The Vivienne Westwood fashion show in Mumbai did not bring the punk

The late Dame Vivienne Westwood, the British designer who dragged punk and new-wave vogue into the mainstream within the Seventies, as soon as quipped, “In style tradition is a contradiction in phrases. If it’s widespread, it’s not tradition.” Her disdain for conformity and her love for rise up have been the hallmarks of a profession that redefined fashion as a type of dissent. “Democratic envy,” as she termed it, made individuals gown alike merely to belong. She most well-liked dressing for herself — even when nobody else authorized.

A mannequin walks down the runway on the Vivienne Westwood present in Mumbai
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That ethos lingered within the air at Vivienne Westwood’s latest present in Mumbai, staged towards the dramatic backdrop of the Gateway of India. The venue — final seen internet hosting Dior’s pre-Fall showcase in 2023 — got here with weighty expectations. The place Dior provided polished precision, Westwood delivered one thing else totally: looser, moodier, and much much less structured.

Khadi and chanderi materials have been utilized in creating the capsule assortment
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Secrecy surrounded the occasion. There was no pre-show buzz and invitations have been despatched out final minute. A passing drizzle left the air sultry and thick with pressure.

The collaboration

The gathering, which featured a couple of archival items, was born of a collaboration with Vivz Style Faculty in Pune and Aaranya, an initiative led by Priyadarshini Scindia, of the erstwhile royal household of Gwalior. Aaranya’s mission: to protect conventional crafts, particularly Chanderi, well-known in Madhya Pradesh, by way of trendy design interventions. Additionally within the combine was khadi, equipped by the Khadi and Village Industries Fee (KVIC), a statutory physique established by the Authorities of India in 1957. Collectively, these collaborations have been meant to champion craft preservation, sustainability, and cultural trade.

The bubbling robe
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In line with Carlo D’Amario, CEO of Vivienne Westwood, the present’s inception started along with his go to to India final 12 months, hosted by Priyadarshini. The journey rekindled reminiscences of his travels by way of Goa within the Seventies, and coincided along with his rising curiosity in India’s burgeoning luxurious market — at present valued at $8 billion and projected to succeed in $14 billion by 2032.

The mannequin lineup
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In a poetic twist, the Gateway of India itself options jaali work sourced from Gwalior, linking the royal collaborator to the setting.

The thought for the present reportedly crystallised throughout Carlo’s keynote at Vivz final 12 months. “He fell in love with India — its textiles, its tales,” recollects Vivek Pawar, the college’s founder-director. However translating that love into clothes was not simple. Getting khadi and Chanderi to the Westwood studio in Italy meant navigating crimson tape. “The material needed to have construction,” Vivek explains. “It wasn’t nearly heritage; it wanted to carry up on the runway.”

The materials actually delivered on texture and lightness. Carlo was particularly taken by Chanderi’s airiness. “I used to be gobsmacked,” he stated. “It felt excellent — for India, and for the model.”

However the clothes themselves have been much less convincing. Inventive director Andreas Kronthaler —Westwood’s long-time collaborator and husband — focussed on ease and modernity. The end result was a set anchored by handspun khadi, ethereal Chanderi, thrives of chiffon, hints of tartan, and the model’s signature petal flower headpiece. However the silhouettes felt restrained. The repetitive boat-neck corset gown, already seen on Kareena Kapoor Khan and Janhvi Kapoor, grew to become the gathering’s default kind: fairly, however predictable. The sting that after outlined Westwood was softened into one thing secure.

The soundtrack didn’t assist. A jarring mixture of Indian classical music and Alisha Chinai’s ‘Growth Growth’ felt extra kitsch than counterculture — much less rise up, extra runway theatre. Reasonably than elevating the garments, the music muddled their message.

Although the selection of textiles — khadi from KVIC and Chanderi from Aaranya — was rooted in legacy, it felt extra like a symbolic gesture than a daring assertion. The clothes borrowed Westwood’s visible cues, however missed her unmistakable voice.

The technique

Nonetheless, the present marked a definite shift in the home’s technique. Carlo summed it up: “Magazines are nice, vogue homes are nice, nevertheless it’s politics that will get issues shifting.” The model now appears to be leaning into State-supported collaborations, cultural diplomacy, and world craft partnerships. Remarkably, the present was reportedly pulled collectively in below a month — proof of sharp coordination behind the scenes.

Allow us to not neglect: Westwood’s defining collections — Pirate (1981), Mini-Crini (1985), Anglomania (1993) — didn’t simply play with kind. They have been provocations. She fused chaos with couture, rage with magnificence, and protest with pageantry. Local weather change, anti-capitalism, consumerism: nothing was off-limits.

The Mumbai showcase was formidable in scope and symbolic in spirit. However it lacked the rupture, the recklessness, the unconventional aptitude that after made Westwood’s runways a battlefield. It was, ultimately, a respectful tribute. However maybe a bit of too well mannered.