Delhi is all set to host one of the most talked about events on the Indian fashion calendar. The Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, which kicks off on February 15, will have 138 designers showcasing their collections with 14 first time designers, which is the highest number till date.
The interesting part is that most of these debutant designers are not from the city. They are from all parts of country and excited about the business and visibility that the festival offers.
Kolkata-based Pallavi Singhee, a graduate from the National Institute of Fashion Technology, launched her label “Verb” in 2006 and this would be her first national runaway show. “I do both Indian as well as Western silhouettes and have been selling well in the domestic market. However, I now need to focus on the international buyers. For that there can’t be a better platform than Wills,” says Pallavi.
Tahera Peeran from Bengaluru has participated in various international fashion events and she already has a strong hold over the market in Hyderabad, Mumbai and Chennai. But her participation at Wills will be a good marketing exercise, feels Tahera. “I have been a member of FDCI so it happened naturally. While both Lakme and Wills provide excellent opportunities to new designers, I chose the latter for the kind of exposure it offers.”
NIFT Kolkata’s 2002 product, Nupur Kanoi’s journey in the fashion world started with her stint with a glossy where she styled the shoots and wrote a few pieces. Since the launch of her label in 2006, she has been selling from stores all over India. She has even showcased at various exhibitions in the US. But she chose Wills for her first runway outing. “I started out with my Indian line and the business has been good in Middle East and Asian markets where the demand for Indian silhouettes is high. Now I plan to launch my diffusion line and to get good business I would need to catch the attention of European buyers. WLIFW brings in business from all over the globe. So I thought it would be wise to make a debut in Delhi,” explains Nupur.
It’s better late than never for Mumbai-based Kiran and Meghna of Myoho, who after showcasing at Lakme for five seasons decided to head to Delhi. “The move is solely business-oriented. Delhi has a huge designer pool. To grab eyeballs is going to be difficult, but we hope to impress the European shoppers, who are a regular at Wills,” sums up Meghna.