Bollywood an important influencing factor: Designer Aggarwal

By Durga Chakravarty

Mumbai, Feb 1 (IANS) Designer Amit Aggarwal, who will showcase his latest line at the Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) Summer/Resort 2017 here, considers Bollywood stars as an important influence in setting fashion trends across the country.

"Bollywood is one of the few things that run the major chunk of entertainment business in our country. It also has a huge potential of educating people regarding new social concepts. This makes it an important influencing factor for the minds of a huge population of a country like India," Aggarwal told IANS in an interview.

The designer feels if a Bollywood celebrity flaunts one's creation, it helps give the label a push.

"Engaging with Bollywood for a fashion label like ours is always an interesting affair. A celebrity in our clothes is a role model for a whole lot of women who wish to dress new and fresh," he added.

Overall, Aggarwal feels there has been a great change in the fashion scene in India.

He believes the fashion fraternity has taken forward the legacy of Indian bridal couture by amalgamating it with fresh techniques and cuts.

"A generation of designers has taken forward the legacy of Indian bridal couture with new techniques and silhouettes every season, inspired from a sari or lehenga to give their audiences fresh options to wear for different wedding occasions.

"On the other hand, we also see this wave of contemporary designers who are conscious of sustainable design practices that range from using organically cultivated textiles, recycling materials, zero waste design implementations," Aggarwal told IANS.

At the same time, he finds that the involvement of Indian crafts by designers at a global level has kept the country on the world map in the international fashion scene.

"It's an interesting setting for a diverse country like India with so many possibilities for designers to take inspirations from."

At LFW, which got underway here on Wednesday, the designer has collaborated with Lakme Salon.

"The AM.IT X Lakme Salon collection to be showcased at LFW S/R 2017, derives inspiration from millions of unusable, unclaimed pieces of heritage," he said.

Talking about the collection, he said: "There will be a series of 25 to 30 ensembles. The colours of the collection are that of a traditional Patola like wine, rust, teal, olive, khaki, mustard and ink blue and similar metallic tones to accentuate them."

Aggarwal is known for his style of 3D structure with drapes. How does he balance between his signature look and at the same time recreate new looks?

"Our collections are always a combination of our signature silhouettes developed according to the ethos for the particular season and a number of fresh looks that are newly developed according to the collection's theme."

This balance is vital for the economic and creative growth of the label, added the designer, who has catered to Bollywood clients like Huma Qureshi, Dia Mirza, Karisma Kapoor and Nargis Fakhri.

(The writer's trip is at the invitation of LFW organisers. Durga Chakravarty can be contacted at durga.c@ians.in)

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