For the first time in 15 years, the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) and Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) joined forces to host a single event, a hybrid of online and offline events that finished its run on March 21 after a six-day run.

Anamika Khanna opened proceedings with her collection Timeless The World, which included hand-painted prints from artists Deepak Kumar Saw, Smriti Lekha Gogoi and Amlan Dutta.

“We couldn’t have thought of a more fitting designer to kickstart the five-day joint ‘phygital’ event - a Kolkata designer for a joint Mumbai and Delhi fashion week that truly sets the tone for a collaborative spirit of fashion,” FDCI’s chairperson Sunil Sethi told local media.

Other highlights included Payal Singhal’s distinctly Indian play on athleisure, a youthful and exuberant collection made in conjunction with friendly fabrics from material manufacturer R|Elan, and Manish Malhotra’s bridal collection, which upped the glamour quotient with a shimmering collection of gowns he said balanced the pandemic-era preferences of brides, while maintaining the traditional ethos of India’s bridal couture culture.