After putting up a stellar show at India Beach
Fashion Week (IBFW) barely a few months ago,
ace designer Vikram Phadnis is back in Goa again,
and he admits he is not complaining. Phadnis
is here courtesy Blenders Pride Magical Nights
that took place yesterday, on January 27, 2018
at the picturesque location of Reis Magos Fort.
The evening had stylish designs showcased by
Phadnis tuned to the eccentric beats presented
by the band, Clown with a Frown. Sagarika
Ghatge, fresh from her marriage to cricketer
Zaheer Khan, walked the ramp for Phadnis as the
showstopper and set the ramp ablaze.
Phadnis was recently in Doha to launch his
collection, which was the first collection of the
season, Couture 2018. When Herald contacted
Phadnis minutes before his show to learn more
about the collection that he presented last
evening, Phadnis said, “It is a full on Indian
collection. People want to see more of rich
colours and Indian lines. People don’t expect
western silhouettes from me in shows. So when
I did the Blenders Pride Fashion Tour, I had made
up my mind to design a collection that will be
full on Indian with a lot of Indian elements to
it. This collection is just that, but with a very
contemporary approach.”
Sagarika Ghatge couldn’t have asked for this
year to start in a better way. After spending the
past couple of months tending to priorities of
her personal life, Sagarika resumed her work
schedule by walking the ramp for Phadnis. When
asked how life has changed post getting hitched
to Zaheer Khan, Sagarika said, “Life is changing. It
is never a sudden change; every day is a change
in itself. It has hardly been a month.” The actress
has one release lined up for this year. Sagarika
describes it to be a dark and edgy film with actor
Gulshan Devaiah.
Phadnis, one of the veterans in the Indian
fashion industry, has spent 27 years designing
and has seen the industry evolve through the
years. When asked about how he sees it, Phadnis
says, “The industry has evolved very drastically
and I’m happy that I was a part of the whole shift.
The whole meaning of ‘style’ and ‘fashion’ has
changed. There is so much respectability for the
profession today. The designers have so many
more challenges, drive and focus that designers
have. The industry has not changed only on the
creative aspect but on many other levels too.
There is no choice to not be disciplined; there’s
so much competition and awareness.”
For the uninitiated, Phadnis has a very strong
Goa connection – his kuladevata (family deity)
is from Mangeshi. Phadnis says, “For the rest of
the world, Goa is a party destination; for me,
it is a more religious place. There are beautiful
memories – as kids we didn’t have a choice but
to come here. When the rest of the world came
here to holiday, we had to go to the temple and
we have such beautiful memories of that.”
Last year, Phadnis took a sabbatical from
fashion and debuted as a filmmaker. While
speaking to Café in the recent past, Phadnis had
said, “I had taken a break from fashion for the
last year and half because I was making my film. I
knew I had to take a sabbatical because I couldn’t
put my hands in both the baskets and expect
both to work. I am used to doing shows every
month or two, but this time it had been different.”
Phadnis resumed his fashion career with his show
at IBFW a few months ago. Phadnis said, “Getting
back to fashion feels really good because this is
what I love and do the most. But the film took up
the maximum period of time – nearly more than
one and half years.” However, Phadnis has begun
work on his next film and is currently working on
the script.
