Jaipur, January 2023.

Lakmé Academy Powered by Aptech concluded its very first edition of a fashion runway titled “The Showcase”. The show event took place amidst a lot of glam, glitz and glitterati at AlilaDiwa, Goa. With curated professional hair & make-up looks by the students, the models sashaying down in the label by designer Samant Chauhan, choreographed beautifully by the fashion choreographer, Nisha Harale was nothing less than a spectacular extravaganza.

Over 2000+ talented students from Lakmé Academy powered by Aptech centres, pan India participated in different categories of hair, skin, makeup & nails and over 500 of them were shortlisted to participate in the grand finale of ‘The Showcase’ at Goa. The significantly large student runway in India saw students (as budding hair & make-up artists (HMUAs)) working in teams under gripping deadlines to compete and win the titles as Gold, Silver or Bronze for they will get an exciting opportunity to work with the ace choreographer & director, Farah Khan  on her next project. Not just that, the winners will also get a direct entry to assist the backstage heroes at Lakme Fashion Week.

The jury comprising of Director and Choreographer - Farah Khan; Designer Samant Chauhan, Chief Marketing Officer, Aptech Ltd- Pravir Arora, National Creative Director-Make-up, Lakmé Lever - Anupama Katiyal; National Creative Director-Hair, Lakmé Lever- Pooja Singh and Chief Executive Officer, Lakmé Lever - Pushkraj Shenai evaluated student work and looks before arriving at a consensus to announce its South Campus, Delhi centre as the Gold winner. The runners-up Silver and Bronze were bagged by centres in Malad, Mumbai & Camac Street, Kolkata respectively. The runway saw a surplus of creativity, confidence & craftsmanship displayed by the students ready to be industry-ready professionals of tomorrow.

The grand competition kickstarted in the month of November with preliminary rounds undertaken at a regional level. Students were given themes such as fairy-tale illusion, gothic and avant-garde in categories like hair, make-up, and individual categories like nails and skin. 100 teams in group size of 5 (in each team) were shortlisted to fly down to Goa for the semi-finals to battle out as finalists.

Mr Pravir Arora, Chief Marketing Officer, Aptech Ltd Said, “We at Lakmé Academy Powered by Aptech are trying to push the aspirants to dream bigger by offering them unique platforms one after the other. After we concluded our Digital Magazine Cover competition where they got to work on cover shoots with one of the top magazines in the country, of course it had to be a runway show to take this journey of the dreamers to the next level. The exposure was such that they got to work exclusively with one of the top Indian designers alongside fulfilling their dream of entering Bollywood and become celebrity make-up artists. There is a lot that goes into the skilling of these students right from designing the curriculum, the

pedagogy to curating the right event to getting them the right exposure in the industry. We are proud to have given it all to our students who are without a doubt on their journey to be the best hair, make-up, skin, and nail artists, I would go ahead and say that they are the experts already. With this mission of creating skilled employable professionals (SEPs), we would continue to try and surpass our expectations to give the best we can to enable careers in this industry. I congratulate all the winners, finalists, and participants for making this show a huge success.”

Mr. Pushkaraj Shenai,CEO & Wholetime Director, Lakmé Lever, said, “The professional beauty and wellness industry in India is at an inflection point. With a young talent pool armed with creativity, craftsmanship & passion, India is well poised to not just grow but play a dominant role in the world. Our core purpose at Lakme Salon and Lakme Academy powered by Aptech is to Beautify the Future of professionals in the industry. The Showcase magnifies that, kindles aspiration and offers talented students a platform to demonstrate their creativity and craftsmanship. It helps them take bold steps for a rewarding corporate career and entrepreneurial opportunities with Lakme Salon.”

Ace choreographer & film director, Farah Khan Kunder, said, “Lakme Academy Powered by Aptech invited me to be on the jury panel of their first of its kind runway competition for the students – The Showcase. These students are going to be the future of the beauty and Make-up industry, many of them might become industry names courtesy their craftsmanship. I am very excited to work with the winning teams (all 15 students) of Lakme Academy Powered by Aptech on my next project – it could be a song, music video, movie anything. I am expecting them to bring fresh ideas.”