Lakme Fashion Week has become a digital platform: Jaspreet Chandok

Q Lakmé Fashion Week (LFW) completes 20 years. What has changed in two decades? 
When we started, the fashion industry was not an industry. It was just a few designers showcasing their collections. Today, the industry has mushroomed into something that not just creates employment but also starts a conversation across cultures. It's a showcase of Indian craft to the world.

Q What are some of the new initiatives launched in the last few years?
The platform has created some of the largest fashion presentations, championed inclusivity through initiatives like the country’s first ever plus size show and India’s first transgender model. The endeavour to focus on making the platform more inclusive, sustainable and global will continue. Today LFW has become a digital platform. It's not an event anymore. We’re the first fashion week to live stream on over-the-top networks like Hotstar, Voot and JioTV which has led to a significant explosion of the amount of people consuming fashion.

Q What has been the impact of social media on LFW?
The first Instagram event that ever happened in the country was with LFW’s collaboration. We've done the first virtual reality show when Facebook launched 360 videos. These integrations have helped us stay ahead of the curve.

Q What has remained intact since 2000?
It's the commitment towards the growth of the Indian designer industry. Also focus towards young and emerging talent… we've been consistently driving that narrative with the Gen Next programme. 

Q What next?
We want to break everything down. It's been 20 years, so we want to destroy everything and start from scratch… question everything that we are doing, figure out how we can do better. You will see a set of innovations coming up over the next year or so which we call Project LFW 2.0.