Meet the Designers: (Clockwise) Ankita Srivastava, Stanzin Palmo, Sahib Bhatia, Akanksha Aggarwal, Manjushree Saikia and Gaurav. (Designed by Gargi Singh/The Indian Express)One of the biggest fashion events, the Lakmé Fashion Week (LFW) has announced the 28th batch of Gen Next designers who will be showcasing their creations at the upcoming Winter/Festive ’19 edition.
The six selected designers — Sahib Bhatia, Ankita Srivastava, Akanksha Aggarwal, Gaurav, Manjushree Saikia, and Stanzin Palmo were handpicked by the LFW advisory board. The Gen Next Designer Programme has previously introduced some of the most renowned fashion designers like Masaba Gupta, Kallol Dutta, Rahul Mishra, Nachiket Barve, among others.
Announcing the current batch of Gen Next designers, Ashwath Swaminathan, head of innovations, Lakmé said, “Gen next is a platform which supports fresh talent and their innovative approach towards fashion. This season is more special as we have received a large number of entries not just from Mumbai and New Delhi but also from other parts of the country. It is the future of fashion and we look forward to seeing the creative collections of the winners on the runway this Winter/ Festive 2019”
Ahead of the event, scheduled to be held from August 21-25 at St Regis in Mumbai, let’s take a look at the six talented designers and their work:
Amaaré by Sahib Bhatia
Sahil Bhatia’s collection uses cotton and wool blends.Sahib Bhatia’s collection uses surface development techniques with cotton and wool blends. The 28-year-old has previously worked as an assistant designer with Rina Dhaka, and has an honors in management from the University of Manchester.
Anatomy by Gaurav
The collection is inspired by the shape, texture and feel of a banana leaf.A teacher at Pearl Academy, Gaurav has worked as an assistant designer with Gaurav Gupta, Ekru by Ekta and
Ruchira and Mandira Wirk. A design graduate from NIFT, his collection is inspired by the shape, texture and feel of a banana leaf. He uses handwoven khadi and various techniques of draping, layering and boning across the collection.
Little Things Studio by Ankita Srivastava
The collection is designed for all the diverse women who are not afraid to show their strengths as well as their vulnerabilities.Ankita Srivastava is a textile design graduate from NIFT, New Delhi, and has worked as a freelance textile designer with Aneeth Arora of Pero and Nalli Silk Sarees. Her collection boasts of prints inspired by Matisse hand drawings, and is “designed for all the diverse women who believe and love themselves and are not afraid to show their strengths as well as their vulnerabilities”
Noié Noéi by Akanksha Aggarwal
Fabrics like linen silk, linen, organza, jute are used in this collection.Representing bold textures and relaxed contours, 29-year-old Akanksha Aggarwal uses fabrics like linen silk, organza, jute and linen in the collection. The collection is high on edgy silhouettes, dreamy details and has been created with a zero-waste approach.
Ura Maku by Manjushree Saikia
The fabrics used in the collection include tea dyed, mulberry, eri, muga silk, cotton/organic cotton and chanderi tissue.Manjushree Saikia, a Bachelor’s in Design from NIFT, Mumbai, has worked as a freelance designer and stylist. Her collection ‘Down to Reality’ honours the efforts of artisans and explores timeless silhouettes of handmade textiles. The collection uses fabrics like tea dyed, mulberry, eri, muga silk, cotton/organic cotton and chanderi tissue.
Stanzin Palmo
The NIFT graduate has used fabrics like pashmina, Ladakhi wool, brocade and cotton.Palmo, who has experience of working with Rara Avis by Sonal Verma, Looms of Ladakh and Supreme Overseas, focuses on the weaves and work of artisans and unexplored techniques of Ladakh in his collection. The range is based on a new perspective with a blend of traditional and modern aesthetics. She has used fabrics like pashmina, Ladakhi wool, brocade and cotton along with techniques like weaving, embroidery, tie resisting dyeing, gathers and graphic print.
