SUSTAINABILITY SET TO TAKE CENTRESTAGE AT BANGALORE TIMES FASHION WEEK 2021
Bengaluru, December 2021
Excitement is in the air for the fashionistas and style divas of
Bengaluru. Yes, it’s that time of the year again – stunning fashion,
breathtaking performances, contemporary design, the glitz, the glamour, and the
spectacle of it all… The sixth edition of the Bangalore Times Fashion Week is
set to return to the city with full steam, following a year of hiatus, bringing
with it a slew of new perspectives, designs and innovations.
The who’s who of the city are set to descend at JW Marriot, Vittal
Mallya Road, Bengaluru, on 28th
and 29th December
2021, to witness this fantabulous event. The ramp is set to sizzle with the
presence of renowned celebrities, surprise showstoppers, beauty pageant winners
and leading influencers.
If you have been keeping up with the fashion world, you would certainly
know that sustainability is indeed the buzzword today. The outbreak of COVID-19
which brought the fashion scene to a screeching halt, forced designers and
brands to pause and rethink their business, especially when it comes to
responsible fashion.
Bangalore Times Fashion Week has been known to celebrate legendary designers while also nurturing young talent every season. This year, for the first time, the glamorous event celebrates a theme and turns the spotlight on mindful fashion and conscious designer labels. Several design pioneers and artisans are set to come together in this edition to explore fashion through the lens of environmental, social and economic impact.
A SPECTACULAR
START - BIBI RUSSELL
Bangalore Times Fashion Week takes pride in opening their show with UNESCO’s goodwill ambassador and international fashion guru Bibi Russell from Bangladesh. After working as a fashion model for global brands in ramps across the globe, she returned to Bangladesh in 1994, and opened a fashion house named Bibi Productions, which fused indigenous Bengali cultural elements into design. As of 2004, her company employed 35,000 weavers in rural Bangladesh. Over the years, she has showcased her collections at several fashion shows worldwide. Her Khadi & Handloom development has earned her a unique and highly respected position in the world of sustainability.
THE GRAND FINALE
- NEETA LULLA
With a career spanning over a three decades across movies and fashion, Neeta Lulla is one of the most iconic fashion figures in the Indian fashion industry. She began her career with one kaarigar and a single sewing machine. Today she has over 300 films to her credits, 4 National Awards and is a member of the prestigious Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Neeta Lulla has created a whole new collection for Bangalore Times Fashion Week which celebrates mindful fashion.
EXPONENTS OF
SUSTAINABLE FASHION
Everyone talks sustainability; but not everyone has sought out better alternatives and applied them to their collections and shows. The sixth edition of Bangalore Times Fashion Week focuses on designers who inspire, empower and upskill the community, and pave the way for the society to enjoy a sustainable relationship with fashion. Each one of these pioneers has a story to tell. These designers have been trailblazers of ethical sourcing, sustainable fashion, upcycling, handmade creations and natural fabrics, which are highly relevant to people across all segments of society. In addition to designers Bangalore Times Fashion Week also features artisans who feel passionate about sustainable fashion.
PAVITHRA MUDDAYA:
Pavithra Muddaya established Vimor in 1974, selling old Temple Sarees
auctioned by temples. When these sarees began dwindling, she shifted her focus
to recreating them keeping in mind the scalability and financial returns of the
designs. Vimor started training and encouraging small town weavers to re-create
and produce traditional, marketable sarees that suited our aesthetic sensibilities.
Design is central to Vimor’s work and Pavithra continues to be actively involved in documenting design, motifs and weaving techniques. Vimor hand holds small time weavers to turn them into entrepreneurs.
MANISH SAKSENA:
Manish Saksena has created landmark changes in the lifestyle industry in India, through his experience in new and different formats of retail. From leading the growth, expansion and profitability of the iconic brand Tommy Hilfiger in India for 6 years as COO for its India operations, he made his foray into the ecommerce environment with LimeRoad.com & Amazon while pursuing his passion to design and sell sarees to the discerning. Manish Saksena contemporizes the fine chequered Kota fabric with colour blocked south Indian motifs in his collection.
A HUNDRED HANDS:
A Hundred Hands is a non-profit rganization that takes pride in creating a world that celebrates the pleasures of handmade crafts in homes and daily lives, and helps artists earn fairly and sustainably. The NGO employs approximately 40,000 weavers, who enjoy working with their hands, making things themselves and thrive on the deep sense of satisfaction it offers! Bangalore Times Fashion Week will also have a stall of A Hundred Hands, where guests can purchase unique handcrafted creations.
PRASANNA HEGGODU:
A homegrown theatre personality, Prasanna is hailed for empowering the community in his village of Heggodu in Karnataka. He has transformed the village into a Khadi & Handloom spinning & weaving centre and created a printing and vegetable dyeing facility that is considered a textbook example of a self sustaining economy. Today the villagers of Heggodu run a bouquet of sustainable brands like Charaka & Desi under his stewardship.
A PROFUSION OF
TALENT
The sixth edition of Bangalore Times Fashion Week also features several other renowned designers like Nageeshwar C., Sui Daaga, Prem Anand Stephen – Tirang, Rina Singh, Yamuna, Govind Kumar Singh, Jayanthi Ballal, Manju Taparia – Indralokk and Vishwas Jewellers.
PARTERNING IN
STYLE
Chingari one of India’s fastest growing short-video apps, known for
attracting genuine talent from across India, is associated with Bangalore Times
Fashion Week as Short Video App Partner to ensure an affair that’s best-in-class
and stylishly unforgettable.
Chingari recently announced the
#BangaloreTimesFashionWeek contest for users, where 3 lucky winners will get a
chance to walk the ramp at the Bangalore Times Fashion Week 2021. 3 top
influencers will also be featured as show stoppers at the event.
Flipkart Video has joined hands with Bangalore Times Fashion Week as
the official streaming partner. Viewers can stay updated on all the fashion
shows, sessions, interviews and BTS, from the comfort of their home, with free
streaming on Flipkart Video only on the Flipkart App.
JW Marriott Bengaluru (Hospitality Partner), Salud Beverages (Lifestyle Partner), Audi Bengaluru Central (Driven by), Anew (Cosmetics Clinic Partner), Aster Labs (Your True Guardian), Ovion Lifestyle Pvt Ltd (Home Décor & Furnishing Partner), Zorain Studio (Hair and Make up Partner), Happy Heads (Wellness and IV Clinic Partner), Regalos (Corporate Gifting Partner), Dr Karishma Aesthetics (Aesthetics Clinic Partner) and Chemistry (Dating App Partner) are also set to add value to the event
PRIORITISING
SAFETY DURING CHALLENGING TIMES
For the first time ever, Bangalore Times Fashion Week is set to come alive in a lush green outdoor environment. The organizers will follow all COVID-19 safety protocol. Double vaccination will be mandatory for guests and the crew will undergo RTPCR testing sponsored by healthcare partner Aster Labs.
MC Shabbeer, a talk-wondo professional known for his trademark wit and
humour, TedX speaker and writer will be hosting the sixth edition of the
Bangalore Times Fashion Week
Bangalore Times Fashion Week will strive to take fashion to the next level, with an element of inimitability. It is truly an event you won’t want to miss.
For more updates
and info please follow the insta handle of Times Fashion Week @timesfashionweek
1)
Bibi Russell:
Russell was born
in 1950 in Chittagong, Bangladesh to Mokhlessur Rahman and
Shamsun Nahar. She earned a graduate degree in fashion from London
College of Fashion in 1975. In the next five years, she worked as a model
for different magazines
including Vogue, Cosmopolitan and Harper's Bazaar. She
also worked as a fashion model in fashion shows until 1994, working
with Yves Saint Laurent, Kenzo, Karl
Lagerfeld and Giorgio Armani. Returning to Bangladesh in 1994,
Russell opened a fashion house named Bibi Productions, which fused indigenous
Bengali cultural elements into her design. As of 2004, her company employed
35,000 weavers in rural Bangladesh.
With UNESCO support,
Bibi Russell organized her first European fashion show (pioneering event by an
South Asian female) in Paris in 1996. She also organized fashion
show, The Colours of Bangladesh,
in Spain in 1997. In 2016, she participated
in India at India Runway Week seventh edition where she
presented her latest collection on Rajasthan khadi. Bibi's collection
was celebrated by the Indian fashion industry. Recently (in year 2016
& 18), she showcased her collection for the opening show at the third
biggest fashion week of India, Indian Federation for
Fashion Development's India Runway Week Season 7.
2)
Neeta Lulla:
With a career
spanning over a three decades across movies and fashion Neeta Lulla is one of
the most iconic fashion figures in the Indian Fashion industry. She began her
career with one kaarigar and a single sewing machine. Today with over 300 films
to her credits, 4 National Awards and a member of the prestigious Academy of
Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
3)
Manish Saksena:
Manish
Saksena has been instrumental in creating landmark changes in the
Lifestyle Industry in India through his experience in new and different formats
of retail. As varied as being a part of the entry of International Brands
to creating successful homegrown brands, from Flagship Retailing in metros to
Tier 2 emergence and expansion, Manish brings with him a wealth of
core consumer experience. From leading the growth, expansion and
profitability of the iconic brand Tommy Hilfiger in India for 6 years as COO
for its India operations, he made his foray into the ecommerce environment with
LimeRoad.com & Amazon while pursuing his passion to design and sell Sarees
to the discerning.
Kota is known
for its fine chequered texture in silk & cotton interplay and was
patronized by the royalty originally for turbans. It however soon gained
popularity amongst women as an ideal wear for sweltering heat. This collection
envisages to take Kota back to its classical vintage understated charm
befitting a queen where sophistication & subtlety held more prominence over
ostentation. However still in pure zari
as is defined in its authentic handloom form. The other part of it attempts to
contemporize it with elements like color blocking, placement motifs & an
infusion from south with Rudraksha, Mayil & Mubagam styles & motifs.
Woven by Master craftsmen & their
enthusiastic talented next-gen this collection attempts to make them the hero
by using their fine craft & skill, however, making it relevant in a
slightly re-invented form .
4)
Pavithra Muddaya(Vimor):
Pavithra Muddaya
established Vimor in 1974 and started off by selling old saree auctioned by the
temples called Temple Sarees. Slowly when these auctioned saree began
dwindling, our focus shifted to recreating them keeping in mind the scalability
and financial returns of the designs. Vimor started training and encouraging
small town weavers to re-create and produce traditional, marketable sarees that
suited our aesthetic sensibilities. Design is central to Vimor’s work and
Pavithra continues to be actively involved with documenting design, motifs and
weaving techniques. Respect, empathy and integrity are the foundations on which
Vimor was built, by motivating and building confidence in weavers to believe in
their art. Vimor believe in hand-holding small-time weavers to help them
transition from weaver to entrepreneur. Advances are paid with 100% buy-back
allowing weavers to work in a risk-free environment.
5)
Prasanna Heggodu(Charaka):
Prasanna (born
10 February 1951), is a major Indian theatre director and playwright
from Karnataka. He is one of the pioneers of modern Kannada
theatre. He graduated from the National School of Drama (NSD).
He founded Samudaya and gave a creative direction to Kannada theatre in the
1970s with other activists. Prasanna lives
in Heggodu in Karnataka. He is known for his organisational
skills and new ideas and innovations in theatre. He is a Sangeet
Natak Akademi Awardee. He transformed the village of Heggodu into a Khadi
& Handloom spinning & weaving centre and created a printing and
vegetable dyeing facility that is considered a textbook example of a self
sustaining economy. Today the villagers of Heggodu run a sustainable bouquet of
brands like Charaka & Desi under his stewardship.
Eka is reflective of designer Rina Singh’s personal ethos of
simple living, connected to her upbringing in a family of agriculturalists. Her
sound understanding of textile design has developed through international
exposure and extensive travel across rural India. Over this time, her love of
people, nature and craft has been central to her vision, shared by her husband
Sandeep Dua, Eka’s Managing Director.
Rina was awarded the Chairman's Scholarship from Wigan & Leigh College to study fashion in the UK in 1998. She received Elle India Graduates Award in 2015 and was Runners up at the India for the prestigious Woolmark International 2016. Rina was recently awarded the Vogue Power List- Minimalist Designer of the Year 2019 award and was featured in the Harper Bazaar’s Women of the Year for 2019.
7)
A Hundred
Hands :
A Hundred
Hands is a multifaceted organisation- a registered charitable trust- singularly
focussed on nurturing and preserving “handmade” in India.
Working
across various initiatives:
1 Create
platforms and opportunities for the incredible artisans of India - both
urban and rural- to connect directly with consumers.
The Handmade
Collective by A Hundred Hands is arguably one of the most vibrant bazaars in
India where a 100% of all proceeds go back to the creators.
2. Create
platforms and programmes where modern India has a sensible and practical
way to connect with handmade, work with their hands, be gentle to the earth and
appreciate India's handcrafting traditions - while giving
back to society.
Unique
Corporate and Community Initiatives developed by A Hundred Hands bring handmade
alive through team building, sustainability DIY workshops, brand stories
and employee motivation programmes with traditional arts and customised
gifting options to support the cause of handmade.
3.Create
livelihood opportunities around handmade to help income generation for the
underprivileged.
A Hundred
Hands run a School of Hand Embroidery for underprivileged women in Bangalore
along with a Recycling for Livelihood programme repurposing old jeans. Both
these are training projects resulting in making a socio economic difference to
the under privileged.
4. Create
tasks involving motors skills to offer therapy to vulnerable groups.
Handmade for
therapy is spearheaded by A Hundred Hands to address solutions to Mental
Health and Wellbeing.
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