Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week

Mar 29, 2010 12:34 IST

Fashion diary – clothes, controversies and a finale that wasn’t

Fashion consciousness has grown in a big way in the last 3-4 years, a fashion analyst told me. And judging by the crowds that throng the week-long Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, it would seem that most middle class citizens, given a chance (or a day pass) want to have a piece of the fashion fraternity tag on their chest, whether they have any clue about couture or not.

The question of affordability or even wearability of the sometimes outlandish designs for the common man on Indian streets is another question.

And what would a big event in the Indian capital be without a good dose of controversy to go along with the catwalks. All shows on the first day were suddenly cancelled due to the absence of mandatory fire safety permits even as models were dressing up backstage and guests were lining up outside the hall.

The need to accommodate the cancelled shows resulted in the addition of an extra day, and a new fashion phrase – The Grand Fashion Day.

The sixth day may be the Grand Fashion Day, but it was not grand enough for fashion label Satya Paul, which pulled out of the event.

And designer Rajesh Pratap Singh, who was bestowed with the honour of the Grand Finale show, had to oddly showcase his collection on the penultimate day with the “Grand Finale” tag intact and the ceremonial last-day-last-show drinks being served to guests outside the show area.

The Rajasthan-born designer made the unconventional choice of showing his “Bespoke Tales” collection without any star showstopper, unlike most others who try and make the final show as exciting as possible for the media.

COMMENT

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Mar 29, 2010

5:15 pm IST

The most fashion that an average middle-class Indian can afford are T-shirt with ‘Leevies’ tags. In fact the fake Guccis and Nina Ricci are getting so good that they drive the whole industry of duplicate brands. Our designers are sitting on the fence at the moment – deal in bulk by designing $2 Ts or tap an exclusive but small foreign clientelle? Still, I hope you had fun at the Fashion Week – its worth a free drink and an eyefull of gorgeous models at the very least.

Posted by Rituparna | Report as abusive

Mar 27, 2010 10:56 IST

Urvashi Sibal

WIFW 2010: HIGHLIGHTS – Rocky S

Highlights from the Rocky S collection at the 2010 Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week in New Delhi. Actresses Hema Malini and Esha Deol walked the ramp for Rocky S.

(Poor audio quality regretted.)

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Mar 26, 2010 22:40 IST

Urvashi Sibal