Okay, we’ve heard the jibe before: ‘India Fashion Weak’. At the end of the frenetic seven days that marked Lakme India Fashion Week 2003, we can say that the scene may not have quite been Paris or Milan, New York or Hong Kong, but it was certainly streets ahead — or should that be ramps ahead? — of last year’s event. True, there were very few good shows and a great deal of the puerile and unwearable were, as usual, on display. It is also true that the big fish of European fashion were conspicuous by their absence. But even as we note this, let us also acknowledge that there were some extremely competent shows, small though they were in number; that there seemed to be a lot more effort going into the detailing than was evident in earlier events of this kind; and, most important of all, there was more focus in terms of the groups being targeted. It was not just fashion for fashion’s sake, but fashion as a trade proposition.Nothing perhaps underlines this quiet transition in the dressing rooms than the fact that there was much less hype and more substance this time. The very seriousness with which the big-timers of the Indian fashion scene took the event would lend credence to this observation. Last year’s Fashion Week witnessed more effervescence, perhaps, as a younger, less experienced lot emerged from the wardrobes with a dramatic flourish. This time, the scene-stealers were the stalwarts once again, and their participation seems to have done their bottomlines — and Indian fashion generally — a great deal of good. The event is expected to generate business worth over Rs 30 crore.This hunkering down to the nitty-gritty of business is a heartening trend for an industry that wants to be taken seriously, both within the country and outside it. Given the fact that India is a late starter, it may take quite a while to catch up with the neon-lit names on Fifth Avenue. Meanwhile, there is potential right here at our desi doorstep, as the demand for affordable pret-a-porter clothing grows apace. Indian designers, therefore, are fortunate to have a solid consumer base from which to launch themselves on to global markets, should they so choose.
