An opening-night show by the incomparable J J Valaya, a special showcase by Vogue India Fashion Fund and a grand finale featuring Indian handicraft-inspired collections by 25 designers are some of the highlights of the 25th edition Amazon India Fashion Week (AIFW), which begins on Wednesday, March 25, at New Delhi’s Pragati Maidan.
Organised by the Fashion Design Council of India, the five-day autumn-winter edition is one of the country’s biggest, most-anticipated fashion events, attracting celebrities across various industries, and Bollywood glitterati – both in the audience and on the catwalk: last year’s grand finale saw actress Shilpa Shetty model Tarun Tahiliani.
Day one includes an opening show by Rajesh Pratap Singh, known for his minimalism and use of Indian textiles, and a special late show by one of India’s favourite designers, J J Valaya. Other top talents include Namrata Joshipura, Rina Dhaka, Malini Ramani, and Pankaj & Nidhi, Rohit Bal, Ranna Gill, Tarun Tahiliani, Gauri and Nainika, Manish Arora, Payal Pratap and Geisha Designs (by Paras and Shalini).
This year, the grand finale will showcase creations by 25 designers that promote traditional Indian craft techniques as well as khadi, a handloom fabric.
Each of the designers – including Anamika Khanna, Manish Malhotra and Sabyasachi Mukherjee, who presented their collections at the recently concluded Lakme Fashion Week – will show two ensembles in orange, red and pink. The finale, which begins at 9.15pm IST on March 29, will be streamed live on the AIFW website.
