New Delhi, Mar 17 (IANS): The Amazon India Fashion Week (AIFW) Autumn-Winter 2016 saw fashion with a message when designer Gaurav Gupta chose to showcase his creations in an open-air venue rather than a closed show area. He says the idea was to convey the effects of climate change and to make the audience realise how polluted the air was that they were inhaling.

"The setup was a clear emphasis on climate change. Being from Delhi and with the city considered as one of the polluted place to live in, I wanted to let people know how we are inhaling polluted air. There was a pun in the setup and this was the idea of creating such a runway," Gupta told the media post his show here.

It was a long runway, and models heaved a sigh of relief after doing the walk.

"We took a deep breath and water backstage," a model told IANS after the show.

"The clothes were so comfortable so it was not at all difficult. It's all about construction, and this made the walk easier," added another model.

Gupta's line was titled 'Melt'. He said it was his humble attempt of making fashion a little more ethical.

"This collection is a 90-95 percent zero waste collection. With every piece that I made, I've tried to reduce excess, and be kind to the environment that sustains us. I've used deep colours that resemble the strongest colours in a fire. I've tried to invoke the feeling of melting, which is near and no longer an abstract fear," he said.

There were gowns, suit pants and more.

"In the collection, the designing work is done in such a way that there was no wastage of fabric. Also, some of the garments are zero-waste garments," said the designer, who is known for lending a sensual style to his creations.

Day 1 of AIFW, which began on Wednesday, was dedicated to clothes, and even saw the capital's social circuit gathered in huge numbers.