Models glide by on the ramp, heads high, backs straight, seemingly at ease in their dazzling outfits and sky-high heels, strappy sandals or, even bare feet. As the last of them sashay off the ramp, the stage is left empty for a moment. With a high crescendo of music, the showstopper – usually a Bollywood fashionista – sails in and steals the limelight. Suddenly, the audience is hooting, clapping and – perhaps with the exception for a few fashion buffs with their innate knowledge of the field – giving all their attention to the latest addition to the ramp.This has been the trend with fashion shows for more or less the last decade. However, if Lakme Fashion Week Summer Resort 2019 (LFW 2019 S-R) was an indication, we may be on the verge of a change. While the last two days of the Fashion Week did find a slew of movie stars and TV personalities turn showstoppers, a number of the most prominent designers chose to forego Bollywood stars as a part of their show. Anita Dongre, Rohit Bal and Anavila Misra, who closed the first three days of LFW 2019 S-R only had models showcasing the line, as did other biggies like Nikhil Thampi, SVA and Sayantan Sarkar. Earlier on, there have also been instances of top designers not having a showstopper. Raghavendra Rathod and Gaurang Shah being some of the designers who had not had celebs gracing their show in earlier editions of LFW. And who can forget the iconic Sabyasachi Mukherjee show at Amazon India Couture Week 2015, wherein the designer partnered with international giant Christian Louboutin and had no Bollywood celeb, claiming that Louboutin was enough of a showstopper for him?

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A broader perspective

According to India's first Femina Miss India and fashion writer, Meher Castelino, a showstopper acts as a distraction for a fashion show rather than adding any richness to the collection. "The attention needs to be more towards the collection rather than some fancy person who wants to promote him/herself more than the clothes," she asserts. "Internationally, there is nothing along these lines. A movie star is at a movie premiere, not at a fashion show on the ramp. I sometimes feel that this Bollywood nakhra has come only in India since some of the designers will have a showstopper because the collection they have is weak and this is their way to get themselves into the media. If the designer is confident of his/her collection, there is no need for a showstopper as such."Castelino traces the trend back to a 1999 Manish Malhotra show at the Taj Chambers where the fashion designer had Urmila Matondkar walk for him. The sensation the show caused has, since then, prompted other designers to follow suit. "During my career as a model, this was never the trend. Even after my generation, when you had Mehr Jesia and the models of that generation, it was always the models who ended the show," she recalls."Rohit Khosla, Rohit Bal, Tarun Tahiliani, Ritu Kumar... they never had Bollywood showstoppers."The media too, plays a part, since they only ask to photograph showstoppers. A comprehensive look at the fashion line is overlooked and the Bollywood starlet takes up all the newsprint. The result, however, has not been a happy one for modelling industry, says Lubna Adam, who has been in the fashion industry both in the roles of model and choreographer. Models have become 'faceless' entities, leading to the decline of the supermodel in India. "Over the years, models haven't been covered iby the media at fashion shows. They don't have an identity anymore; nobody is being highlighted and this also affects them when it comes to commercial ads. So nobody stands out, because they are not being marketed that way," she laments, adding that no matter how talented the model, with the focus solely on celebrities, their chances of making it into the limelight is negligible.

(Anavila’s show at LFW 2019 drew inspiration from the greenery of Vietnam. With a sand-sprinkled ramp and simple silhouettes, the designer needed no showstopper)

Influence from other fields

While the trend at this latest Fashion Week showed that a number of designers decided to have no celebs on their ramps, others decided to approach celebrities from fields other than Bollywood and cricket. Sportspersons like Geeta Phogat were seen gracing the ramp for Eka along with writers, a chef and other influencers, and stylist Sapna Bhavnani returned to the ramp at the Anaam-Rangsutra and participated in a gender-bender show.Walking for Anaam, says Bhavnani, came about because of her personal friendship with designer Sumiran Kabir Sharma. As for diversity on the ramp, however, the stylist remains sceptical. "You still don't have off-beat models walking for big designers. So you can't really say that this is a universal trend. Instagram isn't really seeing with pictures of non-stereotypical models and neither are they given big spreads in the media," she reasons. "It may just be a gimmick. For my show for Anaam, Sharma and I are friends and he has been asking me to walk for him for a while. But, for other instances of influencers walking, who can tell if it's just another trend for the season?"Sayantan Sarkar, however, says that the trend is a positive one even if it is starting small, as it takes the fashion shows from the perfect celebrity figure and makes it democratic. "I think it is a great thing that we are moving away from the stereotypes of taking only a celebrity face as the showstopper," he says. "Even influencers or achievers from various fields can be showstoppers if the designer thinks that they can do justice to the show and they also believe in the cause of it."The reason for the change, may simply be the changing markets and ways for designers to gain the attention of the masses, says Adam. "In the past, the media has covered solely Bollywood celebrities and showstoppers, therefore every designer felt that he needed to have a Bollywood showstopper," she elaborates. "Now, because it's the age of the digital marketing, with the perception being that social media's reach is far wider than that of the traditional media. So now, you have influencers from these fields being asked to walk."For Rina Singh of Eka, an egalitarian form of fashion is central to her brand, which aims to create wearable designs for the everyday woman. "The idea for this show was to break the boundaries of having only one showstopper or only models on the ramp and make it more democratic for women who may look at a certain role model, maybe an athelete, maybe a singer... different personalities, but who do not conform to the stereotypes, all walking with the same confidence as a model would," explains the designer, adding that while her show at LFW 2019 S-R was not meant to create a sensation, she did wish to start a new conversation and change the popular perception of the perfect body-type. "These are women who I would want to see in Eka."As for showstoppers, the designer feels that a prêt line like Eka doesn't require one, being more about prêt than bridal designs, where the designer may want to have one particular design stand out from the rest. "I don't think you want to stop the show anywhere. I want my line to be accessible, wearable clothing. Starting or ending with the best look doesn't really apply for Eka. For us, the fabric is important and so each garment has a significance," she explains.

((Left to right) Wrestler Geeta Phogat, one of the influencers to walk for EKA; Sapna Bhavnani, who was showstopper for Anaam; and Anjali Lama who walked for Eka at LFW 2019 S-R)

Designers Speak

A number of other designers agree with this view. While some have used showstoppers in earlier shows, the point of having a showstopper seems to have either to have lost its appeal if it ever held any. Nikhil Thampi and Sneha Arora, like Castelino, believe that having a showstopper may distract the audience from their own work. Arora has never been one to have a celebrity grace her ramp. "I feel our audience is the independent woman who is confident about herself and does not need validation, so it works for the brand," the designer further elaborates about the brand's aesthetic, a view that Thampi concurs."We are extremely blessed to have support from Bollywood. But when it comes to showcasing a collection which is purely based on design, it should speak for itself, and we don't believe in having a celebrity to endorse it," he says, adding, "An entirely commercial collection can definitely have a showstopper. A celebrity adds value to a commercial collection, which can be both Indian bridal and ready-to-wear. However, a collection that is fashion forward, glamorous, cutting edge in its technique and design language should not have a celebrity showstopper. "Sayantan Sarkar's deglam brand identity dictates that he forego a glamorous star showstopper, which would "remove all the attention from the root cause of the show". And while Sonam Modi, from SVA is usually one to opt for a showstopper, she says that the brand is unwilling to compromise if they can't find the perfect muse."It is very important to have a showstopper that signifies the mood of the collection, who can relate to the story, and can be perceived in the way we see it. If this criterion is not fulfilled then there's no point in having a showstopper," she explains, adding, "If we were to have a showstopper, first and foremost we see the collection and who fits in the most. Someone who already wears SVA and identifies with our aesthetic, is what we prefer."

(Nikhil Thampi takes a bow at LFW, where he returned after a hiatus. The designer let his clothes do the talking rather than a star )

For those on the ramp

The ultimate decision for who a showstopper will be, if there is one, lies in the hands of the fashion designer. However, Anjali Lama, the first transgender model to have walked for LFW in 2017, says that the opportunity is something that each model hopes to have as it gives a huge boost to their career.Model and TV presenter Karishma Kotak, who has been a part of the international fashion industry since 1998, however, says that the Indian marketing scene, unlike that abroad, is driven by already known faces, a fact that keeps supermodels from taking the spotlight. "It makes more sense in terms of marketing if you have a cricketer or Bollywood star as the person who endorses your brand, since the country is driven by these industries," she explains.Pointing to international ramps or magazines where supermodels grace the cover, however, Lama says that she hopes that the trend will find its way back to India as well. With LFW, Lama admits, she had been given an opportunity like none before. Having opened two shows and closed one at this year's SR Fashion Week, she is happy for now with the chance to showcase her talent. "I hope that models like myself continue to get more chances, rather than celebrities who already have a standing in their own fields," she concludes.