Mix of veterans, newcomers at Lakme Fashion Week 2013

The Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) Winter/Festive 2013 promises to highlight the work of both novice and veteran designers. Unlike last year, when the focus was more on veterans, this year there is an equal distribution. The spotlight will also be on handloom work.

The five-day event will start Aug 23.

"We have a great mix of designers this year. We will be having 50 percent established designers and 50 percent of them will be upcoming. So the look will be more young and cutting edge," Saket Dhankar, head fasion, IMG Reliance, said Wednesday at a press conference here.

Another highlight will be Indian textiles, with designers like Krishna Mehta, Shruti Sancheti and Soumitra Mandal showcasing various handloom work through their collection.

"The fashion quotient will be driven by the Indian textile designers. The finale show will be by Ritu Kumar. Krishna Mehta will be showcasing Manipuri handlooms through her collection. Also, Shruti Sancheti and Soumitra Mondal have tied up with the Maharashtra State Handlooms Association," he said.

The Gen Next programme will be unique with a reunion of Lakme Fashion Week Gen Next alumni from the past 16 seasons coming together to celebrate the programme.

Sabyasachi Mukherjee, who returns to the event after a gap of five years, will be the grand finale designer.

As many as 89 designers, including Gaurang Shah, Nishka Lulla, Payal Singhal, Rocky S, Sailex Ngairangbam, Anita Dongre, Pria Kataria Puri, Ritu kumar, and Archana Kochhar, are set to bring plethora of colours and designs on the ramp as participants.