The recently held Lakme Fashion Week saw several popular influencers taking to the stage and walking the ramp for designers along with the models. While it isn’t the most novel thing, Indian influencers for the first time also walked for the international fashion week last year. However, a certain section of social media users found the idea of influencers walking the ramp, unjust towards models.
DietSabya, a popular Instagram handle known for being fashion police, posted a few days ago: ‘For the love of God, no more influenzas on the runway please. It’s giving embarrassing. Let them sit on the front row!!’ (sic) The post received reactions from many popular personalities including Malaika Arora.
Fashion model Sonalika Sahay believes, “there has to be some screening process in place before getting influencers on the ramp.” She adds, “A show is months of hard work and efforts from the designer and the team that translates into a 30 mins show. Most influencers don’t do justice to the ramp or the designer’s outfit.”
Former pageant winner, model and fashion influencer Akash Choudhary feels “the charm of the ramp is with models”. “An influencer should do what their audience resonates with. Fashion week is an event wherein we showcase all the work done by the designers and it solely focuses on fashion. When an experienced model takes the fashion week, they do justice to the designer and the outfit as well. With influencers on the ramp, they can be eye pleasing to the audience however, we are indirectly trying to step into a business that we do not belong to” he elaborates.
Anjali Raut, model and fashion choreographer has a completely different take on this: “Influencers bring fresh and exciting energy to the stage. Their unique style can help designers reach a wider audience, and they can use their platform to promote fashion engagingly.”
To this, Sahay claps back, “Ramp cannot be so accessible to all for the sake of some digital PR. The show images are what define your brand for the entire season. One has to be careful about picking the person who is on the ramp and what they have contributed to the industry.”
Do brands have specific requests for influencers? Menswear expert and designer Kunal Rawal is all up for “inclusive casting” and believes who walks on the stage is a designer’s call. “No one can replace models. However, the fun about fashion is that there are 100 ways of doing the same thing. I chose my models depending on the collection,” he says.
Siddartha Tytler, designer and member of the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), has a similar perspective. “When it comes to influencers they have a certain personality and it’s not wrong to have them walk. Designers are paying for the ramp, for the models and even for the influencers, we can call who we want.”
One of the comments on social media also states that ‘the problem isn’t influencers walking the ramp. it’s influencers not being TAUGHT how to walk the ramp!’ (sic). Even Reddit saw several posts calling out the trend. A video of influencer Riya Jain from the LFW goofing around on the ramp while the showstopper was posing with the designer, made several internet users call out the fad. Raut suggests, “It’s essential for influencers to receive training to master these skills so that they can showcase the designer’s creations in the best possible light.”
Rawal chimes in, “If the designer wants you to have a certain walk they will train for a certain walk or take you for the walk that you have. There are multiple ways to do a walk. It all depends on the collection.”
Taking on Choudhary and several others’ comments on influencers taking models’ jobs, Tytler defends, “If you think influencers are taking models’ space then even the models are becoming influencers and taking their space. Every model is becoming a social media influencer, which means they take the space of influencers as guests for show invites. Everyone has the right to make money.”
Could there be a way people could work in tandem? Aleksandar Ilic, who has nine years of experience walking the ramp, says, “I think there should be segregation. As these are two different categories. Models who have years of experience know how to pose, walk and interact with the camera which I think influencers are not capable of. Designers can have a lineup of models only and then influencers only. You cannot undermine the power of social media.”
Model Prabh Uppal believes “just acceptance to the new era of business” is all that is needed. “Whatever makes the designers and the sponsors more financial benefits they will go after it. After all everyone is here to do business and not really just about creating and sharing art with the audience,” he ends.
