To celebrate northeast India’s rich heritage of crafts and textiles, Lakmé Fashion Week (LFW) this time had a special initiative of ‘Made in Assam’ in collaboration with the Northeast Fashion and Design Council (NFDC) as part of the theme of this season. The initiative is also to link northeast textiles to mainstream designer retail market.

LFW also launched a Sustainable Fashion and Indian Textiles initiative for its Winter/Festive 2016 season with fashion destination Ogaan. OGAAN brings together the biggest names in Indian fashion, with new, emerging talent.

The sustainable designers who were part of the Ogaan preview will be showcasing their collections later this month as part of the Sustainable Fashion and Indian Textiles (SFIT) initiative happening on August 25 at the gala.

In the ‘Made in Assam’ initiative, young Assamese designer Pranami Kalita, National award winning woman weaver Anuradha Pegu and NGO Aagor by Ants Craft that is entrenched in the empowerment of tribal women weavers, came together to set the tone for the LFW Textile Day and a pre-cursor to a sustainable fashion endeavour.

Jaspreet Chandok, vice president and head (fashion), IMG Reliance, said that the aim is to deepen buyer and designer engagement and bring a slice of the Lakmé Fashion Week excitement to consumers, while enhancing the business of fashion.

Sanjay Garg from Delhi, Anavila from Mumbai, Vrisa from Jaipur, Pella from Bengaluru and Padmaja from Mumbai showcased outfits from their upcoming Winter/Festive 2016 handloom collections and reinforced their commitment to working with weavers and crafts of the country.