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For the last few days I have been getting calls from fashion designers, both young and seasoned, from all across the country expressing their resentment over not getting selected for the forthcoming Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week. Since it is nothing unusual as I always get these calls from some designer or the other every season, I told them to work harder on their garments next time and try again next season.

All across the world those who do not get selected always feel bad about it and they always try and reach across to the ones they feel are helpful to share their woes. It is normal for them to be upset. But this time what I felt wasn’t normal is the way the selection jury was constituted by the Fashion Design Council of India. This I got to know much after I received the first couple of calls from the rejected fashion designers.

It appears that the FDCI clearly made a mistake in the manner it constituted the selection jury. Apparently, the jury comprised fashion designers, including the ones who are showcasing their collection on the runway this season. Now that’s strange.

I am not sure as to how FDCI chose to do the selection in this manner. It’s a seasoned body with good standing and one would expect nothing from it than a fair play. And if fair is what is needed, then no designer should have been part of this jury, leave alone many of them being there. Now there is a furor among FDCI members and the feeling of unfair practices and the subsequent murmurs and complains have started pouring in.

By and large more members are now unhappy. They feel let down. Some told me they are going to resign their memberships from FDCI. And the very body that brought all these designers under the same umbrella and instilled the sense of oneness among them is now being seen as unfair and partial.

While there is absolutely no justification for making designers select designers by constituting a jury with designers on board, perhaps the FDCI should now try and undo the damage and resentment it has created and re-constitute the jury with professionals from other fields of fashion such as editors, stylists, photographers, retailers, etc and redo the selection process in order to be fair.

This is important. I am sure the selection jury was impartial and did its best to take on board those who it felt was the best for the runway. Still, in order to put everything straight, it is better that the FDCI reconstitute the jury and do a selection once again if it is feasible…

After all, FDCI’s efforts should be to bring all together under the same umbrella as it did when it was formed many years ago…

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