The Lakme Absolute Grand Finale by Amit Aggarwal was set in the iconic Mukesh Mills in south Mumbai, where some superhit Bollywood songs have been shot, from Amitabh Bachchan’s Jumma chumma to the more recent Poster lagwa do from Luka Chuppi. The finale, which was about futuristic fashion, saw Delhi-based Amit Aggarwal present his collection in sync with Lakme’s theme of the season #BetterIn3D. Showstopper Kareena Kapoor Khan looked resplendent in a structured emerald-green gown with a plunging neckline and a long trail, with polymers woven into the fabric to create 3D forms. Named AXIL, Amit’s finale collection had colours ranging from dusted mauves, hues of greens, ivy and rich berry reds. The collection was an amalgamation of structured and free-flowing silhouettes and the fabrics used were chiffon, tulle and organza among others.
Calcutta-based designer Sweta Tantia’s label Tahweave showcased Viscoso on Day 3 of Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2020. The collection was inspired by the paintings of Van Gogh which Sweta came across when she was holidaying in Amsterdam. Ranging from dresses, sheer jackets, asymmetric skirts to jumpsuits... the jacket-on-jacket style stood out. Playing mostly with pastel hues like blues, pinks, yellows and whites, the silhouettes looked structured and perfect for the coming summers. Sandip Das
Sweta Tantia Sandip Das
The Telegraph chats with Sweta...
That was a lovely show! How does it feel showcasing your collection at LFW?
It’s my fifth time at LFW. LFW has given me such a big platform and has helped me go from strength to strength. This time my collection is based on the paintings of Van Gogh. There’s this particular painting called ‘Almond Blossom’ where you’d see the branches are growing in different ways and different styles. It’s said that nobody knows how Van Gogh did that painting. It’s not from an eye level. He probably was sitting on a branch while doing that particular painting. Just like that, in our collection, you’ll see all the branches are coming out in different shapes and styles, they are not particularly coming out from the root. Van Gogh used to use a lot of layering of paints, so you’d see a lot of layering in our clothes.
You’ve used a lot of pastels in the collection…
Yes, this particular painting has a blue sky with pink blossoms and white blossoms. That’s exactly the colour palette we followed. The bags that the models were carrying on their back with flowers in them, were made out of canvas because canvas is something that is associated with painting.
Vincent Van Gogh's Almond Blossoms Shutterstock
Where do you generally draw your inspiration from?
From something that is real, something that is organic… not something that I read, I have to see it. When I went to Amsterdam, they had this massive four-floor museum and I went through every painting to understand Van Gogh’s nature and how he would feel. This was the only painting where he was happy and I don’t like depressing things. This was the only painting where he was very happy because that’s the day he got to know that his nephew was named after him.
How would you define the Calcutta fashion scene now?
It’s very nice. It’s actually changing, people are looking for newer stuff, cooler stuff. They are looking for proper structured silhouettes and are coming to us for that. They like colours, organic fabrics... it feels very nice that I’m the only person representing Calcutta and doing a show at LFW this time.
