also an intelligent designer with an acuity to read a room and when the scope of a fashion showcase is limited to screens she changes her game ever so slightly to throw in flushes of a bold colour palette of vermillion aqua blue mustard and sunset orange with festive embellishments on sarees linen and khatwa from Dumka JharkhandThe idea of power dressing is classically synonymous with the jacket or blouse with accentuated shoulders and when the latter is teamed with a saree it comes to represent a delightful act of defiance something only Abraham amp Thakore could concoct using a metallic block print from Farrukhabad Uttar Pradesh The opposite of sexy Laidback hemlines and sexually liberated shapes snuggled with micropleats and shibori tye dye craft from Rajasthan and Haryana At Kaurs showcase heels become flats and gender obsolete Dhirs collection looked joyful and refined both stately and traditional in the union of step collar twobutton jackets and Banarasi brocadesRajesh Pratap Singh for Satya PaulLeonardo da Vincis famous drawing of a spreadeagled male figure known as the Vitruvian Man on a saree The Renaissance masters study in the proportions of the human body perhaps pairs well with Hemang Agrawal and his experiments with Banaras silk and brocade to not only include Western shapes of the trench coat jumpsuit jacket and trousers but also youthful prints Why cant handlooms be young the Varanasibased textile developer and designer had told midday in an earlier interview He once again impressed with Tattva a collection crafted from GRS Global Recycle Standard certified biodegradable and compostable Bemberg brocades The show filmed in Mumbai however felt clinical Theatrically scowling models done up in dark lipstick and vampy shades marching to the drone of guitars didnt quite workSaaksha and KinniPrepandemic a peIgraveu00c2u0081ro show would usually be the highlight of a fashion week calendarmdashwith the show area bursting at the seams with editors stylists buyers patrons and students They werent just there to view designer Aneeth Aroras long love affair with hippy chic bodyloving dresses puffsleeved blouses petticoats and pinafores Her shows indulged female friendships like a warm embrace and the audience always left with a smile because the models did While most of the films on schedule were content to dwell on the current moment Aroras Locked in Love video turbocharged the joie de vivre the oldfashioned neighbourly encounters play dates and a dreamy cast of ethicallymade stayhome clothing ideasRimzim DaduSaaksha amp Kinni and Rimzim Dadu couldnt be more opposing apropos design sensibilities The first label offers psychedelic colour combinations and patterns tempered with modern cheering shapesmdashwrap sarees and dresses jackets and kaftans These are a stark contrast to Dadus nighttime palette rectilinear lines on sarees jumpsuits and blouses crafted from industrial materials like steel wires and faux leather cords which render a lovely swishing sound effect when the model walks byPerhaps they marry in the way they imagine clothes how they are made and transform the silhouette of a womans body sculpting it in movementIts been a year like no other and this was an LFW season like none before it We came away saying hey we didnt mind not being thereKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news