Deepika Padukone makes her mark as designer with the Van Heusen

Debuting as designer with the Van Heusen Autumn Winter 2013 collection, Deepika Padukone proved that her association with the brand Van Heusen was more than a mere celebrity endorsement. Showcasing her involvement with the line from the designing to shooting to the promoting, Deepika showed just how much of a stakeholder she was in the brand. The Van Heusen Limited Edition Spring Summer 2014 collection offers an even more in-depth look into her journey as designer. Riding on the success and acclaim of her debut collection, Deepika returns with a collection that has been designed to be “easy and effortless, keeping the summer season in mind” in her own words.

“From summery sheath dresses with gorgeously scooped backs to fitted texture-on-texture dresses to embellished tops that go well at champagne lunches, summer parties and social dos, the idea has been to create something luxurious for every place a woman can expect to find herself this summer” elaborates Deepika on what a woman can expect to see in this season’s collection.

After spending close to 6 months on designing and perfecting the collection, the diva spent a weekend at the resort town of Saint-Tropez on the French Riviera, shooting for the collection with ace South African fashion photographer, Justin Polkey. The actress also shot extensively for a clutch of short films, made specifically to give brand aficionados a look into just what goes into creating a collection.

Keeping up with its essence, the collection was launched in an equally unique and exclusive affair with 10 fans walking the ramp with Deepika to unveil the collection. These lucky divas were selected through a unique online contest ‘Walk the Ramp with Deepika’. 10 winners, handpicked by Deepika unveiled the collection in a show hosted by Gaurav Kapoor where Deepika walked the ramp not as a show stopper but as the designer at the end. A dynamic dance performance by celebrity choreographer Terrance Lewis’s team and an exclusive Q&A session with Deepika added an extra oomph, making the evening truly mesmeric with a whole lot of pizzazz. Several well-known faces from the fashion and social media circuits added a dazzling touch of glamour to the event.

Vinay Bhopatkar, Brand Head - Van Heusen commented saying that, “We are thrilled at how our relationship has grown with Deepika. Van Heusen & Deepika epitomize effortless style and sophisticated fashion, while being chic and elegant. This season we are taking the association multiple steps ahead with Deepika in essence, turning the creative director with her being involved in every aspect of the collection – from designing to shoot concept planning to promotion. We worked together on this unique concept of getting actual consumers walk the ramp for the collection launch – and we are extremely happy with the final output.  Going by the success of our previous season, we’ve no doubt about the collection being received well. Shot in the scenically summery and luxurious Saint-Tropez, I think we’ve a stunning campaign on our hands. And we have lined up an aggressive media plan to support the campaign which will break middle of April”.

The Van Heusen Limited Edition Spring Summer’14 collection, designed by Deepika Padukone is already available in select outlets across India from April.