Aguad – Rubina A Khan

The first edition of the India Men’s Weekend 2023 curated by the Fashion Design Council of India was held on January 14th in Goa at a location most unwonted, yet astoundingly beautiful – the state’s former largest prison, Aguada Central Jail. The India Men’s Weekend showcased the works of eleven Indian designers with six ensembles each – Rajesh Pratap Singh, Abraham and Thakore, Varun Bahl, Abhishek Gupta, Arjun Khanna, Ashish N Soni, J J Valaya, Manoviraj Khosla, Rohit Gandhi + Rahul Khanna and Shantnu and Nikhil and Rohit Bal’s Alexander jeans for men.

The jetty of the Aguad Port and Jail Complex in Sinquerim turned into a runway on the river Mandovi’s calm, turquoise waters, with a ball of fire setting the blue skies ablaze with its molten glory, making the India Men’s Weekend show the first of its kind to held in a jail in India. Talk about a crime of fashion that no one could be imprisoned for! Some of the clothes on the runway maybe, and their respective designers!

The Aguada Jail made for a fashionably bewitching scene for the show, and was supported by the Aguad Port and Jail Complex in Sinquerim. The Aguada Central Jail, the largest prison in Goa till 2015, is a part of the famed and impregnable Fort Aguada built by the Portuguese from 1609 CE to 1612 CE. The 17th-century Portuguese structure has been renovated and repurposed since by the Goa Tourism Development Corporation at a cost of approximately Rs 22 crore and is open to the public. It is now a heritage site, that pays homage to the freedom fighters of India, and houses a museum and viewing galleries since the redevelopment. Interestingly, água means water in Portuguese.