"Kareena is a vision. She really is a goddess."
Kareena Kapoor Khan stole the show at the Finale of Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2016.
The ‘Face of Lakmé’ took to the stage for Rohit Bal’s stunning ‘Korshini’ collection. The Urdu term means ‘to illuminate’, and Rohit Bal certainly wowed with a collection that oozed elegant-meets-traditional chic.
The couture designer used only organic fabrics and traditional methods of embroidery to craft together some beautiful ensembles.
Speaking about the collection, Rohit said: “The collection is called ‘Koroshini’, which in Urdu means illuminate. For me this whole association with Lakmé, Kareena and the whole team is been about illumination.”
Bal experimented with classic techniques, using fabrics from handloom mulmuls, chanderis, hand-spun silks and rich silk velvets. He also used a Japanese tie-dye technique called shibori hand crinkling and organic dyes.
This was Kareena’s first outing with Bal, who usually walks the ramp for close friend, Manish Malhotra. Here, Kareena oozed ethereal beauty in a royal blue lehenga choli. The lehenga skirt was covered in golden ‘chaand’ or crescent moon motifs.
The 34-year-old Bollywood diva, was over the moon to be the showstopper of Bal’s collection, saying: “This is the first time I am walking for Rohit Bal, but I think his clothes are amazing.
“His clothes reflect his personality, which is very ostentatious… I think super sexy and super amazing. I love it especially because it has this chand [moon] on it, so I like it. I would personally love to keep it for next 50 years for my family as an heirloom.”
Other ensembles in the collection showed off Bal’s graceful touch and subtle expressions. Relying on deep hues of gold, ivory, red and black, Bal used intricate detailing of handmade cutworks and lattice.
Men sported black and ivory kurtas with multi-coloured floral motifs with straight-legged trousers. Women dressed in elegant lehenga cholis and golden sari infusions.
Bal was all praise for Kareena, saying: “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.”
The Lakmé Finale also saw an unconventional setting for a fashion show, in St Xavier’s College, Mumbai. The historic building was a perfect setting for the atmospheric runway.
Bal explained: “The credit for that goes to Lakmé. Purnima Lamba, head of innovations at Lakmé, wanted the show to have such lighting and I think this is the first time anybody created something like this. The backdrop was lit really well and blended beautifully with the show.”
“I think the only aspiration as a designer, an actor or an entrepreneur is that we always want to do something new and set a standard for others to follow, for others to aspire and be something,” he said.
Kareena added: “For the first time Lakmé 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.”
The Finale also welcomed a select number of stars and celebrities from the world of Bollywood. Among the faces on the front row were actress Huma Qureshi and author Shobha De.
Overall, Rohit Bal’s ‘Korshini’ collection was a fitting Finale to the incredible Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2016.
India’s biggest fashion show continues to showcase the most innovative fashion for Indian men and women and we look forward to the Autumn/Winter edition.
See more images from Rohit Bal’s ‘Korshini’ collection below:
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