An event that features cultural wear is making fashion news this week, as international dress is a large component of the fashion world. Lakmé Fashion Week is jointly organized by India’s top cosmetics brand, Lakmé, and IMG, the global leader in fashion weeks and event production. The LFW Winter/Festive 2012 show was held from August 3-7 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Mumbai, and it proved that Indian fashion is a force to be reckoned with.
The event that is held bi-annually focuses primarily on Indian couture, and includes discussions, parties, and runway shows like other traditional fashion weeks. While its primary function is to study, discuss, and present ethnic dress, it serves a double purpose by consequently proving that Indian design has a place in the fashion world. The details that are found in the country’s techniques, fabrics and materials, including the textiles and weaves used, is what makes Indian dress so unique and recognizable.
But some people are worried that with fabric and ready-made garments flooding the market and allowing for cheaper production, that accustomed craftsmanship — and therefore dress — may fall by the wayside. We’re already seeing a loss of dress identity in locations that were once associated with more traditional wear — particularly Asia — as Western dress has slowly taken its place. A huge function of LFW is to showcase couture while dually reinforcing the importance of customary craftsmanship. Discussions held for students studying fashion are designed to help aid with that.
Luckily, LFW is helping reinstate why cultural fashion is important. The fashion show, an exciting event, could be a contributing factor in making Indian fashion more unique again. Because its international audience wants to see authentic traditional wear, it features true Indian craftsmanship down the catwalk, generating incredibly unique fashion. “I’ve had every international buyer say, ‘Why would we come so far for a Western silhouette?’ They’re looking for the soul of India, and that is in the craftsmanship,” Anjana Sharma, the director of fashion at IMG Reliance, to WWD. Standout designers of the show included Vaishali S, Deepika Govind, Krishna Mehta, and Anita Dongre.

To learn more, visit LakméFashionWeek.com.