Haven’t we all, fashion enthusiasts, wondered at least once in our lifetime on how the behind the scenes of the glitz and glam of fashion weeks is like? Extravagant costumes of different colours, designers in sparkling and luxurious outfits immediately pops up in our mind whenever we fantasize about it. But is it always about the grand orchestrated routines? Lenox Pinto, a fashion design student from NIFT Kannur, who interned for Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 19, gives us a glimpse on his life behind the ramps and backdrops.
FICTION COMES TRUE
The scenes from various Hollywood chic flicks were not far from reality for this 19 year old as he found himself experiencing the same during his days as an intern for LFW 19 where while sourcing, everything in his hands fell down in the middle of the street from where he was shopping from. He learned to get things done in no time and without any complaints, amidst all the running, and had to do things like ironing and arranging clothes which he least expected - sounds similar to the stories of many movie protagonists? If the movie Devil Wears Prada comes to your mind, then you’re not alone. Pinto’s real life incidents have the same gradation as Anne Hathaway’s character. He spent his first catwalk show by peeping through backstage but with the same enthusiasm as any other people present there. The end of the catwalk signals his next task in managing the exhibition stalls which was an equally taxing but exciting job.
TAKE A NOTE
Even before he got to Mumbai, Pinto knew what he signed up for. The experience was physically draining but it came with its own perks. “Even though I was always tired by the end of the day, I was ever so grateful to witness Indian fashion in all its glory,” states Pinto with glee, “I was able to understand the designers’ idea when it was all fresh and new without being interrupted before”. By the end of the show, his notepad was filled with ideas that sparked an interest in him and his instagram stories were loaded with various snaps of collections from the show that inspired him.
Interacting with many of the industry stalwarts and bagging an opportunity to assist Ms Smriti Zubin Irani, Honorable Minister of Textiles was his brownie points.
According to Pinto, the selected pool of designers who showcase in Lakme are to be dubbed as the ‘future of Indian fashion’. “Their creations gave me exposure and taught me the relationship between innovation and the saleable quality of the collection which is an important aspect of being a good designer without compromising your ideas or creative interests and still make it likeable by customers”. Leafing through his memories, we will find out that all the collections were something which he was seeing for the first time. Runway shows at the Lakme studio had an interesting concept and were performed in an artistic manner. Witnessing FKNS by Narendra Kumar and I was a Sari at Lakme Studio opened his mind to the idea that we can not normalize day to day things.
ALL THE STARS
The attendance of Bollywood celebrities at LFW made him starstruck, just like us. Actress Kangana Ranaut and the founder of the brand S.W.G.T, with whom he shared hearty conversations and tips on how to make a mind blowing portfolio, graced the red carpet as well as his heart. Apart from all the celebrities, Pinto was a witness to one of the many interactions between organic cotton farmers and the catwalk show spectators which is a sign that measures are being taken to bring forward sustainability and integration of projects with different working classes.
Taking home a suitcase of euphoria, memories and lots of lessons, amongst the many buzzwords, Lenox Pinto signs off from the interview with a smile etched on his face.
Interviewed and documented by Arunika Sajith
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