The 14th edition of Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, which is also touted as the biggest fashion trade event, kicked off on Sunday. It is a four-day extravaganza that will last up to October 28.

Speaking of business prospects, Sunil Sethi, president, Fashion Design Cou­ncil of India, says, “We have invited 175 buyers from within the country and outside and have 110 stalls of designers with 66 designers showcasing on the ramp for added participation”.

Designer Leena Singh bears testimony to the success of day one. She says, “I have received orders worth Rs 30 lakh”. However, she also claims to have eased her price point and cut down on overheads such as any promotional activity.

While designers get to exhibit their offerings in the stalls, some of their collections being showcased are also up for sale at the venue, such as Tarun Tahiliani’s Spring Summer’10. One riding factor this time, says designer Lacoanet Hemant is that there is an attempt to adapt presentation to retail. Hemant, who has recently opened his own boutique in Pune, and plans to open 60 stores of his own in coming two years says the retail of textile industry is still disorganised and the identity of the buyer is still ambiguous.

Hemant says, “The buyers at the venue are all friends of designers or organisers, and wholesale buyers in our country are mainly multi-designer stores who, unlike international stores, don’t make a margin on the clothes but on renting a rack out to a designer”. That’s another conspicuous trend this year — designs that spell hope. Designer Prashant Verma says, “Apart from the 80s’ look, there is a trend of clean lines and geometric angular lines globally, that’s supposed to signify new hope”.

Which is also why, there is a growing trend of art deco on clothes, that came about in the post-Depression period, and is being imbibed by a lot of designers for a fresh appeal. “It gives a certain conviction and boldness without being decorative” says Verma. His collection ‘Ego’ is inspired by best-selling writer Ayn Rand, and focuses on the ‘individual’.

The real buyers, according to Verma, are international buyers, who buy in small numbers but that equals production for two or three wholesale buyers. He says designs asexual clothes as they are economically more viable.

Designer Reynu Tandon also seems to have diverted from her USP this time —threadwork — as she has chosen to showcase one collection of her Spring Summer’10 wear that will also be seen in Paris. Tandon says, “I thought I will make one luxury collection for the Indian market as well as the international market to push boundaries”.

As a business proposition, designer Ritu Kumar says, through her recently launched label, ‘Label’, she intends to cater to the younger section of the population, as there is a great demand for fusion ethnic wear among the younger lot. Her wholesale buyers are from West Asia but because of a low starting price point of Rs 2,500, Kumar does hope to win over new clients this year, wholesale as well as individuals.

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