Vizag fashion week !

'Kingfisher ultra vizag fashion week', Vizag's first ever fashion week was ready to kick start with a bang ! Storm fashion company along with 30 Models , 7 top designers , 2 show directors and an extremely enthusiastic backstage and  hair & make up crew were all set to put on a great show.  A few weeks prior to the event the organizers faced protests from the women's organisation and the Vishva Hindu Parishad  for degrading the image of women and claimed that the show was promoting obscenity  . They consider fashion shows to be disrespectful to women . The organizers took the precautionary measures necessary and removed the title " beach edition " from the show. They took extra measures  to  ensure the security  and safety of their guests and team and played safe with the garments that were to be showcased during fashion week. The first two days went off well despite the protests, but unfortunately the last day had to be cancelled. This was a decision taken after the protests were conducted on a bigger scale and offended a larger section of the society due to certain misconceptions .

DESIGNERS THAT SHOWCASED AT KINGFISHER ULTRA VIZAG FASHION WEEK 

KUVFW - Day 1 - playful yet elegant collection by designer SHRAVAN KUMAR
photo credit : VINCENT KING 

KUVFW - Day 2 - Strike a pose ! with designer  ROCKY S
photo credit : VARUN VIVEK 

MODELS HAVING FUN ! - During designer , RIYAZ GANJI'S fittings

ALL SMILES ! MODELS WITH SHOW DIRECTOR - LOVELL PRABHU
photo credit : VARUN VIVEK

HAIR and MAKE -UP
photo credit : VINCENT KING

ME WITH THE BACKSTAGE TEAM FROM PEARL ACADEMY CHENNAI

Despite the bandh on Vizag fashion week , the team at storm fashion company kept their heads held high and  made the most of the time we had left in Vizag . With a splendid venue like The Park hotel in Vizag , we couldn't have asked for a better place to enjoy an afternoon pool party  , a sunset beach volleyball game and a perfect evening with  a bonfire by the beach . And to top it , we kicked in DJ Chico's birthday at a smashing after party with the best of Bollywood and house ! 

THE VENUE FOR THE  SHOW -  THE PARK HOTEL VIZAG

BONFIRE BY THE BEACH -
photo credit : VARUN VIVEK 

CELEBRATING DJ CHICO'S BIRTHDAY
photo credit : VARUN VIVEK

     

GROUP PHOTO AT THE AFTER PARTY
- photo credit : VARUN VIVEK

A QUICK STROLL ON THE BEACH - WITH BACKSTAGE MANAGER KAWLEEN   <3

It surprises me that even in today's modern world with the fashion industry peaking at a rapid pace in India , there still lies a major section of the society that is blinded by the glamour projected in the industry that they fail to see beyond it. They talk about women wearing skimpy clothes and talk about drugs, alcohol being the highlight of the industry and forget that the actual highlight of a fashion show is to showcase a collection . I am talking about collections that designers work on for months . sourcing fabrics, choosing the right colours , designing the clothes and finally putting them into production . Why cant people see that fashion is so much more than just glamour ? 

The fashion shows that you see is a collaboration of some of the most talented people in the industry coming together to produce a masterpiece that lasts for about 3 minutes . 3 minutes of pure professionalism . It's not an easy task for models to try on clothes one after the other during back to back fitting sessions with designers . For those of you who don't know what a fitting session is, it's what we do before a show, where models try on the outfits that are to be showcased, and the designers along with the show director sit down and discuss the sequence of the show. This isn't just a one two three order that they decide on . There is a lot of planning that goes behind it . The garments are colour coordinated , they need to think about which would be the strongest look to open and close the show with and a hundred other factors that come into play . And all of this is just the beginning . A few hours prior to the show models sit for their hair and make up session where the artists create looks decided by the designers for their show. ( please note : I am referring to the hair and make up team as artists because to be able to manipulate and replicate the same look on 12 different girls with completely different facial features and hair texture isn't a joke. It's the same as  an engineer making his site plans and blue prints .. except this is even better ! it's on a 3D canvas ) After the models are ready with their hair and make up , a half hour prior to the show , there is a rehearsal . Where the show director along with the show DJ put together the entire show and the sequence of the entry with the necessary drama . Each show has a different vibe and a mood to it and the show director is responsible to bring out the right feel and look while the show DJ puts together the right music  . This is based on the type of collection the designer is showcasing . Once the rehearsal's are done the models quickly get into their first change and wait backstage for the show to start. Between all of this , there are backstage managers running around and coordinating the ironing time, alterations, fitting sessions , tagging of the garments so the right clothes go onto the right models and also setting up the green room to run a smooth show .

 During the show each model is given a helper who helps them get in and out of their changes. This might sound very silly to some of you , but the models have less than a minute to change into their next outfit and be back on the ramp with a straight face forgetting all the craziness that's happening behind the stage . 

Everything is a time crunch.  The 30  second rush of adrenaline that you get before the show, makes this whole experience worthwhile. So  yeah , I guess I am on drugs and it's a fashion drug that gives me the best high I have ever experienced ! This is the beauty of working  backstage . 

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During my stay in Vizag , we had the last day off so i spent sometime in the hotel library while working on my collection  and came across this big fat red book . Something kept drawing my attention towards that one particular book. It was about INDIA . Thought that I might as well check it out , what if there was something in there related to my collection that could inspire me . 

INDIA - The Beautiful 

So , I'm flipping through the pages , and I find an image of the same scene we clicked in Rajasthan while visiting one of the palaces in Udaipur and this is the same image that inspired me to make my mood board for my collection  . It's pure coincidence or fate . Seeing that image pulled me back towards my collection and got me so focused . After coming back to chennai I couldnt wait to get back to my collection . Everything happens for a reason . This trip to vizag was exactly what I needed , in more ways than one . 

IMAGE I FOUND IN A BOOK 

SAME IMAGE FROM MY SCRAP BOOK  - TAKEN A YEAR AGO 

MY MOOD BOARD - inspired from the above image