Lakmé Fashion Week, India’s premier fashion and trade event, is pleased to announce the names of 5 young and talented designers who will be part of the prestigious Gen Next category and debut at the upcoming Lakmé Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2013 in Mumbai on 23rd-27th August’13. This sixteenth batch of Gen Next designers were carefully chosen from 145 entries by a jury comprising members of the esteemed Lakmé Fashion Week Advisory Board.

As nation’s longest running program for new talent in the fashion industry, the Gen Next category has launched marquee names such as Aneeth Arora, Nachiket Barve, Masaba, Swapnil Shinde, Rahul Mishra, Nitin Bal Chauhan and many others in Lakmé Fashion Week’s previous seasons.

Selection for the Week Winter/Festive 2013 Gen Next category was an extensive affair. 27 designers were shortlisted from a whopping total of 145 application submissions through a pre-section process. These entries were then carefully evaluated by the distinguished panel of prominent buyers, fashion editors, eminent designers, as well as a representative from Lakmé & IMG Reliance. The board made the final selection based on the designers’ quality, innovation, marketability, originality and ability to legitimately take their business to the next level.

The Gen Next programme will provide the selected designers with an ideal launch pad to showcase their creativity at India’s most prestigious fashion event. The selected few designers will also get an exclusive opportunity to be mentored and groomed by industry’s veteran Aki Narula.

On the conclusion of the Advisory Board meeting, Purnima Lamba, Lakmé, Head, Innovations, said, “Over the years, Lakmé Fashion Week has been instrumental in introducing the ‘future of fashion’ to the world with the Gen Next designers. This Winter Festive season, we are thrilled to have a new set of creative minds, who we believe will leave their mark in the true Lakmé Fashion Week style. We at Lakmé along with the members of the advisory board are confident that these upcoming designers with their collections will set new trends.”

Saket Dhankar, Head-Fashion, IMG Reliance, said, “With every passing season the participation and thereafter the talent that the Gen Next programme brings forth is both promising and at par with international counterparts. This season’s Gen Next batch is ingenious, creative, laden with fresh ideas and will definitely leave a lasting impression. This season also marks the completion of 8 successful years of the Gen Next programme that has produced some of India’s most acclaimed designers who have significantly contributed in shaping the Industry and have left a global footprint.”