LFW X FDCI celebrates its 25th anniversary milestone in style

Mumbai: Around 30 renowned designers, including Manish Malhotra, Tarun Tahiliani, Falguni Shane Peacock, and Ritu Beri honoured the 25-year journey of the Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) X Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) at its one-of-a-kind gala where Bollywood star Kareena Kapoor Khan announced her return as the face of Lakme.

The event, held at the Jio World Convention Centre, was hosted by American actor of Indian origin Kal Penn on Sunday night.

To celebrate this milestone anniversary of LFW X FDCI, fashion designers chose two of the most iconic ensembles from their past collections which they presented at the extravaganza in the last 25 years.

It was a bittersweet moment when the showcase ended with the organisers remembering late designer Rohit Bal, who brought down the curtain on the Delhi edition of LFW X FDCI in October 2024.

As Bal's footage from his final fashion show played out on the LED screen, the audience in the ballroom gave a standing ovation to the couturier who died on November 1 at the age of 63.

During the gala, Kareena spoke about "embarking on a new chapter" with Lakme.

"Whether it was walking the ramp when I was size zero or Taimur in my belly, whether it was size 10 or 12, that never mattered. What mattered was my heart was on the stage with Lakme Fashion Week, with each and every designer I've walked for.

"I'm back again with the Lakme family. Hopefully, I will be back on the ramp with all my favourite designers wearing their outfits, maybe not as size zero but owning it completely," she said.

The actor also gave a shout-out to the unseen and often unnamed people who work round-the-clock to make fashion shows a reality.

Penn kept his hosting monologue funny, topical and slightly political, from taking a swipe at Kim Kardashian for mistaking Mumbai for the fictional Arabian kingdom of Agrabah in the animated movie "Aladdin" to praising the Indian paparazzi for giving viral nicknames to Hollywood personalities like Nick Jonas, Zendaya, and Gigi Hadid.

"Kim Kardashian visited and she said that she was confused because Mumbai was nothing like the movie 'Aladdin'. 'Aladdin' is, of course, an animated film about an Arabian character who was voiced by a white actor. Seriously, it's just a white person pretending to be brown, just like Kim Kardashian. I'm joking."

"I like Kim Kardashian, and so did the paparazzi when she was here." Indian paparazzi nicknames started going viral all over the world, 'Jhaandeya', 'Geegi', and my favourite, you guys call Nick Jonas 'Jeeju', which is literally the best. He is so sweet. He's such a good guy," he said.

The actor, known for films such as the Harold & Kumar franchise, The Namesake, and Van Wilder, also shared what the paparazzi in the US call him.

"'Dev Patel' (British actor of Indian origin). (I tell them) No, 'He's the other guy'," he quipped.

Other designers who presented from their previous LFW X FDCI clothing lines were: Gauri & Nainika, Varun Bahl, Monisha Jaising, Ashish N Soni, Narendra Kumar Ahmed, Rohit Gandhi + Rahul Khanna, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Raw Mango, Pankaj & Nidhi, Alpana & Neeraj, Namrata Joshipura, Shantnu Nikhil, Bhibhu Mohapatra, Rina Dhaka, Amit Aggarwal, Rahul Mishra, Anshu Arora, Bodice by Ruchika Sachdeva, Gaurav Gupta, Suneet Verma, Nalini Ramani, Anita Dongre, JJ Valaya, and Anamika Khanna, who opened this year's fashion week last Wednesday.

The occasion of the silver jubilee of LFW X FDCI is an "emotional" one, said Sunil Sethi, chairman, FDCI.

"This milestone is incredibly special for me. Even more so because I was there right from the beginning. First, as a buyer for Selfridges (UK retail destination), and then heading FDCI..."

"I stand in a room full of designers who have been my co-passengers in this journey. So many years have passed. We extend our deepest gratitude to Lakme and Reliance for their unwavering support to us.... Looking forward to the 50th anniversary," Sethi said in his address.

An AV showcasing film celebrities who have walked the LFW X FDCI ramp in the last 25 years as showstoppers was also played at the event.

The names included Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Alia Bhatt, Kangana Ranaut, Deepika Padukone, Saif Ali Khan, Katrina Kaif, Bipasha Basu, Sonakshi Sinha, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and the late Sushant Singh Rajput.

During its five-day course, the 2025 edition of the LFW X FDCI showcased latest collections by renowned designers such as Tahiliani, Shantnu & Nikhil, Mishra, Falguni Shane Peacock, Joshipura, Shivan & Narresh, and Saaksha & Kinni, among others.

The gala was also attended by designers Raghavendra Rathore, Samant Chauhan, Masaba Gupta, Kunal Rawal, supermodel Mehr Jesia, celebrity stylist Anaita Shroff Adajania, and actors Rasika Dugal, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Diana Penty, Banita Sandhu, Anasuya Sengupta, and Richa Moorjani.