Kunal Rawal

Set against the picturesque grounds of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link promenade garden, Kunal Rawal showcased his ‘Rousing’ menswear line on the last day of Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2020. With the setting sun as the backdrop, the show opened to the live beats of the band by Rohan Mazumdar, Randolph Correia and Aditya Ashok. The collection that had shirts, jackets, blazers, trousers and shorts, saw a play of silhouettes with definitive heritage structures of Mumbai. It had an interesting colour palette that infused darker shades like olive and brown into pink, butter, lemon and mint. Vicky Kaushal closed the show clad in an off-white T-shirt, a waistcoat, a complementing jacket and a pair of similar-hued pants. Here’s what the designer told The Telegraph

Vicky Kaushal Sandip Das

Tell us a bit about the collection...

People can expect a lot of diversity in the form of silhouettes, concepts and fabrics this time — variety in the form of different occasions, as we cater to different aesthetics, right from deep-rooted tradition to modern luxury. There are a lot of pieces that have elements of versatility; we design garments keeping in mind different body types and personalities, giving confidence to each and every individual. The garments can be worn on different occasions from a one-day event to night. We have a new uptake on deconstructed sets for Sangeets as well as olive colour with a tint of shine for an evening function, not to forget our Indian black-tie range and solar-white, heavily detailed outfits for Mehndi that changes colour in the sunlight.

Why did you choose Vicky Kaushal to be the showstopper for your collection?

With Vicky, the fact is that he’s a complete clothes horse. He shares a similar love for menswear with a similar aesthetic, having a transitional approach.

Where do you draw inspiration from while creating clothes?

Inspiration is organic, it’s always a combination of the voice of the label and what we want to put out there. It’s a combination of the usage of every garment and where, how a consumer is going to wear it and the way the entire garment will look on him. While designing, comfort also plays a crucial role, versatile ways to upcycle a piece, weather conditions of where they would be wearing it. Our pieces are worn in cities such as Delhi, Raipur, Mumbai to different parts of the world, like Hong Kong, London and Dubai. We believe that our label is for the global Indian man, somebody who makes his sartorial decisions himself. Aesthetic is not geographically or regionally bound, it’s something that he could happily wear in any part of the world.

Who’s that one celebrity you love dressing up in your creations?

Anybody who wants to have fun with his clothes, enjoys being in them. That’s when clothes become your cause where you wear them in a certain way. It is about creating your looks and being involved in the way you wear them. Anybody who could do that, I would love to see them in my clothes.

Swapnil Shinde Sandip Das

Swapnil Shinde

On Day One of the fashion week, Swapnil Shinde showcased his ‘Not — the Cool Girl’ collection, that was for global women, belonging to any religion, region, caste, colour, nationality and sexuality. The collection derived inspiration from a wide range of women, like Queen Elizabeth, Wonder Woman, Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts’s character in Pretty Woman) and Swapnil’s favourite, Sunny Leone, who was also his showstopper. Sunny walked the ramp confidently — with Madonna’s Don’t Tell Me aptly playing in the background — wearing a giant boxy black jacket with sequinned lapels, worn over a black mini with Cinderella print and calf-high black bubble boots.

Sunny Leone Sandip Das

“I’m doing the show at LFW after five years. Around three years ago, I did a show with Sunny for the first time and right after that show I knew that she is my muse, she’s my inspiration. It started with her. Strong women who have a point of view, past or present, historic or fiction, are the inspiration. Everything is very structured yet fluid, big shoulders yet a lot of skin… sharp contrast, basically,” said Swapnil about his latest collection.

And what did Sunny have to say? “I feel so honoured. Every time he dresses me, I feel beautiful, so womanly. I love this collection… it’s Disney meeting a woman who knows what she wants.”