Ramps go sightseeing

Manpriya Singh

Are the fashion shows finally going where fashion instead is supposed to reach—off the ramps? Sometimes to the rustic grounds of Richardson and Cruddas Mills, where Sabysachi held the quintessential opening show, first day and first major fashion week of the year. Or to a quaint set up of home décor store, where Manish Malhotra treated the audience to The Blue Runway collection. The recently concluded LFW displaced the crazy throng of fashion watchers as many as four times off the designated venue at Palladium Hotel. Offsite shows are not a new lexicon, only getting more whimsical and oft repeated by the day.

Showstoppers, front row, elaborate ramps—off site shows are just the next in line to divide the fraternity in their understandable school of thoughts.

Pragmatic musings

Chanel’s Fall 2015 show converted the runway to a restaurant by turning the setting inside Paris’ Grand Palais. Creative director Karl Lagerfeld knew exactly what he had up his sleeve when he jumped behind the bar to serve all the answers to fashion scribes. "Real clothes for real women," he said describing his line and also the runway setting. "I like to put clothes in a context of where they are supposed to live." That is more than the explanation required for any drama. Even so, it didn’t bring an approval of the global press, as it was considered that, "the clothes had become the second act."

The industry was yet to unite on the need for elaborate ramps when the practice of offsite shows came to the fore. Wendell Rodricks points out the often-overlooked drawback in the hype and hoopla accompanying the weeks. "There is no problem with offsite shows. But they are inconvenient for models, especially if there are rehearsals involved. I feel this concept works better for Couture Weeks, like they do in Paris." Leaving the logistics aside, however, if he were to pick and choose venues, it would be, "hosting a show on a luxury cruise ship." Nevertheless, he adds, "But that is not ever going to happen."

Getting back to the Couture shows in Paris, last season, Karl Lagerfeld turned the same hall into a super market to hawk Chanel goods. Quite understandably, swimwear designer Shivan and Narresh borrowed from the ambience but only shifted the action to Palladium swimming pool. An exercise to lend to their resort line at LFW ’15.

Where next?

While we have long had elements like camels, cars, stilt walkers and snake charmers to lend the drama to clothes, there have been a few and far precedents on taking the audience away from the main show area. Tarun Tahiliani can be popularly credited with the inventive season after season, having first held an offsite show at Blue Frog with Qutub Minar in the backdrop, followed by opening the Lakme Fashion Week 2013 at a Mumbai restaurant, Tote on the Turf, to be further followed by yet another offsite show at Capital’s DLF Emporio for the India Fashion Week SS ’15.

It was only last October when couturier Rohit Bal put up a moon light spectacle at Quli Khan’s Tomb to present his collection, Gulbagh. Given the endless list of historical landmarks in India, what’s next?

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