Renowned Manipuri fashion designer, stylist and celebrity make-up artist, Robert Naorem won the hearts of the audience at Bangalore Fashion Week (BFW) 2018 with his collection, ‘Design in the weaves of Manipur’ recently.
The three-day fashion week was held at ‘The Ottera’ in Electronic City, Bangalore. Around 20 talented designers across the country participated in the event. This is the tenth edition of the fashion week.
Naorem has been the make-up director of BFW for the past nine years and this was his debut at the Fashion Week. Inspired by Manipur’s rich tradition and handloom, Robert’s collection consisted of three segments – fusion of tradition with modern designs, designs highlighting Manipur’s age-old tradition and finally, designs showcasing the love and harmony between the hills and valley.
Robert said that he took up the challenge with an aim of taking Manipuri weaves to a global platform and making traditional handloom designs a fashion trend among the youth of today, and consequently, help Manipuri weavers increase their production and have a strong market.
Altogether there were 21 models, including five from Manipur. There were two foreign models along with other supermodels from Mumbai and Bangalore. Teen sensation and renowned Manipuri footballer, Dheeraj closed the show as the showstopper.
Robert has been highlighting the importance to promote traditional weaves and he has showcased his designs on several global platforms.