India wins best country award at London Fashion Week

Mumbai, Feb 21: India has been declared the winner of 'International Fashion Showcase Country Award' at the London Fashion Week.

Five emerging designers- Antar–Agni by Ujjawal Dubey, Ikai by Ragini Ahuja, Ka-Sha by KarishmaShahani Khan, P.E.L.L.A by Priyanka Ella Lorena Lama and KaleekalBy Alan Alexander- created sustainable fashion exhibition 'the Indian Pastoralists' to win the award beating 25 other nations judged by a panel of industry experts.

The award ceremony was held at the Somerset House, London.

Each of the five designers created special looks that supported the theme conceived by IMG Reliance and aligned to the global theme of IFS this year, Local/Global.

The exhibition was in association with 6Degree and the creations drew inspiration from the multi-faceted ethnic lifestyles of India's nomadic pastoral communities and interpreted the deep heritage of Indian textiles and handlooms for a global audience.

"More than our collection what excited us is that we are representing the country for such a prestigious event," Ujjawal said in a statement.

Karishma Shahani's womenswear range was an ode to one of India's most iconic pastoral nomads, Rabaris who are pre-dominantly based in Kutch.

The designer said the win was special for her as London is the city where she learned the craft of fashion.

"Being able to showcase our work at a platform like IFS as a representation of India's offerings is an honour. It gives us a perfect opportunity to showcase our skill and story on a global platform. We are really excited to be associated with IMG Reliance and to be in such good company," she said.

Ragini said more than winning the trophy it was important for them to do justice to the tribes they drew inspiration from.

"Tradition meets Modernity - it is an enormously humbling experience to take the DROKPA tribe from Ladakh to London with a prestigious platform like IFS. It is also a big responsibility to do justice to the living tribe which has survived hundreds of years with its ethical and organic practices".

The IFS are a series of specially-commissioned and curated fashion installations featuring work by emerging designers from all over the world.

The 26 countries participating in the International Fashion Showcase were Austria, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Egypt, Germany, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Korea, Netherlands, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Peru, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Ukraine, Uruguay, and Zimbabwe.