Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week set to get real

There’s nothing quite as glamorous as a stage that has been prepped to have some of the hottest feet walking on them, dressed in creations that have been put together by some of the most talented people in the country. And that’s what Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week is all about — five days of pure fashion and hardcore business, promises Sunil Sethi, president of FDCI.

“This season focuses more on business than anything else. We have close to 200 buyers attending the fashion week and I am certain that each of the designers who showcase their collections here will make some business happen. In fact, we also have a staggering number of 130 fashion designers who are showcasing across 200 kiosks; it’s quite unheard of in fashion weeks that have been held across the country in the previous years,” says Sethi.

Sethi admits that while a glam factor is required to garner attention, it is business that matters to the designers at the end of the day.

“If you go to a fashion week that doesn’t focus on buyers, the designers won’t be interested beyond a certain point. They will come in to basically do a bit of brand promotion and go with very little customer base. And you also run the risk of being shown old collections because these fashion shows don’t look at the event as a commercial venture but more like a social do. So to make a fashion week successful, one has got to focus on the buyers,” he says.

Business aside, WLIFW is also about promoting talent, especially when one is referring to new and upcoming designers. “There are many designers who’d never get a solo show easily. But we’ve made it a point to encourage them. For instance, designers like Rahul Mishra will have his first solo show here as will the designer duo Pankaj and Nidhi,” says Sethi.

A lot of the young designers, says Sethi, aren’t aggressive enough to go out there and hard sell themselves but these are the people who are the future of fashion and will perhaps redefine the way the globe looks at Indian fashion designers.

As the ramp welcomes newcomers, it will also witness something rather unique. “While we don’t really have a theme as such, this year we are looking at something very special,” says Sethi, adding, “the fashion industry might be an extremely competitive place to be in but at the end of the day, we are part of one big fraternity. Here people are friends and can work together.

That is what we’ll be celebrating this year. The opening show, in fact, is by friends — Gauri & Nainika, Nandita Basu and Malini Ramani — and we also have a prime time show by Nachiket Barve and Pero (by Aneeth Arora) together. The whole idea, like I said, is to promote friendship.”

Being one of the thought leaders in the business of fashion, Sunil Sethi says that for the last decade or so, WLIFW has helped designers write their success stories. “This is one fashion event that separates the men from the boys,” he says proudly. Of course by men, he simply means those designers who have committed themselves to the industry.

“We encourage the development of new styles — retaining the culture and heritage of the country through its indigenous fabrics and adding contemporary elements to it so that people would be more comfortable to wear them. And there are plenty of designers who are working in that direction and I am very happy to be part of that fraternity,” he signs off.