It was a festive showcase from young designers and the venue was elahe on Road No. 10, Banjara Hills. While designers Anand Kabra and Gaurang Shah were present to encourage the designers, fashionistas were present in large numbers to have a glimpse of the glamorous line. It was a celebratory moment for designers Nikhil Thampi, Anushree Reddy, Kiran and Meghna of MYOHO, Sonam and Paras Modi of SVA, Shikha of VRISA, Divya Sheth, Monica and Divya Reddy, who showcased their two festive looks from the Lakme Winter/Festive 2016 collections. After waiting for an hour, the event unfolded and amidst chants of ‘Om Namah Shivaay’ as the models sashayed down wearing the creations. While Shilpa Reddy and Sandhya Raju modelled for Nikhil and Anushree, Lakshmi Manchu and Rakul Preet showcased SVA and MYOHO’s creations and Sonal Chauhan for Divya Reddy.
‘No celebrity showstopper’
He has been to Hyderabad many times earlier, but coming for an event with other designers is exciting, points out Nikhil Thampi. Nikhil has taken confident steps in the world of designing and is also enthused at the way his career has taken up. “Appreciation for my creations is a big responsibility,’ he says and adds, “My collection is for the festive season.”
At a time when designers yearn to showcase their clothes in fashion weeks abroad, Nikhil made news when he said he wanted to build his brand in India. “When I started my career, I was invited for the New York Fashion Week. I declined the offer and a lot people thought I am stupid and that I am not confident. I wanted a base in India first. I wanted to see if I am really good at my work. Touchwood, it has been nice. Right now, we have a lot of international offers,” he says excitedly.
Nikhil is also one of the few designers, who does not have celebrities endorse his clothes. “All celebrities wear my clothes. I am one of those, who doesn’t like to mix work and business. I never have a celebrity showstopper for my shows because it shifts all the attention away from a designer. We work for 6-8 months for a collection but when a celebrity walks, no one notices the clothes. I love celebrities but when it comes to fashion and fashion weeks, I like to keep it this way.”
