Design Week & Indian Men’s Fashion
You just can’t get the better of the Indian fashion frat, can you? Little had the dust settled over the shocking arrest of Vijay Singh of FDPC that speculations have risen again! With FDCI’s Van Heusen India Men’s Fashion Week slated for Sep 11-13 and the FDPC’s India Fashion & Design Week scheduled for Oct 23-27; one thing is sure guys- the idea of one fashion week in the capital has been thrown out of the nearest window! There’s more, the grapevine has it, Wills India Fashion Week will be held in Delhi from Oct 25-29, which, if true, means that we are back to square one, or square three, if I may say. In a strong letter sent out to all designer members on Monday this week, the FDCI categorically stated ‘We are unaware of how the FDPC will now proceed. At the same time we have the responsibility of conducting a successful Fashion Week. Therefore, we will be shortly announcing the dates for WIFW in October and venue in New Delhi.’
By many, this was cited as a knee jerk reaction following the arrest of Singh. However, office insiders revealed that FDCI was unhappy with Singh’s request of replacing ‘Wills’, the existing sponsors of India Fashion Week with ‘Sahara’, a proposition that didn’t go down well with the bigwigs of the country’s premiere fashion body. But early Wednesday, things seemed to turtle up a whole 360 degrees, just as Raghavendra Rathore hinted. “Wait for 48 hours” the man who believes in playing safe had said on Monday evening. Utopian as it may sound, the official word was more pleasing than anything else- ‘with due respect of the sentiments of its member designers – FDCI & FDPC now stand committed to the larger mandate of a United Fashion Week.’
A quick asterisk with conditions apply clause followed- ‘At the same time - while both FDPC and FDCI are free to undertake new initiatives for the benefit of the fashion industry - they will keep each other informed, to avoid any conflict in terms of timelines.’ Okay, now don’t ask me what this means, because I am as confused as you, and probably by writing this I am adding to the confusion. Supporting this development, Sunil Sethi, President, FDCI said, “I am extremely elated at arriving at this amicable decision. At the end of the day, all designers are for a United Fashion Week and want to work together. Now all of FDCI’s efforts will be focused to take this industry forward cohesively”. The sentiment was echoed by Raghavendra Rathore, Vice President, FDPC- “This delights me more as a designer than an office bearer.” Sumeet Nair of Prodigy Fashion has maintained a stark silence over the entire issue, perhaps wanting to play his cards close to his chest, in the process adding to the speculation? Or maybe not perhaps it’s the best thing to do at the moment.
Oh. by the way, the official press note also explains- ‘The FDPC will move towards enabling various mechanisms of state support and industry assistance to all its stakeholders. The FDCI, on the other hand will continue with its showcase and promotion of Indian designer wear as per its existing contracts and established calendar’- well yeah whatever that means, we sincerely hope that Delhi stands untied this season, after all enough is enough!.
