“The age of the supermodel is gone,” says Lubna Adams, a tad ruefully. Given that this fashion choreographer has groomed top models like Sushmita Sen, Aishwarya Rai, Celina Jaitly, Diana Hayden, her feelings are understandable. “Supermodels were the ones you saw in print, television, everywhere... Now there are film stars and cricketers doing everything,” she says. The modelling industry is still thriving for women, but unfortunately for men, it’s not great news. “International models get everything. If it’s a shaving commercial, you see a foreign model, hair gel also has a foreign model, and even in sherwani ads you see them. So I keep telling men not to waste their time auditioning,” she laughs.
Lubna is in the city to choreograph Phoenix MarketCity’s Autumn-Winter Fashion Show, which features popular models like Kanishtha Dhankar, Erica, Dayana Erappa, Preeti Dhata, and Elena Fernandes. Instead of the usual runway, they will be using escalators as their ramps.
It’s interesting to turn unusual spaces into settings for fashion shows, she says. Her previous experiments include a show with Sabyasachi at the Jehangir Art Gallery, one with Manish Malhotra in Mehboob Studios and yet another museum act with Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla. Her next idea is to someday make models walk on water by constructing a ramp over a pool. This is Lubna’s 26th year as a fashion choreographer. She started out as a model, and during one of the shows, when the choreographer Jeannie Naoroji was hospitalised, Lubna was asked to take over managing the show along with modelling for it. After that, she gradually found herself becoming a full-time show director. It doesn’t just stop with choreographing sequences; her expertise extends to deciding the music and lights, and sometimes, finalising the models’ hair and make-up. In addition to this, she also auditions models and grooms them. So what does Lubna look for in a model? “Confidence and personality. My model should be able to deliver what I want — and I want attitude. I don’t want an insipid person... I want someone who can change attitude based on my needs,” she replies.
After numerous independent shows and fashion weeks (sometimes she does four shows a day) the ace choreographer has lost count. “I’ve seen the industry evolve. The budgets have grown from as little as a lakh for a stage set to 60 lakhs.” Earlier, choreography was restricted to a little bit of walking and lots of dancing. Now, it’s more straightforward but the sets are lavish, the production is more dramatic. Even the models have undergone a drastic change. “They are more professional. They come do the job and go, so they have also become more cold,,”she laughs, and adds on a brighter note, “They are conscious of what they eat and their workout schedules. That’s a big difference, because earlier, you would see all shapes and sizes on the ramp.”
While grooming models, she notices that the most common trait missing in most is confidence. Some people also get their walk wrong — they have a bouncy gait or walk with their legs apart or slouch.
Yes, they listen to her when she advises them, but there have been face-offs too. “During a rehearsal for a show in Dubai, Jesse Randhawa was wearing a sarong. I told her to walk fastfive times and she still walked slowly. When she refused to go and change, I refused to carry on with the session. The designer tried to talk to us but we didn’t budge. Finally, an hour and a half later, Jesse changed. I believe she once told someone that I am the reason she did well because I told her she’s not good enough and she had to prove me wrong,” laughs Lubna.
Sometimes, there are arguments with designers about an idea, which Lubna thinks will work, but the designer thinks otherwise. At the end of the day, they give in and the show goes well, it’s smiles all around.
