Whenever I have attended the Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai, it has always struck me as an event that is a little out of my league, but something that always gets the eyeballs.

After all, isn’t fashion, at least some form of it, an increasingly essential part of urban living?

Sometimes a random occurrence is the best way to get things in perspective.

On my way to the venue this week, I overheard two college girls in the local train, planning a shopping expedition to Linking Road in Bandra, a Mumbai shopping street known for funky accessories and clothes sold on the footpath.

From their conversation, it seemed like they were on a tight budget (like most college students) but couldn’t stop talking about the kind of shoes they hoped to buy.

I looked at their excited faces and thought about our destinations. Both were about fashion but so far removed from each other.

Where I was going, fashion was about high-end clothes (some of which were even hard to like), air kisses, Louis Vuitton bags and haute couture.

Where they were going, fashion was about affordability, comfort and value for money.

In a country where most people favour the latter, it makes me wonder whether we need to re-examine why India has four or more fashion weeks each year.

Who are we catering to?