FANTASY FASHION

The runway has once again become the stage for drama. Speaking with Bazaar India, the country’s leading Movement Directors share insights on the resurgence of high-energy presentations.

- Manish Mishra

The nineties were synonymous with supermodels Madhu Sapre, Feroze Gujral, Shyamoli Varma, and Anna Bredmeyer strutting on the ramp, often breaking into theatrical performances. By the noughties, the dramatisation was replaced by straight walks with the overarching focus trained on clothing and merchandise. However, with social media Reels becoming the most potent tools to convey iconography with incredible reach, the theatricality seems to have made a comeback. Today, the success of a runway show is often equated with it being viral on social media; it seems that Gen Z has rediscovered the ’90s exuberance. Enter, the Movement Director, who guides models about head, lip, and hip movements so they get photographed stunningly from an array of angles, resulting in visually-arresting Reels and videos, ensuring instant Likes.

Show Director Anu Ahuja recalls directing couturier Sabyasachi’s show that celebrated 20 years of his career. Held in collaboration with Christian Louboutin, in Mumbai, the entire set was exaggerated to such a large size that it made a statement. “The models needed to exude a lot of energy; they almost looked like they were running,” she recalls. Anu also directed Anamika Khanna’s recent digital presentation where the girls’ expressions had to be softer. “The models were jumping on flower trampolines, so we selected dancers like Krithika Babu. There were actual dancers so that when they went up in the air, their body posed in a certain way,” she adds.

However, as a former model, Anu was never a fan of performance driven walks on the runway. “I’ve never liked dancing during runway shows as a model, and I don’t like it as a choreographer,” she quips.