Minus the Flash

While most designers are consumed by repetitive ideas of sending their garments down the ramp as the only way to show fashion,a few dare to be different. Lecoanet- Hemant belong to the latter category. At least that’s what the designer duo’s new Spring-Summer 2012 collection made clear. It was excitingly titled Fashmob — a fashionable flashmob — and showcased in the Capital on Thursday evening.

Held in the vicinity of their flagship store in Delhi,the word “fashmob” raised expectations of a certain kind,a hype that overwrote the script of the show. As many as 18 “power women” — entrepreneurs Shabnam Singhal,Sheena Jain,socialite Kitty Kalra,photographer Anushka Menon,designer Anupamaa Dayal,a few journalists and some PR executives,all friends of Hemant Sagar — followed the designer as he brought them down from the first floor,dressed in the Lecoanet Hemant brand. Admirably,barring one or two,none of these ladies subscribed to fashion’s conventional devotion for commercial beauty,height,slimness,shape and youth.

The collection was full of whites,off-whites,nude and beige ensembles. There were short dresses,pant suits,tunics,skirts and long formal dresses and the ladies moved around casually. What could have been a terrific idea with clever implementation became tedious in parts because the show went on for longer and didn’t live up to the hype its name,Fashmob,had generated.

The music could have been hip and pumpy,the choreography more energetic to invite impromptu dance from people around. Not all garments lived up to the duo’s talent at excellent tailoring either. The concept of a “flashmob” being uninhibited fun,it was the flash that went missing here. Yet,the duo deserve credit for not limiting themselves in fashion imagination and rethinking the runway without its cliches.