High on gimmicks

Day One: From human barricades and flash mobs to lofty speeches, the opening day of LFW had plenty more than fashion.

Narendra Kumar Ahmed may have presented a very strong line — most noteworthy being some smartly tailored suits with embroidery and neon appliqué — but one could barely see the garments. No, the colours weren’t jarring. It’ just that one had to find a way to check them out between rows of uniformed men placed along the sides of the ramp and even at the front. The backs of their shirts read ‘Thought Police’.

And post-show, the designer claimed that if you were irritated, his purpose had been achieved. “This is exactly how I feel — stifled. And if we don’t stand up and demand our rights, we’re going to have no fun,” he said. Maybe, Nari, but at least the photography pit hated your idea, for they kept asking the ‘policeman’ at the head of the ramp to move aside so they could get better pictures of the models.

During his 3 pm slot, designer Debarun Mukherjee had the bright idea of inserting a flash mob bang in the middle of the show. The clothes weren’t very great, but young boys and girls suddenly emerging from the crowd to groove to Michael Jackson’s ‘They don’t care about us’, didn’t win our vote either.