Hindustan Times
Couture Melee
The much awaited India Couture Week is slated to begin in just less than three weeks, but the much awaited list of participants is yet to be released. In the mean time, while the total number is still missing in the list that the organizers have, I also hear that three designers from it have pulled their names out of it leaving the event somewhat rickety.
There is a rumour going around that Adarsh Gill, Raghavendra Rathore and Meera & Muzaffar Ali are the names that no longer are in the list of participating designers as of now. I don’t know how many more will be added or deleted in the coming days. But keeping the event’s profile in mind, a high fashion collection cannot be made in a couple of weeks’ time, so if the required number of minimum 10 participants is to be maintained, it now looks like a mammoth task for the organisers to accumulate that figure. Three weeks are not good enough even to make a prêt collection… leave alone couture. The only way others who were not in the reckoning till now can be added is by allowing them to showcase a “retrospective” collection or collections that they have done elsewhere.
Add to this the problem of finding a sponsor. For the last several weeks the event has been facing the problem of finding a brand to fund the event. In addition to the missing list of participants, no word has been heard on the title sponsor even now. With less than three weeks remaining for the event to begin, I am not sure whether the sponsors stand nor how the funding of the show will be done. So far, for the first time, participating designers have been asked to shell out about Rs 10 lakhs to be a part of the show.
The word going around is that some designers insisted on knowing the names of other participants of this event and organizers were reluctant to part with the names that they have. Sources told me that even after sending emails and talking to the FDCI, they have not been able to get the list of names and that made some to pull their names out of the event. If this is true, then I find this strange as every participating designer, with or without having to pay the participation fee, has the locus standi to know the rest of the participants’ names so that they will know who they are going to share the runway with.
Fashion is an industry where brand names take utmost care in deciding who it wants to share its name with. The list of names of participants holds utmost significance not just for those participants, but even for the organizers in establishing the quality of the event. If the news of the organizers not sharing the list even at this last minute is true, then there is a reason for concern and then, if designers are pulling out of the event because of this, there is no reason to be surprised.
With all these developments now coming into the foray, the coming days will be interesting. Whether it is the funds or the final list of names, what really is going to matter is how this much touted event finally is going to turn out!
(3 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
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At Cheruti Reply:
July 17th, 2012 at 3:18 pm
And let’s hope that he does not just hold the portfolio but actually liberalizes the economy.
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