Lakme Fashion Week announced the names for its Winter Festive 2015, Gen Next designer s. Having introduced some of the best talents in the industry starting from Rahul Mishra, Nachiket Barve, Masaba Gupta, Kallol Dutta, Aneeth Arora among others, Sabina Chopra is all set to groom its 20^th batch of seven promising designers. We bring you a sneak peek into their collections.

Ajay Kumar

Bangalore based designer, is all set to showcase his ‘consonance & dissonance’ themed collection at Lakmé Fashion Week.

Ajay’s eponymous label is designed for the genre of social celebrities, shining personalities & achievers. It is positioned as a premium menswear label targeting the age group of 25-35 years.

Talking about his collection Ajay says, “The designs are an amalgamation of clean conformist silhouette patterns with unique Indo-Persian motifs. The print story is a paradox of living & non- living, geometric and florals, birds and beasts. The silhouettes are structured yet flowy, Indian yet contemporary with multitudinal layering.”

Charchit Bafna

New Delhi based designer, Charchit Bafna is all set to showcase his collection which is an ode to the tropical winter at Lakmé Fashion Week.

His label strives to strike a balance between two seemingly polarized points, the done and the undone, the disheveled and the manicured, and the perfect and the flawed.

Talking about his collection Charchit says, “This collection will be playful, zesty and flirty with a vivacious palette of styles and colors.”

Kriti Tula

Doodlage’ by Delhi-based Kriti Tula is an eco-fashion label that up-cycles industry waste to create chic products for the young adults between 20-35 years of age.

Her LFW WF 2015 collection ‘evolution of basics’ recreates the white shirt, oversized scarf and many such staples using intricate handwork, re-knitting stripped down waste fabric and many such creative techniques to optimise up-cycling and mass production.

Jebin Johny

 ‘Jebsispar’ by Cochin-based Jebin Johny is a womenswear label which focuses on prints. The label name – Jebsispar is derived from JEBin-SISter-PARents, which is his family name.

His first project for LFW WF 2015 named ‘KathaKabuki’, will exhibit a design sensibility which is a fusion of dramatic dance forms of ‘Kathakali from India and Kabuki from Japan. It is an attempt to bring art and mythology together in clothing.

Ishita Mangal

‘Quo’ by New Delhi-based Ishita Mangal is a womenswear prêt label that offers chic and stylishly fashionable clothes for a woman who desires to stand out by adding edgy, offbeat and unconventional looks in her wardrobe.

Her LFW collection ‘Misprision of treason’ is inspired from the people engaged in the investigation of a crime scene. Some of the clothes depict the crime scene, while others depict the roles of detectives, police officers and analysts involved in the same. “My upcoming collection is a dramatic story which is depicted through each of the garments designed – from dramatic prints, slogans, silhouettes and accessories,” says Ishita.

Shivangi Sahni

New Delhi based Shivangi Sahni is a design graduate from NIFT, Delhi. Her label and upcoming collection for LFW WF 2015 is rooted in sharp tailoring, clean silhouettes and intricate detailing. Talking about her collection, she says, “My collection represents a deeply free spirited woman, whose artistic expression extends beyond her attitude and directly on to the clothes she wears.”

Siddhartha Bansal

New Delhi based designer Siddhartha Bansal is all set to showcase his collection named ‘Storyteller’ at Lakmé Fashion Week.

His vision is to give customers an experience of a lifetime through his clothes which have feminine cuts fused with fresh color combinations and intricate detailed motifs. Crafts, prints and embroideries are his USP.

Talking about his collection Siddhartha says, “The collection is a depiction of an emotional roller-coaster ride seen while touring India. It showcases its rich cultural diversity, tradition of storytelling and lesser known facts with design flowing out in an endless and creative kaleidoscopic process”

SS 2016 Day 3 :

Day 3 of Paris Fashion Week saw about sharp and lean suiting, stunning metallic fabrics and summery hues on the ramp.

Junya Watanabe took us on a trip to Africa with its Spring/Summer 2016 menswear collection which had sensational trousers, denim, double-breasted blaze and sartorial shirts and jackets. Maison Margiela presented an unusually polished and minimal line-up. Soft tailoring was given a subtle injection of rock n’ roll, whilst elegant, flowing trenches gave linen summer suits a bit of swagger. Ann Demeulemeester men’s collection showed fashionable jackets with brightly colored removable linings and thin pants in orange and kelly green worn over black leggings.

JUUN.J embraced denim for its spring-summer 2016 menswear collection. Denim tops and jackets that were paired with pants that unzipped from the top to unveil a contrasting material. Comme des Garçons by Rei Kawakubo presented suiting separates that were deconstructed or rather slashed away to reveal a glimpse at the layers underneath. Elongated tops and cut-away tops completed the rebellious take on suiting.Givenchy’s menswear collection offered a glitzy take on suiting. Boxy oversize tops, tailored coats and simple bomber jackets also highlighted the collection.

Henrik Vibskov new menswear lineup had the designer’s signature oversize knitwear and pullovers in black and white color palette. He introduced loose short-sleeve tops, boxy cropped jackets and elongated tops.Berluti showcased ensembles like striped sweaters, workwear-tinged linen shirts, bomber jackets and tees in colors like gray, bright lilac, turquoise, lemon, emerald and scarlet.

SS 2016 Day 4 :

Day 4 of Paris fashion week saw two of the most anticipated runways: Olivier Rousteing’s Balmain Homme show and Kris van Assche’s Dior Homme show.

Olivier Rousteing infused his take of safari in his debut menswear collection for Balmain Spring/Summer 16. Intricate detailing on fabric gave this utility collection of toggles, pockets and relaxed pants, an elevated fashion lift. Dior Homme menswear range by Kris Van Assche showcased classic pieces that were given interesting twist. There was an Argyle pattern on vests and sweaters, suit jackets were embellished with zippers and in other places anelectric blue floral embroidery was added to a classic suit.

Kenzo’s menswear Spring/Summer 16 was a travel inspired collection. The range had patched faded denim jackets and a series of trench coats with slit at the elbow. On the other hand Sacai’s collection featured knee-length shorts, hefty outerwear, jumpers, bomber jackets and plaid jackets.Songzio tackled its spring-summer 2016 menswear collection with an abstract point of view. Graphic prints highlighted the lineup which included Suits, t-shirts, shorts and jackets.

Études Studio Men’s spring’16 collection was inspired from David Weiss’ illustrated book “Up and Down Town”. Tunic like tops, baggy shorts and trousers came in solid colors such as cream and gray.Ideas of space travel dominated the agenda for Wooyoungmi’s menswear collection which featured long coats, short jackets, summer-weight knits and laid-back separates amplified with splashes of metallic silver and zipper details. Hermès Spring/Summer 16 by Véronique Nichanian had luminous colours and sophisticated silhouettes. Hooded sweatshirts, reversible jackets and collarless shirts felt relaxed yet sophisticated.

SS 2016 Day 5 :

With five days of stunning runaway shows by international designers and brands, Paris Fashion Week finally came to end.

Officine Générale’s spring summer 16 by Pierre Mahéo stood out via its no-nonsense denim bottoms in clean white, gray and indigo blue. A little shrunken and with rolled-up hems, they let off a Fifties vibe. lber Elbaz and Lucas Ossendrijver presented an uber cool collection of menswear for Lanvin Spring/Summer 16.  There were fifties era’s silhouettes like high-waist pants, satin jackets, diner shirts. Overcoats had the same relaxed, breezy feel, including ones in paper-thin leather bonded to cotton toile.

Agnes B played it modest for menswear spring 2016. The lineup had relaxed tailored suits, loose summer coats, light jackets, tropical print shirts, printed bomber jackets and graphic t-shirts. Shayne Oliver for his label Hood by Air played with gender codes, showing off-the-shoulder tops in artfully draped jersey and pants adored with pleated flamenco ruffles.Paul Smith embraced 1980s silhouettes for its spring-summer 2016 menswear collection. The range included t-shirts, suits, jackets, dress shirts, turtlenecks and slouchy tops.

Umit Benan’s ss16 collection showed looks like military shirts tucked into paperbag-waist pants, voluminous multicolor trenches with large military pockets and striped pajama uniforms. Thom Browne menswear range presented interesting gray suits and coats with intricate Japanese-inspired motifs. Hedi Slimane’s latest menswear collection for Saint Laurent had stovepipe trousers, leather moto jackets, intricate sequinned bomber jackets and blousons embellished with sunset palms and heady neon hues.