Jajaabor designers revive Mughalsarai station at LFW W/F 2019

The over century-old Mughalsarai railway station may now be known as Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction, but fashion label Jajaabor on Saturday took the audience back to the Uttar Pradesh town before it was renamed on the state government's proposal last year.

The show began with the sounds of steam engines with the station's original name on the screen as it used to appear on the railway station board, dramatically dissolving in the billowing smoke on the ramp.

Printed shoes and colours ranging from cream, bright yellow, orange, red to floral prints dominated the collection, titled 'Chai at Mughalsarai Jn'.

The models oozed a playful vibe, even low fiving each other as they strutted on the runway on evergreen songs such as "Jhumroo", "Eena Meena Deeka" and "Jaane Kahan Mera Jigar Gaya Jee".

Designer duo Neelanjan Ghosh and Kanika Sachdev said there was no idea of trying to be controversial or political, even though, as individuals everyone has their own political opinion.

"But we really didn't want to go into that category," Neelanjan told PTI in an interview on the sidelines of Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2019 here.

"The fact remains that every place in India, no matter what the name is, or what it signifies, I don't think so any of these places have any political leanings to anything," he added.

He said they don't want the people to forget the erstwhile Mughalsarai Junction. "Whatever the agenda, we want everybody to remember Mughalsarai for what it used to be," Neelanjan said.

The range is an ode to middle class travellers and the Indian Railways and the designers created prints and embroideries from their train memories.

For the duo, it is a step ahead in reinventing classic silhouettes in traditional textiles and craftsmanship.

Choosing Kishore Kumar songs was a perfect fit to celebrate nostalgia.

"They are some evergreen songs. They will never fade away," he said. Kanika said with air travel becoming more affordable, the millennials especially, have stopped travelling via trains.

"It's become more about putting pictures on social media and not internalising the experiences of exploring different places," she said.

The LFW concludes Sunday.