Is a fashion extravaganza all about celebration of couture or is there more to it than meets the eye? At the end of the day, do designers want to get good publicity in the media or are they simply interested in generating business?
At the Capital’s Taj Palace hotel, where “India Couture Week” was held recently, the venue swarmed with not just mediapersons but also fashion connoisseurs looking for customised outfits made by the top designers.
According to Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) boss Sunil Sethi, FDCI does not act as an intermediary between the designers and the buyers; it merely provides designers a platform to showcase their creativity. “We at the FDCI are providing facility for the ramp shows. We are providing the best venue in the city. Fashion lovers are coming here and placing orders. I do not have the figures to tell how much business designers transact in every fashion week organised by us. But I can say this for a fact that each collection lasts a full season.”
In the last edition of the FDCI-organised couture show in the Capital, the collections were sold in a jiffy. “A day after the curtains came down on their shows in our earlier fashion week, the entire collections of two designers were completely sold out.”
The India Trade Promotion Organisation provides kiosks during the India International Trade Fair for business transactions between foreign participants and buyers. Does the FDCI also have something on those lines? “All we do is that we have a white booklet which contains all contact details, e-mails of the participating designers. We are not earning commissions from the sale of collections. Couture is all about making one exclusive piece. So it is not that designers make a piece and then prepare thousands of replicas. If someone places an order then it will take three months to get prepared.”
According to Rohit Bal, the FDCI provides an ideal ground for all designers, particularly the younger lot. “As far as business is concerned, there is no other body like the FDCI. Much more business is generated here than at any other fashion week.”
Mumbai-based designer Manish Malhotra says he has been able to set up a base in Delhi only due to the organisation’s support. “It has been a year since the last couture week was held in the Capital but I am still getting orders. All the collections get sold off here. As far as getting orders is concerned, the FDCI is phenomenal. You take all the shows and still it (Indian Couture Week) is the largest show. It is like the Paris Couture Week.”
Monisha Jaising, who started getting buyers after she showcased the leather lehenga worn by Bollywood actor Lisa Haydon as a showstopper in her collection, says, “Work does not stop for us even after the show gets over. Orders keep pouring in.”
According to designer Anju Modi, most of the buyers at the recently concluded fashion week were regular Indian clients. “There are foreigners as well as NRIs, but a majority are from our country.”
During a show, more than half of the audience comprises the designer’s regular clients. Though from all walks of life, a majority of buyers are from the business community. Diplomats are known big buyers. There are also doctors and chartered accountants, besides actors.
Take Manish Malhotra, who, apart from the who’s who of Bollywood, has prepared outfits for the late pop icon Michael Jackson. His regular clientele includes Sachin Tendulkar, his wife Anjali, besides corporate honchos like the Ambanis and Godrej.
