The Winter/Festive segment of Lakmé Fashion Week concluded on a theatrical note with Monisha Jaising’s ‘divalicious’ show, a Cirque du Soleil spectacle in tow – leaving behind the opportunity for speculating and studying what’s hot and what’s not this season. Now what have we here? A composite report on all things reigning the runway, so that you can be on the top of your style game all through the Fall.

1. Pastels & Sheer For Winter Festive – How Ground-breaking!
Pastels and sheer for the summer? Meh, Pastels and sheer for the winter? Fresh Fresh! You need not save your summer silhouettes for the sun anymore, they have breathed new life on the runways this season. From everyday staples by Eka and Urvashi Kaur to umpteen bridal pieces by Payal Singhal, Julie Shah, Jayanti Reddy and Disha Patil, mellow tones and gossamer fabrics ruled all the way. Here’s looking at you brides-to-be!

2. Sustainability Not Just A Trend
Considering that the fashion industry is one of the top polluting factors, the conversation on sustainable practices was long overdue. Initiated by select stalwarts like Amit Aggarwal and Rajesh Pratap Singh many moons back, it is now becoming mainstream with numerous designers– Indigene, Ka-Sha, Naushad Ali et al adopting sustainability in their own way. Handblocked prints, usage of sustainable fibres (TENCEL), natural dyes, revived indigenous weaves and crafts were seen in abundance. We love!

3. Belting For Body Contouring
The Winter/Festive ramps saw myriads of distinctive silhouettes that shared one prominent factor – belts to cinch waists. All types of belts on all types of forms – take cues from the runways of AM:PM, Amrich, Divya Sethi, Soumodeep Dutta, Poochki and many others. Stylistically speaking, take your belts seriously this season, ladies!

4. Concept Drapes To Continue
Festive fashion is incomplete without the quintessential nine-yard drape but this season, there’s more to it than meets the eye! Experimenting with the fluidity of this silhouette, designers like Nupur Kanoi, Abraham & Thakore, Sunita Shanker and others draped fabrics in ways one can never imagine. Notes to be taken? Go crazy on the drapes, style them per your discretion!

5. Inclusivity Is Having Its Movement
Looks like, we only have positive newsflashes for you this season. Not only did Lakmé Fashion Week pledge inclusivity, they made sure it was brought to life on the runways. Models of every color, body type and gender sashayed down the ramps in gorgeous pieces, making fashion more relatable and expressive. Don’t believe us? The ramps of Half Full Curve, Narendra Kumar and Chola are testament! We hope this one’s here to stay!

6. No-Rule Silhouettes Ruled
Is it a dress, is it a shirt? No-rule silhouettes are exactly that- silhouettes that don’t fit in a box, because they don’t have to. Take the case of utterly asymmetric- yet- sartorial half-and-half pieces by Ashish N Soni or the uber cool shirt-hoodie-tunic by Two Point Two. Eccentricity was at it’s peak this season leaving copious amounts of room for experimentation and individual expression – good thing no?

7. Not-So-Basic Beauty Looks
Speaking of eccentricity, it seems the beauty memo for this season followed suit. Drag-queen levels of makeup, over-the-top hair dos and avant-garde accessorizing – we saw it all! Of course, we tried to pick our favourites but we couldn’t pick just one – Sunita Shanker’s long-braid-but-not-really, SVA’s dainty floral hair piece or Armaan Randhawa’s butterfly mouthpiece and pronounced brows – you choose!

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