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Mumbai, Feb 20 (IANS) Ace designer Vikram Phadnis has decided to showcase a non-glamorous collection, inspired by rural India, at the runway of the summer-resort edition of Lakme Fashion Week (LFW), to be held soon. The five-day fashion extravaganza will start here March 22. Phadnis, known for his extravagant and larger then life creations, has partnered with Swades Foundation, an NGO working for the empowerment of rural India for his fashion show. He will also dedicate his line to the cause. "We are celebrating rural India. I have kept aside my bling elements and stuck to traditional work like zari, zardozi and gota. I have left everything, which is glamorous, aside. The cuts will be modern and contemporary, but the feel will be of rural India," Phadnis told IANS. Talking about his association with Swades Foundation, he said the concept of rural India attracted him a lot. "When Swades approached me, I wanted to understand their movement. What attracted me to the concept was that normally NGOs are media-friendly, but sometimes there is no awareness. I realised that there is a whole deal of work done here. They work for rural India," he said. The designer, who has earlier created garments for celebrities like Malaika Arora Khan, Amrita Rao and Soha Ali Khan, also visited Raigad district in Maharastra to prepare for his collection. "I have been to Raigad. When you meet the people there, you realise that they have no knowledge of the bigger world. I am incorporating a lot of of that in my looks," said Phadnis. Apart from showcasing the collection, he also feels that it is every person's responsibility to try and support a social cause or a charity. "You are supposed to pay back to society when it is giving you so much," he said. "I don't know how much of a big difference I am making (with this line). But ultimately there is an effect somewhere."
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