Star quotient

Who’s your showstopper?” is arguably the most asked question at the Lakmé Fashion week. Rochelle Pinto on celeb-studded ramps that are the order of the day.

Who’s your showstopper?” is arguably the most asked question at the Lakmé Fashion week. Perhaps a sure way to snag a prominent spot in media coverage is to call on a celebrity. So what happens to the actual designs?

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“Whether it’s at the preview stage or just before the show, the question always revolves around which celebrity will walk the ramp. Even after the show, they ask me why I didn’t have a star on the catwalk,” says Anupama Dayal. “Finally I couldn’t take it any more and just snapped.”

Choreographer Lubna Adams offers another perspective. “I think if a designer gets in a celebrity who wouldn’t otherwise wear the clothes in his personal life, then it’s a forced fit. I would encourage the younger designers to realise that good clothes don’t need a celebrity to make them popular.”

But Adams agrees that the public’s obsession with celebrities can be detrimental to the growth of the actual design industry. “I think the media has brought this upon themselves.” She elaborates. “Shows only make it to the front page if a star has been a part of it. Otherwise, they get buried in the inside pages or don’t appear at all.”

IMG believes that the connection between films and fashion exists everywhere and having an actor or actress to walk the ramp only draws more attention to the designs.

According to Vikram Raizada, Head of Fashion for IMG, the link helps bring more eyeballs to the show and is a major marketing campaign. “From a broader perspective, when a star like Shah Rukh Khan walks the ramp, the publicity goes beyond individual designers to the platform at large.. all the designers including young talent and the more established ones.” He explains. “The number of people intrigued and actively engaged in fashion will then increase.”