Blenders Pride Fashion Tour, one of the most premium and promising Fashion event in the country, held its Grand Finale last evening in Mumbai. The Fashion Tour's 15th edition saw path-breaking concepts at the Finale like Collection Gallery, The Showcase, and Style Forum, that took place on the same day, prior to the Finale.
For one and a half decades this platform has not only been showcasing designs crafted by the Crème de la Crème of the fashion industry, but, has also been promoting the creations and crafts of young, aspiring designers, thus bridging the fashion gap.
Year after year this fashion event has not only become synonymous with the stalwarts of the fashion world, but also with big names of the silver screen.
The 2020 edition celebrated the themes of- Craft, Blend, and Identity along with the Showcase, a fashion talent hunt that took place last October. Winners of the Showcase- Designers Sushant Abrol of Countrymade, Ikshit Pande of Quod, and Stanzin Palmo of Zilzom, and models Ritu Chauhan, Poojan Solanki, and Preethy Karan, were part of the current edition. These designers (winners) also got an opportunity to showcase their inspiring designs at the Grand Finale and it was an overwhelming experience for them to see outfits from their collection exhibited besides those made by fashion veterans.
Post this, there was a Style Forum hosted by Anaita Shroff Adajania, Fashion Director for Vogue India Magazine. The talk saw popular names like designers Kunal Rawal, Ashish N Soni, Namrata Joshipura, and FDCI President Sunil Sethi. This discussion threw light upon a variety of topics-the past, present and future of the fashion industry, the changing trends observed in buyers and the way fashion journalism has changed, being a few among them.
The highlight of the show was Brand representative and Global icon Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who created a splash with her entry, clad in a beautiful black outfit. It was a strapless gown with a chunky embroidered belt that accentuated her waist. The actress paired her outfit with unconventional earrings, a stylish hairdo and smokey eye makeup.
Priyanka Chopra | Image by Viral Bhayani
Taking the stage, Chopra paid a heartwarming tribute to late Wendell Rodricks, a popular name in the fashion industry, who passed away on 12th February. She said, "It is only apt on a night like this, in the presence of so many luminaries that we remember Wendell Rodricks. He was a pioneer. He was a visionary of Indian fashion and he will always and forever be missed."
Priyanka Chopra in conversation with the designers | Image by Viral Bhayani
Priyanka Chopra spoke about how she had been associated with Blenders Pride since a decade, and this Fashion Tour marks her 10 year anniversary. "I have seen the inner energy and enthusiasm with which you all have worked together, lets every year set new benchmarks in the industry. Tonight with its 15-year mark edition the Fashion Tour honours, 'The Pride of India' in association with FDCI. 15 industry stalwarts will celebrate the blending of cultures tonight. They will showcase the intricacies of Indian craftsmanship through their creations. So like they say, Let the games begin!"
FDCI President Sunil Sethi, Priyanka Chopra and fashion designers | Image by Viral Bhayani
The Grand Finale featured the spectacular and drool-worthy collections of 15 couture behemoths including; Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, Anju Modi, JJ Vallaya, Gaurav Gupta, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Abraham and Thakore, Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna, Anamika Khanna, Monish Jaisingh, Namrata Joshipura, Ashish Soni, Raghavendra Rathore, Wendell Rodricks and Manish Malhotra.
