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| Saturday, August 12, 2000 |
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Fashion connoisseurs in the country are in for a big treat. Top models from across the globe will display unique, affordable and ready- to-wear couture designed by leading Indian designers during the "India Fashion Week’, beginning on August 17 in New Delhi, says R. Suryamurthy Leading Indian models would be joined by internationally known faces like Jodie Kidd, Lisa Butcher, Natascha Mucafir and Caroline Fowler to exhibit exotic yet simple fashion outfits with an exclusive Indian touch at the Lakme India Fashion Week. The show would be truly Indian as the "ready-to- wear" designs, which is the theme of the week, have all been designed by 33 designers from the country who have a distinct style of their own.
Another name to reckon with is Rohit Bal, who was dubbed "India’s master of fabric and fantasy"by the Time magazine. Besides these two designers, there are a host of others who have made their mark in the international circuit like Ritu Kumar, Tarun Tahiliani, J.J. Vallaya, Suneet Verma, Raghuvendra Rathore, Ashish Soni, Ritu Beri, Bobby and Manju Grover, Rina Dhaka, Anamika Khanna, Aparna Chandra, Rohit Gandhi, Rahul Khanna, Meera and Muzaffar Ali. The ready-to-wear dresses designed by these designers will be in the range of Rs 800 to Rs 10,000. Sumeet Nair, board member of the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), the apex body of Indian designers, says: "Lakme India Fashion Week will provide a platform for the entire Indian fashion industry to showcase its best talent not only for the domestic market, but to the whole world. |
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"India has the potential of becoming a significant global player in the clothing and apparel business. This potential can only be realised through the concerted effort of the entire designer community, the textile industry, production houses, retail market, the fabric and accessory
manufacturers and, the last but not the least, through investment from
the corporate sector," says Nair. The Rs. 55,000-crore domestic apparel industry offers the phenomenal prospect of growing bigger in the years to come. "By the year 2010, we hope that at least 20 Indian apparel brands will become both nationally and internationally recognisable", adds Nair. The Director-General of NIFT and FDCI member, L.V. Saptharishi, says: "So far, individual designers have focused essentially on haute couture aimed at a limited audience. For a vibrant industry to emerge, the concomitant development of an affordable and strong domestic pret-a-porter, designer ready-to-wear line, marketed through an effective distribution network is essential."
This will enable designers to design clothes in accordance with the needs and tastes of the consumers and yet, set a trend and make a statement of their own. More than 3000 visitors from individual buyers to institutional buyers, retailers, exporters, the textile industry would attend the weeklong show. The audience will not only witness the latest collections from India’s top designers, but also get to see the best models, make-up trends, hairstyles and accessories for the next season. "India’s
premier cosmetic house and trendsetters for beauty is bringing the
world’s largest fashion concept to India — Lakme India Fashion
Week," says Anil Chopra, director of Lakme Lever Limited, the
main sponsors for the show, expected to be an annual event. During the week, leading international make-up artists would conduct a symposium for professionals in the make-up industry. Beaming with excitement, Chopra says "a special collection of lip and nail colours inspired by some of India’s leading fashion designers, created specially for Lakme, will be unveiled." And to enhance woman’s knowledge and awareness of beauty and style, persons of repute in the field would conduct workshops and symposiums. The show will certainly inspire many to express their talent and creativity in different modes. However, the ultimate winner will be `beauty’. But, who will define it. Any takers? |
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"My environment
is reflected in whatever I design. What the West considers exotic is
natural for me. It is my heritage, my strength," says Geetanjali
Kashyap, one of the well-known names in the international fashion
circles.
The ORG-MARG is undertaking a study
on product demand at various price points, consumer preferences and
the gaps at the retail level that will need to be plugged for the
industry to grow at a rapid pace. It will also aim to ascertain the
number of retail outlets that can stock the pret-a-porter line in
addition to their current merchandise.
It will cover 16 towns across India for the retail market and 10
cities for consumer preferences.