Gauri Khan makes debut at Lakmé Fashion Week, SRK ‘extremely proud’

The highlights of Lakmé Fashion Week: actor Riteish Deshmukh models, Shraddah Kapoor walks the catwalk and Gauri Khan's debut fashion collaboration.

Gauri Khan walks for Satya Paul. Courtesy Lakme Fashion Week

Gauri Khan launches Satya Paul collection

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s wife, Gauri Khan, known as a style icon, on Friday evening showcased her debut fashion collection, in collaboration with the Indian designer label Satya Paul.

Gauri presented “A Tropical Wonder”, a line of casual and holiday wear. Elegant saris and sheer tunics with palm tree motifs and calligraphic scribbles featured, along with colourful kaftans and sarongs.

Tweeting from Dubrovnik, Croatia, where he is currently shooting his forthcoming drama Fan, Shah Rukh Khan, who missed the show, said: "SatyaPaul by Gauri. Xtremely proud of her achievement. Missed applauding her & it's a shame I don't wear dresses. Haha."

Bollywood showstoppers

As is the tradition for the fashion week, Bollywood stars have been walking the ramp for designers.

Actor Riteish Deshmukh modelled for Raghavendra Rathore’s collection on Thursday evening. He wore a patterned gold-coloured Nehru jacket over a black kurta, with white trousers.

Other showstoppers during the week included Bollywood’s Shraddha Kapoor, who took to the ramp for Miss Bennett London and the Delhi-based designer Dhruv Kapoor, Vidya Balan in a pink and gold sari for Gaurang Shah, and Aditya Roy Kapoor in casual wear for Tom Tailor.

Celebrity audiences

Bollywood’s Deepika Padukone, Sridevi, Kajol, Kalki Koechlin, Farhan Akhtar and Irrfan Khan were among the celebrities who turned up for Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s opening show for Lakmé Fashion Week on Tuesday night.

Padukone and Kajol were also in the front row cheering on designer Manish Malhotra during his show the following evening, where they were joined by actresses Jacqueline Fernandez and Huma Qureshi.

Best quote

Rohit Bal, one of India’s leading fashion designers, from New Delhi, on Indian weddings: “It’s the only reason I can afford to buy these [Corneliani] shoes. Otherwise I wouldn’t be surviving. Let’s face it, my bread, my butter, my jam, everything comes from bridal. I’m so, so thankful to all of you gorgeous girls and guys who spend incredible amounts of money to get married. Big hand for big-bang Indian weddings. Love it.”

Indian handloom and textiles day

On Thursday, the event celebrated traditional Indian weaving techniques and Indian textiles. Kiran Uttam Ghosh, a big name in Indian fashion, used fine textiles, including Banarasi brocade, kimkhab, and khadi, along with modern fabrics such as georgette and crépe in her show.

Deepika Govind’s collection, called The Memoir of a Yogi who Loved Blue, was based on the clothes worn by the women of the Kutch district in Gujarat. The silhouettes echoed the long, fluid, belted dresses of the Khatri tribe. Layered weaves were embellished with handcrafted tribal ornaments, while organic Kala cotton formed the basis of the garments.

A good cause

Malhotra used his “Blue Runway” show as a platform for the launch of a global WEvolve campaign, which aims to challenge the norms that lead to gender-based violence. “Fashion has a universal appeal and can thus be a powerful instrument to raise awareness and promote action,” Malhotra said.

Off-site venues

Lakmé Fashion Week is for the first time taking a number of its shows off-site, across a variety of venues in Mumbai. The fashion week is based at the luxury Palladium hotel in Lower Parel but Sabyasachi’s opening show took place at Richardson & Cruddas, a converted industrial warehouse venue. Malhotra’s event was held outdoors in the leafy courtyards of The Great Eastern Home, an upmarket furniture store housed in a former textile mill.