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The flight of fashion

More Indian designers are taking the world stage this year

ACROSS THE SEAS Designers are breaking frontiers

If somebody got to write the history of Indian fashion, 2006 would be marked as the year when Indian fashion took wing. Around a dozen Indian designers have participated or are expected to participate in fashion weeks around the world this year.

In the month of July alone, Ritu Beri and Kiran Uttam Ghosh are participating in Paris Couture Fashion Week and Rome Fashion Week, respectively. Manish Arora has already shown his work in London Fashion Week for second year running and come September, Ashish Soni who made his debut at the New York Fashion Week last year, will again get to show his work this year. Besides, these 10 designers have got a ticket to participate in the IMG-organised fashion weeks, courtesy their participation in the Lakme Fashion Week, which is also organised by IMG. These include Sabyasachi Mukherjee for New York, Narendra Kumar and Nandita Mahtani for Sydney, Manish Malhotra, Priyadarshni Rao and Surily Goel for Los Angeles and Sonam Dubal for Melbourne.

India is the toast of the world at the moment and this reflects in the number of invitations.

"Bollywood is being shown in Germany during prime time," says Narendra Kumar. Highlighting the economic aspect, Narendra says India is being seen as the knowledge hub and the world wants to see how it is reflected in clothes. "In a way, designers are riding the wave created by the IT intelligentsia. India is no longer just a centre for sourcing embroidery." Indeed, Kiran doesn't have to depend on the largesse of Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce for the invite, as has been the case in the past. She says she has been invited by the Altaroma, the organiser of Rome Fashion Week, directly after seeing her India Fashion Week collection.

The foreign shores are also an image building exercise, both in Indian and exotic territories. Says Manish: "After London Fashion Week, suddenly I have been taken seriously." Narendra agrees: "It is like going out to come in." Sabyasachi feels though he takes it as primarily a business exercise, showing and selling abroad does change perceptions. "My Nair Sisters collection was ripped off by the media as repetitive when I showcased it at the India Fashion Week. But when it was bought by Browns and Selfridges, it was termed imaginative." Ritu says you got to keep showing on big stages to keep the image going.

Cost has always been a factor that restricted Indian designers from taking the world stage. Showing at an international fashion week means an investment in the range of Rs. 30-50 lakh, which only the biggies can afford. Sabyasachi says the IMG support means the participation fee has been waived, but he still has to look out for sponsors. "I believe the Ministries of Textile and Tourism should support the designers as we are playing a part in making Indian textiles and destinations popular."

ANUJ KUMAR

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