Homosexuality, anti-racist sensibilities dominate WLIFW 2014

Designers Mrinalini and Jenhum Gadi brought out the message of non-violence, anti-racism and an overturning of Section 377 of the IPC through their respective collections on the final day of Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WLIFW) Autumn/Winter 2014 here.

Mrinalini, whose collection was inspired by the picturesque Kashmir valley, said she wanted to give the message of peace through her collection. Titled as 'Kashmir',"I wanted to present this collection a year ago but it couldn't happen. The collection had been on my system for one year. I was actually waiting for this autumn/winter season to happen so that I can rework on my collection," Mrinalini told PTI.

"When I had been to Kashmir, I felt the aggression in the people and I depicted that through my collection. I hope someday there will be some peace in the valley," she added.

Her collection was divided into four sections -- Massive attack, Lal Bazar, Bandage and Gulmarg -- and outfits were designed keeping the sensibilities intact for each part.

"Massive attack is directly related to aggression. After that I have moved to Lal Bazar where I introduced layered Pathani suit. It's one of the busiest places in Srinagar where maximum protests happen," she said.

"Then I introduced my bandage line, which means healing. And lastly is the Gulmarg, where I have played with the Sufiana style," she added.

The colour palette ranged from earthy browns, greys to ivories and whites.

Whereas, Arunachal based designer Jenjum's appealed his audience to support homosexuality and stop racism towards people of North-East through the drama he depicted on the ramp.

Models sashayed down the runway by holding hands of each other and the background score talked about the racism.

"Being a designer from North-East I wanted to say people to stop racism towards us. We are equally a part of this country. Models walked the ramp by holding hands because I wanted to show support towards homosexuality. We should not forget that we are human beings first," he said.

His collection was an amalgamation of Turkish delight and North-East beauty. Outfits had loads of gold work (inspired by the famous gold market of Istanbul) and they were teamed up with beads jewellery of the state.