The offbeat runway presentations seen at Lakmē Fashion Week 2024

Polo party

Before designer Rajesh Pratap Singh presented his polo-inspired collection at an off-site location at Mumbai’s Mahalaxmi Racecourse, the attendees enjoyed a friendly polo match between the Indian and UK team. It was a theatrical show with race horses trotting alongside models on the ground.

A tea affair

After having embraced a monotone palette for long, Chola the Label infused its Let’s Play collection with hues like matcha, mustard, red, blue, grey and orange, this season. After walking down the runway as showstoppers, actors Konkona Sen Sharma and Neha Dhupia along with designer Sohaya Misra paused to sit down and sip on tea at a makeshift setup on the ramp.

Sending a strong message

Designer Urvashi Kaur celebrated her 15 years in the industry in an experiential way by skipping models and celebrating the collective impact of visionaries and changemakers. Wearing numbers from her collection Prana, the muses strutted down the runway with the melodies of Martin Dubois’ African harp and handpan. One of the male members had the words ‘Gaza’ written on red inked palms.

A walk back

While it is common for models to open the show on a head-turning note, it was a surprise when model Alicia Kaur came walking backwards for designer Shahin Mannan. Astonishing the audience, more models followed the course and walked backwards.

A musical start

Starting ITRH’s show on a glam note was singer Sushant Divgikar aka Rani KoHEnur, decked in a golden gown with slit details. They mesmerised the audience by singing the song Mayya Mayya (Guru; 2006) in two voices.

Spiralling the way down

For Paiwand studio, it was all about upcycling textile weave waste and giving it a new life. The collection was presented on a topsy-turvy spiral ramp where models walked wearing the recycled clothes.

Unfolding creativity

Bringing down the curtain for this season, designer Rahul Mishra shut the show and how! The audience was gobsmacked with the theatrics when the model walked onto a circular platform to unfold the pyramidal sculptures into trapeze-shaped coats and jackets, embroidered with the outline of mountainous landscapes.

Drag twist

With a quirky drag performance that weaved society, economy and style together, Valliyan, a luxury jewellery brand, showcased their spacebug-themed jewels in a unique act. It questioned what society will look like in the future and how humans will interact with Nature and robots.