A Tear-filled Standing Ovation for ‘Gudda’ and Three Designers to Watch

Sunday evening's close, with a standing ovation for the grand finale of Lakme Fashion Week in collaboration with the Fashion Design Council of India by designer and couturier Rohit Bal, was perhaps the most emotionally charged evening in the history of Indian Fashion Week.

Tears flowed freely as designers, models and old friends watched the petite designer being escorted up the ramp after a grand display of his easily recognizable motifs. Long, flowing, layered, layered outfits and his old favorite - roses - run rampant on the dresses.

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Months of ill health leading up to this show have led to the fashion fraternity uniting in unexpected ways in support of the designer, popularly known as Gudda.

The music was also moving and bittersweet, with a heart-wrenching violin rendition as guests took their seats at the Imperial hotel, a rare venue for a fashion event, with its history of elegance located on Janpath, in the heart of the city. It was lively, with upbeat pop hits for the show itself, which many viewers thought provided an unexpected end to fashion week.

"It was nostalgia, love, wonder and appreciation for the way Gudda has been supporting the fashion fraternity for so many years; the inspiration he has evoked, the sadness of seeing him so weak and the absolute joy that he is returning to the work he loved, to give us a completely unexpected glimpse of his creativity," a fellow fashion designer told WWD .

Gudda blew kisses to the audience, shared hugs with his famous showstopper and the face of beauty brand House of Lakme, Ananya Panday, and stopped to dance to the music that continued even as his collection Kaaynaat: A Bloom in the Universe completed its run . The collection itself was recognisably Rohit Bal, with its grandeur. Bal has long been known for his daring - generally outspoken with unapologetic and lively loud motives. This time there were swirling capes, bringing with them the feeling of celebration, of life.

"Kaaynaat was a journey through the wonders of nature, celebrating the blossoming of life and beauty," Bal said of his collection.

Accompanying him to the stage were the two stalwarts who have held fashion weeks together for the past few years: Jaspreet Chandhok, group vice president, Reliance Brands Ltd., and Sunil Sethi, chairman, Fashion Design Council of India, who brought in new fashion. era of combined fashion weeks with Lakme Fashion Week in association with FDCI, the calendar space shared between Mumbai in the beginning of the year and New Delhi in the second half.

Talking about the finale, Chandhok simply said, "We have been watching his finale for so many years, and this time a lot of variables came into play. We had to be sensitive to his health. It was very emotional because of all this."

This season also saw the emergence of several designers who are clearly on the radar for fashion lovers and for buyers, because they emerge through growing celebrity, through awards, through the early process of breaking boundaries.

Aneeth Arora, Péro

Easily summarized by some as quirky and experimental, and by others as all about fabrics and textiles, Péro has taken on a number of disparate worlds.

"We have always been able to serve both our markets," Aneeth Arora, the brand's founder, told WWD. "We also have people who adopt our classic fabrics. For those who are experimental, there is always the new theme and variety."

Péro means 'to carry' in Marwari, the local language of Rajasthan.

"Over the past fifteen years we have understood what refinements are needed to be comparable to other substances. In a simple example we started working with wool from Gujarat; we got feedback that it was too rough, and then we started inventing yarn. The same applies to kuluwol, after treatment using the right type of wool. We take the traditional and handmade and find ways to make it innovative," she said.

Already selling in India in 25 to 30 stores and in 35 countries around the world, Arora is modest about the kind of retail the brand has achieved. "Many of the stores we are in are very niche stores, boutiques around the world, tucked into holiday destinations where people go looking for hand-picked options," she said. She isn't writing off big retail: "If there are big retailers offering luxury, it would be good to be there too," she said, speaking of the intensive process for handlooms and handmade products. "It's not just because the prices are high that it becomes luxurious. It takes a lot of work and that makes it a luxury." The brand employs more than 300 people directly and more than 3,000 indirectly with weaving and embroidery from all over the country.

The brand was in the spotlight this time as the opening show for fashion week, in an external show in collaboration with the Japanese company Sanrio, to celebrate its 50th anniversary. ^e birthday of Hello Kitty, who attends parties all over the world.

Speaking about the collection, which set the tone for fashion week, she said: "Péro always had a bit of nostalgia and playfulness in everything we do, because we knew we had to do justice to that. The perception of Hello Kitty is that it is about children, we have made women's and men's clothing; I feel like we all have the child within us that is looking for an element of fun. We spread it out on a platter."

Ritwik Khanna, Rkive City

Ritwik Khanna's two-year-old label Rkive City won the Circular Design Challenge, a highlight of the second day of fashion week.

The challenge has a mix of partners, from R|Elan, the next-gen fabric brand from Reliance Industries Limited, and the United Nations in India, to global entities such as the British Council, Istituto Marangoni and Redress.

It was not only the brand's story, but also its clarity and vision that set it apart.

"This was the first runway show for the brand, I was looking down and walking, I didn't know how to work on a ramp," said Khanna, describing the fear and elation as it emerged. "I felt confident in our clothing, our casting, presenting the creations in front of the jury and being able to talk to people who can really question you, those who know that working on circularity is really that important."

Khanna studied fashion business management at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and returned to India during the pandemic. He became interested in textile waste and studied its potential and consequences. "We are tackling a major textile waste problem, treating textile waste and working with social impact pieces; none of the things we did were for competition.

Khanna opened the first store in March. "It came as a place of discovery," he explained. It is a studio with a workshop at the back, the Indian market is very important to us and is at the heart of it; India knows how to deal with waste, now that fast fashion is changing the narrative."

Ankur Verma, Til

Ankur Verma was already on the radar but emerged stronger after winning The Spotlight from Nexa this season. His innovative, structured designs stood out at the awards ceremony, which focused on how fashion transforms into a medium for expressive storytelling.

"I explored layering, textures, patterns and colors, revealing the mirages with masks and how they create layers of emotion," he explained. His background working in theater, studying art and joining the National Institute of Fashion Technology in Kolkata, followed by a four-and-a-half year stint working with fashion maestro Sabyasachi, set the tone for the brand, which already incorporated these experiences, culminating in a whimsical style of his own.

After being shortlisted in the new designers category at fashion week two years ago, this was Verma's fifth collection; His brand has been around for three years and had 42 looks this season. The brand is available in multi-brand stores in India and some international stores including Singapore and London. As Sunil Sethi described it, there were "diverse and innovative presentations from participants from all over the country," but Til simply attracted attention. "We loved seeing his collection come to life on the catwalk, inspiring a new wave of designers to shape the future of fashion," he said.

Others describe his collection as "honest and personal" - the same way Verma described the experience.

"It wasn't fashion week, it was very personal. Just like Rohit Bal's show in the end... everyone was there for Rohit, not for fashion week."

Did he shed a tear too?

"Everyone was crying," he said. "And I also shed a tear of happiness, like a child seeing those roses and white, flowing dresses; we grew up seeing his styles emerge, and here they were larger than life."

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