Mumbai: Ace designer Rohit Bal along with his muse Kareena Kapoor Khan gave an astonishing closure to the Lakme Fashion Week 2016, with his line stunningly portraying the essence of life and existence.
Bal, who is celebrating his silver jubilee in the fashion industry this year, turned the finale designer for the fashion week after 2012.
This was also the first time the Delhi-based designer was collaborating with Kareena, who is the face of Lakme.
The 34-year-old 'Ki & Ka' actress looked every bit of a diva, dressed in royal blue lehnga choli with golden 'chaand' motif's, as she walked the ramp with historical St Xavier's College in the backdrop.
"I love the chand motif on the lehenga. It is something special. I would love to keep this for coming fifty years for my family. I love Rohit's clothes. His clothes show his personality. He puts his heart in it," Kareena said.
"It's been a wonderful experience. For the first time Lakme done fashion show of this level at such a great monument like St Xavier's. It's been great. Poornima and the whole team have tried to do something different this time. It was the best finale," she added.
Titled 'Koroshini', which is an Urdu word for illuminate, the collection was Bal's expression of subtle and gentle grace. From yards of mulmul to hues of gold, ivory, the creations had a presentation of hand made cut works and lattice.
The designer used organic fabrics throughout his range and used ancient techniques of embroidery crafted by artisans of the country.
"The collection is called 'Koroshini', which in Urdu means illuminate. For me this whole association with Lakme, Kareena and the whole team is been about illumination," Bal said.
The show was a spectacular melange of creativity and beauty. Bal, who enjoys a great celebrity clientele and has a lot of friends in Bollywood was all praise for his muse.
"Kareena is a vision. She really is a goddess. It's not just about how she looks. It's about the person she is, understanding, sharp and intelligent. I have a lot of friends in Bollywood, but this girl, despite being so young, she understands fashion, she understands inner beauty, she understands spirituality," he said.
The models were dressed in royal anarkali's, long jackets,
lehengas, sarees, sherwanis crafted on pure hand spun silks and rich silk velvets.
Time when the audience were all into the show, a moment of nostalgia suddenly hit everyone, when supermodel of 90's Sheetal Malhar walked down the runway wearing a black floor-length anarkali along with a golden heavily embroider jacket.
Amid all the beauty and designs, the thing that made the biggest highlight of the show was the hauntingly beautiful background created on the building through 3D mapping.
The fields of poppies and blooms of hibiscus that were seen on the clothes were amazingly put on display at the walls of the historical institute.
The LFW finale was nothing less than a visual treat for the people present at the venue.
"The backdrop was done with 3D mapping. It was the idea by Lakme team and Hitesh, who is the best person in the field did it. It was the first time something like this was done in any fashion week in India. I feel the whole concept blended well with the designs. We as creative person, a designer, an actor or an entrepreneur try and do something new and set an standard for others to follow," Bal said.
Poornima Lamba, Head of Innovation, Lakme praised the designer and the showstopper.
"'Illuminate' came alive in the most beautiful form. Rohit is pure genius. From the venue to his clothes to the backdrop everything was hauntingly beautiful and when Kareena came out it took my breath away," she said.
The only thing the otherwise perfect finale was missing on were the Bollywood celebrities in the front row. Among popular faces, actress Huma Qureshi was the only one spotted. Former "Bigg Boss" contestant Imam Siddqui was also seen at the venue.
