As Lakmé Fashion Week goes digital this season, leading designer, Manish Malhotra sets the stage to present a bespoke collection that will transform the grandeur of the runway into a Virtual Reality show in association with award winning airline, Etihad Airways.
The virtual reality show will break geographical barriers and will give viewers the excitement of actually being present at the show; from backstage to the front row and the post show party. The Virtual Reality video of the show will premiere at an exclusive event after the Lakmé Fashion Week.
This announcement was made at Manish Malhotra’s exclusive preview at ITC Grand Central and comes just months after Etihad Airways used the pioneering technology to give viewers unprecedented access to the airline’s award-winning Airbus A380 by immersing them in the aircraft cabins in a virtual reality film ‘Reimagine’ featuring Hollywood actress Nicole Kidman.
Manish Malhotra’s fashion show will be held in Mumbai at ITC Grand Central on August 24th on Day 1 of Lakmé Fashion Week.
His new collection spotlights Indian craftsmanship combined with modern silhouettes. The fashion house will showcase its signature embroidery work with textured colours meshing with subtle shimmer and sparkle. You can expect statement ensembles and handcrafted evening wear that will make a trousseau special for every moment surrounding a wedding. The show promises to be an experiential setting, a celebration for all the to-be brides.
On this exciting new association, Manish Malhotra comments, “I am delighted to be partnering with Etihad as two future forward brands come together- this will be the very first fashion show that will give viewers an experience beyond frontiers, space and time”.
The association with Manish Malhotra is the latest initiative by the Abu Dhabi-based airline following its recently-announced global agreement with WME | IMG to become the fashion industry’s preferred airline. This will help further enhance the airline’s premium brand positioning alongside the world’s most revered luxury brands. Etihad Airways’ partnership with WME – IMG spans 17 global fashion week events worldwide, including Mumbai, New York, London, Sydney and Milan.
This is the second designer collaboration for Etihad Airways after working with the Oscar de la Renta fashion house in Australia earlier this summer.
Purnima Lamba, Head of Innovation, Lakmé said, “Our association with Manish is a longstanding one and he continues to reinvent himself for Lakmé Fashion Week. This year Manish’s runway magic goes one step further with a virtual reality experience. We are all looking forward to this one!”
Jaspreet Chandok, Vice President & Head (Fashion), IMG Reliance said, “The Lakmé Fashion Week continues to innovate at the edge of fashion. After doing away with the physical press conference for a digital one, this is the next step towards embracing technology in fashion. A first in the country and maybe the world at a fashion week, viewers will get an immersive experience of a fashion event like never before. This will truly be a benchmark.”
Patrick Pierce, Etihad Airways Vice President Sponsorship, said: “The fashion industry and Etihad Airways represent an ideal brand fit, sharing attributes of being ambitious, innovative and creative – keycharacteristics that are reflected in our renowned inflight service and hospitality.
We are therefore delighted to collaborate with Manish Malhotra, one of India’s most celebrated fashion designers, for his opening night event at Lakmé Fashion Week. It promises to be a remarkable show featuring the same VR technology that we premiered with our recent A380 film Reimagine.”
Etihad Airways encompasses all areas of design, innovation and style to become the ultimate premium lifestyle airline. Its recently-introduced award-winning A380 service from Mumbai to Abu Dhabi and onwards to New York featuring the exclusive The Residence – the commercial airline industry’s only three-room suite in the sky – provides a seamless service between two of the world’s leading fashion cities, and a perfect fit for high flyers from the fashion industry.
Lakmé Fashion Week continues with its aim at making digital innovations. After a successful first of its kind digital curtain raiser for the season, this Virtual Reality show is the next big announcement of merging Fashion and Technology. Lakmé Fashion Week has partnered with Xenium Digital, one of the leaders in experiential marketing for the creation of the virtual reality video.
Follow #RunwayToRunway #ManishMalhotraXTech and #Lakmé FashionWeek to know all and more on this show
Brandturks 