India’s Shakuntala Kulkarni makes a splash at Paris Fashion Week 2024 with her bamboo armor, which represents modern women, vanishing traditions, and more

The season for sparkle and glamour in fashion is here. As Milan Fashion Week comes to a conclusion, a variety of fashion trends are circulating around Paris’s streets. And India shines brilliantly once again! When Indian fashion designer Shakuntala Kulkarni debuted her bamboo-structured fashion collection at Paris Fashion Week in 2024, she completely changed the Dior stage.

Her flowing robes and bamboo skeleton attempted to investigate the feminine experience in many settings. The skeleton structure served primarily as a dramatic background that was metaphorically utilized to celebrate women’s empowerment and independence.

The title of the series, “of bodies, armour and cages,” served as a metaphor for the bravery, strength, resiliency, generosity, and dignity of women. The armatures draw attention to the contradictory nature of clothes and armor, which may both enclose and constrain the body while serving to clothe, protect, and alter it.

In addition to the amazing performance, Kulkarni displayed scenes from her 2016 film Juloos on canvases. “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,” reads the description of the work on Dior’s official website.

Kulkarni is well-known for her modern art creations. Her skillful shift from flat surfaces to new media, performance, and sculpture is impressive.

Shakuntala is renowned for her provocative works in addition to her modern-day aesthetics. Themes like identity, gender, social norms, and more are often at the center of her work. Kulkarni is renowned for her inventive use of materials, especially bamboo, which she works with to fashion into elaborate and meaningful shapes.