Paris Fashion Week 2024 witnessed the unique bamboo structures of Indian fashion designer Shakuntala Kulkarani who showcased women empowerment in her own innovative way.
It is the season of fashion glam and glitz. With the culmination of the Milan Fashion Week, the streets of Paris are abuzz with varios fashion trends. And once again, India shines bright! Indian fashion designer Shakuntala Kulkarni transformed the Dior stage as she presented her sartorial collection with bamboo structure at the Paris Fashion Week 2024.
With her bamboo skeletal, flowing gowns, she endeavoured to explore the female experience in different contexts. The skeletal were more for a dramatic backdrop used as a metaphor for celebrating freedom for women, empowering them and more
‘of bodies, armour and cages,” was the title which was a series acts as a metaphor for female strength, courage, resilience, generosity, and dignity. The armatures highlight the paradoxical nature of clothing and armour – elements designed to clothe, protect, and transform the body can also imprison and restrict it.
Apart from the spectacular spectacle, Kulkarni also showcased bits from her 2016 film Juloos on canvas. According to Dior’s official website, the piece “examines feminine subjectivity, not only in light of the body’s social and political vulnerability but also, and more importantly, its power within the urban space and social system in which we evolve.”
Kulkarni is known for her work in contemporary art. She dexterously endeavours to transition from flat surfaces to encompass sculpture, performance, and new media.
Shakuntala is known not only for her modern age aesthetics but how through provoking the installations are. Her work is often centred around themes like identity, gender, sociteal norma and more. Kulkarni is recognized for her innovative use of materials, particularly bamboo, which she manipulates to create intricate and symbolic forms.