Lakme Fashion Week 2018: Wanted to avoid stereotyping Banaras brocade, says designer Hemang Agrawal

Mumbai: Fashion designer Hemang Agrawal says he wanted to break the mould of "heavy brocade" that is often attached with the designs synoymous with Banaras.

The couturier, who presented his collection 'Unrevive' at the Lakme Fashion Week yesterday, said the holy city has a lot to offer besides the traditional saree.

"We wanted to do away with the stereotyping of Banaras that the sarees are heavy with brocade and the like. That's why we called it 'Unrevive'. We went simple with motifs, shapes, even in the base of the textiles," Agrawal told PTI on the sidelines of the ongoing fashion extravaganza.

Calling Banaras "the finest weaving centre of the world", the designer said rather than reviving one needs to go back to the basics and push the envelope at the design and textile level.

The designer said he is not a fan of campaigns such as 'save the khadi' or 'save the saree'.

"I think we need to save ourselves from these campaigns. A saree will save itself as long as everyone who is working in that field does their work well. The saree is much bigger than all of us and any individual brand."

With green, pink, blue and yellow as hues mixed with metals, Agarwal's collection was delicate, dreamy and feminine.

"We worked a lot with metals. Pure silver and gold were incorporated at the yarn stage and mixed with very light pastels in cotton. We used the metal in the WOB (Without Optical Brighteners) and the extra WOB, that's something that hasn't been seen a lot.

"Technically, it takes a while to work ? it took us 10 years to get it right. They were very light, breezy and yet had the look of a proper Banarasi garment," he said.

Besides a lighter version of the Banarasi saree, the clothing line showcased pleated dresses, kurta and pants and long skirt-top with long open jacket.

With Agrawal, Kolkata-based designer Shantanu also presented his collection 'In Transit' under his label Maku. Actor Tillotama Shome was the showstopper for that.