Puducherry embraces both European and Indian cultures and both have been existing side by side for generations. Integrating the East with the West, the past with the present, and tradition with modernity was the theme of the fashion show ‘Fusion without Confusion’, that took place on Saturday night at Seagulls Restaurant near the port.
With accompanying dazzling lights and popular Bollywood numbers in the background, students of Lycee Francaise took to the catwalk to showcase the creations of designer Manisha Sen Gupta.
“The idea behind my collections is that they appeal both to an Indian audience as well as the Western one. I held a show a couple of years ago at the French Consulate, and I thought I would do something different this year and donate the proceeds of the show to CERTH India,” Manisha said. CERTH India, a charitable, non-governmental organisation, which started working towards the eradication of leprosy in 1983, but since then, they have expanded to include a night school for underprivileged children, a rehabilitation centre for the physically challenged and a vocational training centre for the underprivileged.
There was a decision to integrate Bollywood dance into the show, because it would help display the clothes in a different light as well as make it entertaining for the audience. All of the models were between the age group of 14 and 17, and even the choreography was by a Lycee student who has been working closely with Gaur Kala for the past few years, she said.
