Thursday, March 22, 2007

Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week 2007

Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week 2007 -WLIFW

The 2007 Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week or WLIFW is currently being held at the Ashok Hotel in Delhi this week. Every year it is the same story - models walk on the catwalk in either illfitting, badly cut western clothes or wear some boring 'ethnic outfits'.

A few years ago, a former beauty contest winner and model had told me, "These designers are big hoaxes. They just pick up stuff from the flea markets of Thailand or other places and add a bit of sequins, trim and zari work....then they pay us to wear them. There is absolutely no creativity." I was shocked at what my colleague had said coz at that time I was not aware how fashion designers use the media to promote their useless 'creations.'

2007 wills lifestyle india fashion week wlifw lakme indian designers jj vallaya ritu kumarLater on, I was sent on a shoot where 'top designers' like JJ Vallaya and Ritu Kumar were displaying their collection of Lehenga cholis and Saris. Ritu Kumar was a woman who was well practised in giving sound bites, JJ Vallaya, however, was quite a different story. This fat sardar, oh boy, he is a huge 1 metre in diameter - was hoity toity at its worst! Being a Punjabi and Indian, he started of by saying, "Don't ask me any questions in Hindi, its so uh..ah........(dismissive wave of hand). When I asked him on camera about expected revenues and plans for future growth, he started blabbing that, "everything is not about the money".........yeah right !

2007 wills lifestyle india fashion week wlifw lakme indian designers jj vallaya ritu kumarMost Indian designers just like other Indians in businesses like films, music or media lack originality when it comes to their creations. It is easier to copy outfits from fashion shows in non English speaking countries like Thailand, Brazil and Japan, add a few embellishments and pass them off as your own instead of creating them from scratch. Getting designs from student and upcoming designers is also another way to get outfits on the catwalk. However, the biggest mistake made by designers is using common fabrics and local tailors. Haphazard management of fashion events is another faux pas.

2007 wills lifestyle india fashion week wlifw lakme indian designers jj vallaya ritu kumarThe media after being treated to a five star lunch and complimentary gifts may write stuff about 'foreign buyers' visiting and India being the newest fashion destination. These are just words and I've done it too ! Any juvenile can see that the clothes are just decorated 'potato sacks' - they are not measured, pinned and cut like those at top European fashion houses. Also, the fabric is not something new and different. The only foreign markets Indian designers can possibly cater too are the gullible socialites and NRI market. After all, non resident Indians and Pakistanis do need traditional outfits for weddings and other social occassions.

And please, getting the wives of ambassadors and other foreign friends to sit in the front row does not mean you have foreign buyers ! Click her to see what foreign fashion journalists covering the 2007 Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week are upto !

So, what do you think about the Indian Fashion scenario and the 2007 Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week ?

9 comments:

  1. Hi there,

    Just stumbled onto your blog from Deepak the great's blog. So are you a photographer? Because you mention being sent to a shoot. Nice insight on Indian Fashion designers. Never had much respect for them anyways.

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  2. I KNEW IT!!! Indians copy EVERYTHING from films to Gos knows what!! Why can't they come with some original ideas?!Did you hear about a Indian designer arrested for rape of a minor in UK? His name is Jon or something.GAWD!!

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  3. fashion shows are dresses that models wear and 'real' people dont

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  4. Fashion all around.........

    Hehehe, you know its all a game, and the winner is not the one who has talent but the one who dare to tried it for first time....as simple as that

    smiles :)

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  5. 1)Indian designer-outfits do not only lack in originality, creativity, wearability, variety but also in the basics like fit, cut& fall!! *rolls her eyes*
    2)Besides, most of the outfits remind you of graffiti with either the gaudy prints, embellishments, embroidery, fluffs, silly-layering or a-cut-here-and-a-cut-there!!
    3)I've worn/seen quite a few of them- from quite a few of the 'noted' designers. But none of them last like more than a one-time-wear. On top of it all, they're always SO overpriced!! *:|*
    S m i l e

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  6. Thanks for the detailed info :)
    very informative

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  7. hehe...I remember reading in the papers recently about two designers fighting over the design of a dress, which each of them claimed as their own. Later on it was revealed that they had copied it from the same source!

    :D

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  8. good to know the basic secrets of indian fashion industry.

    i've seen the clips in the news... i always feel that fashion shows are limited to news and tv only.

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  9. Abhinav - TV journalists refer to covering a story as a 'shoot'.

    Asha - It was Anand Jon !

    Whiskypriest, Prashant, Sakhi, Ajnabi & Deepak - thanks for your comments !

    Sidhu Saaheb - ha ha lol !

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