Beyond Bridal Wears, These Are The New Concepts That Gen Next Designers Showed Us At LFW 2018

on August 28, 2018

Over the years, Lakmé Fashion Week has become a promising platform for the young designers to showcase their collections and gain mentorship from the industry's prominent figures. There are a number of designers like Aneeth Arora, who presented her debut collection on this very runway, and today has made it as one of the best designers of the country. She was selected as a Gen Next Designer back in 2008 with four other designers.

Today, we witnessed five fresh faces- the new Gen Next designers, who took our breath away with their ensembles. Their collections talked about myriad inspirations, stories, and techniques. Also, they introduced us to refreshing outfits. Presented by INIFD, none of their collections featured bridal wears- which, by the way, rules the Indian fashion scene largely.

On the contrary, their collections were futuristic and were definitely meant for style connoisseurs, who back fluidity in fashion. These five Gen Next designers- Ajay Kumar Singh, Shweta Gupta, Yadvi Agarwal, Kanika Sachdev, and Anurag Gupta gave us refreshing perspectives. With their sartorial attires, these Gen Next designers also broadened the design horizons of the country. With their fashion shows today, they definitely contributed to the changing scene in the fashion of the country.

But how did they contribute and what new they brought about in the fashion industry today at LFW? Let's find out:

1. Their Inspirations Were Beyond Our Imagination

When we see fashion inspirations, we often witness that most of the collections are inspired by either a place or some long-forgotten art form or glamorous world. But how many times, do we notice a collection getting inspired by homestays or graphic artists.

Yes, while all the five collections were a representation of some interesting inspirations, but these two- 'The Artful Lodger' from the label Jajaabor by Kanika Sachdeva and Anurag Gupta's ensembles inspired by Maurits Cornelis Escher clearly caught our fancy. The Artful Lodger explored the homestay stories around the world and Anurag Gupta's collection was a visual and wearable presentation of the designs made by a legendary Dutch graphic artist, M.C. Escher.

2. Their Clothes Didn't Have A Definition

Be it in Yavi by Yadvi Agarwal or SWGT by Shweta Gupta, or any of the remaining Gen Next designer outfits, their most of the clothes couldn't be defined. There attires infused numerous sensibilities and drapes. Was it a sari or a dress? There was no clear-cut silhouette and moreover, the designers left it to the audience to demystify or explore. They presented to us largely unstructured and androgynous clothes, and also beckoned us to think beyond the stereotypical outfits. For instance, we loved how one of the models draped a thick shawl over her dress and simply gave us a taste of two contrasting ideologies. That particular dress came from the label SWGT. Also, the impressionist embroidered headgears from Yavi and the patchwork dresses from Jajaabor defied conventions.

3. Not Your Typical Bridal Colours Or Floral Prints

These emerging talents allowed their imagination to do the talking and hardly used those stereotypical bridal colours or floral prints in their ensembles. They were only a few attires, which had floral accents, but most had some very interesting prints. For example, the label AUR by Ajay Kumar Singh used quirky and minimal graphic prints and Yavi had hand-painted outfits splashed in extraordinary hues.

Well, unlearning has become the biggest thing in the fashion today. In India, it is rapidly evolving and becoming more cosmopolitan than ever.