Opening up a world of avenues, Blenders Pride Fashion Tour 'The Showcase' has been conceived to become India's leading platform for discovering hidden talent among fashion designers, shutterbugs, models and content creators.The celebrated Blenders Pride Fashion Tour, a definitive voice in the fashion and design world has collaborated with Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) with the objective of nurturing talent. It has curated a platform which nurtures talent across diverse creative fields. This will be a definitive step towards building a more inclusive fashion ecosystem and giving voice to aspiring talent across the nation.Charting a unique course, it will catapult the journey of the aspirants, giving them a platform to exhibit their creative expression with pride. The journey will continue to be at the helm of brand's vision and will only reinforce by bringing alive distinctive expressions of 'Pride'.The 2-month long event planned in 4 phases features a jury of the leading names in fashion -- Chairman of FDCI, Sunil Sethi; design extraordinaire, Gaurav Gupta; celebrity stylist, Shaleena Nathani; Bollywood's favourite shutterbug Rahul Jhangiani; India's leading content creator, Masoom Minawala and B-Town queen and trendsetter, Neha Sharma.It will intricately weave diverse narratives of Pride such as 'My Identity. My Pride', 'My Passion. My Pride' and 'My Planet. My Pride' to unravel a holistic experience.
IANSlife caught up with designer Gaurav Gupta at the sidelines of The Showcase to get his take on the event:
Q: How has Blenders Pride Fashion Tour transformed the fashion scene in India?
A: In the last 16 years, Blenders Pride Fashion Tour has evolved from conventional runway shows to a festival celebrating fashion positivity, glamour and exuberant designs with cutting-edge technology. Each year, the tour puts forth intriguing concepts, thus bringing new experiences to consumers. I have had some fantastic showcases with them and the team always puts its best foot forward and efforts in making magical moments happen. The larger than life, yet meaningful experiences will help pave the way for more exploration, fashion, and style in the future.
Q: As people tire of comfort fashion and dressing up returns with a vengeance, what's your take on fashion for the season?
A: Comfort fashion will be in style for a while because people have understood the value of comfort while working from home, but at the same time when they plan to step out to celebrate or party or for any occasion, they would want to dress up and go over the top. Having said that, it is going to be a formula of each to its own and people will dress up more individualistically.
Q: Intimate weddings are far from understated, as is bridal wear. Do you agree?
A: This is true and I completely agree with this. People want to spend on their weddings. After all, it is the big day of their life. They want the grandeur and don't hesitate to go all out. Newer cultures of intimate weddings are coming out, where people are travelling with 50 or 200 friends to more exotic locations. They are throwing lavish parties with exotic themes. They want to create moments with pictures capturing this extravagance that are with them forever (and it should be Instagrammable, of course!).As for the bridal wear, experimentation with colours and silhouettes can never be underrated. A bride still wants to hold on to the drama and can sometimes go the extra mile to achieve this. Even if the situation demands a change in the scale of the celebration, she wants to translate her vision into reality.
Q: 'Vocal for local' has been part of your label from inception. What is your take on it?
A: Fashion has been evolving everyday with greater awareness towards sustainability. I have been a firm believer in finding ways to integrate the local vendors and artisans with my brand. As Indian fashion designers we will have to involve the weavers and craftsmen to a greater extent, especially now. The pandemic is not over yet and we cannot forget that during these times of economic crises they are dependent on us for consistent work.
Q; 'My Identity. My Pride', 'My Passion. My Pride' and 'My Planet. My Pride' -- which of these is closest to your heart and why?
A: 'My Planet. My Pride' is closest to my heart. It is the burning need of the hour to work towards saving our planet which is in crisis. We need to treat the matter with utmost gravitas and take a step in ensuring that in our limited capacity, we contribute towards making the planet a better place. I have already started taking conscious steps to be sustainable. I am trying to reuse my excess and rescue carbon footprint. Even our garment covers are woven out of yarn that is made from plastic reclaimed from the ocean and landfills.
Q: Tell us about your association with Blenders Pride Fashion Tour.
A: Blenders Pride Fashion Tour has unveiled the second edition of The Showcase in collaboration with Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), with the objective of nurturing talent. I have had a long-standing association with Blenders Pride Fashion Tour, and The Showcase is an important step forward to nurture the fashion talent of the future. I am excited to come on board as a Jury member. I look forward to meeting a lot of young and fresh talent from this country. I am expecting young designers to be themselves -- original, innovative and of course, have an individual sense of style.