Lakmé Fashion Week 2022: Designers Falguni Shane Peacock say returning to the runway is a ‘celebration of fashion’

Ace designer duo Falguni Shane Peacock is a force to be reckoned with in the Indian fashion industry. Popular for their path-breaking designs and an emphasis on continued innovation, they did not disappoint with their return to a physical show after a lull of two years.
FDCI X Lakmé Fashion Week 2022’s extravagant finale witnessed an intergalactic expedition, Falguni Shane Peacock’s latest offering to haute couture. A futuric and flamboyant collection, aptly named ‘Earthbound’, it was inspired Shane’s avid interest in the possibility of life on other planets.

Future-forward silhouettes splashed with crystals, dome-shaped diamanté, faceted beads, and rounded out with edgy eye makeup looks created make-up art Daniel Bauer ensured rapt attention throughout the night with Bollywood actor Ananya Panday sashaying as the show-stopper.
caught up with the designers as they set about preparing for their prodigal return to the forefront. Read on to know their views about how the pandemic changed the fashion industry, the inspiration behind the recent collection, working with Ananya Panday and much more.
Edited excerpts:
You recently returned to the physical runway for the first time since the pandemic, how are you feeling?

Falguni: The first thought that went through my mind when I heard that we’d be returning to the physical format is that we would get to come back to the backstage buzz and pre-show madness.
What were the primary inspirations behind the collection ‘Earthbound’?

Falguni: The collection’s intergalactic undercurrents can be credited to the fact that Shane has always dreamed of a life on other planets in his head. With ‘Earthbound’, we decided to become more vocal about their fascination with the final frontier, setting the scene for an imagined homecoming to the planet after five decades of finding a home elsewhere.
Shane: We have always been intrigued space and somewhere down the line, we found ourselves adding galactic elements to our work. After 50 years of inhabiting other planets, it is likely to have developed a sort of uniform from living in a colony. But when you head back to earth, you will be celebrating colours and textures in all their glory.
Tell us about the primary styles, fabrics, and techniques used in the collection.

 
A pre-show sketch from designer duo Falguni Shane Peacock. (Source: PR handout)
Shane: Future-forward silhouettes splashed with crystals, dome-shaped diamanté, and faceted beads, and rounded out with edgy eye makeup looks.
Falguni: The hues of the Lakmé Absolute Explore Eye Pencils work so well with the colours of our collection— it’s a riot of spatial greys and bold purples, pinks and blues.
The showstopper for your collection was Ananya Panday. Tell us about working with her.

We always knew we wanted something unusual for Ananya because Gen Z loves their drama. This works in our favour because we’ve always been a brand that adds that extra special something to your looks.
How was working with makeup art, Daniel Bauer? Were the final looks collaborative in nature?
For Daniel, the theme and hues of the collection and Lakme Absolute Explore Eye collection meant free rein to get experimental with the trend statement of the season. There is no bigger creative platform for makeup arts nor a bigger fashion show than the Lakmé Absolute Grand Finale. This show will be the ultimate celebration where we will explore every possible brave, bold, bright and full-on bling makeup looks.
Do you intend to do more regular physical shows in the future?

The runway has always been a designer’s creative playground. This is something we really missed in the past two years during the lockdown. Coming back to the runway is a celebration of fashion, the excitement, and the feel for a designer.
How do you think the pandemic has affected the fashion industry across the world?
Falguni: I feel we have come out of a dark period of life that has affected a lot of people not only mentally and physically but emotionally as well. It also slowed us down and for the first time ever, we had the luxury of time and to plan for the next 5 years in mind. That isn’t something you can do on an everyday basis. As the pandemic comes to an end, we want to celebrate life again in its truest form in colour and this is going to stay for some time.
Shane: “The post-pandemic luxury consumer is looking to be noticed,” alluding to a larger spike in revenge dressing as we look to compensate for the missed dressing-up opportunities of the past two years.

What next for Falguni Shane Peacock?
All that time off allowed us to sit together and do a deep dive into what we should do in the next five years, what to focus on, which shows we need to do. There’s a lot more to come.
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