There seems to be no end to fashion politics and no dearth of designers falling prey to people attempting at fracturing the fashion fraternity. Remember Vijay Singh – the man who had formed FDPC and had ambitious plans to disintegrate FDCI – is still at his games. Not satisfied with the lack-lustre Sahara India Bridal Week that he has been hosting for the past three years, Vijay Singh yesterday held a press conference to announce a year in advance about his Couture Week in Delhi in the year 2013.
Remember yet another Real Estate Group – AMR – that recently formed Indian Fashion Council, which later was renamed as Indian Fashion Company and boasted about forming a platform to promote Young Designers has now dumped ‘young designers‘ and joined hands with Vijay Singh to sponsor the Couture Week. I always doubted AMR’s intention and wrote about it in my various posts. Now that they are sponsoring an alternative couture week, AMR’s lie is exposed. You can read my earlier posts here:
Another “Fashion Council” Raises Its Ugly Head: http://wp.me/p1C8a1-10L
Overnight the ‘Council’ Turns In To A ‘Company’: http://wp.me/p1C8a1-118
Unabashed Pimping of Fashion Continues: http://wp.me/p1C8a1-11d
At the Press Conference held yesterday jointly by Vijay Singh and AMR, the dates were announced – 2nd August 2013 to 6th August 2013. The intent is clear to hold it before the FDCI organised Delhi Couture Week. The ace up the sleeves of the new couture week is Tarun Tahiliani and it has been announced that Tarun Tahiliani will be the Grand Finale couturier. Other designers present at the conference were Ashima-Leena, Shantanu – Nikhil and JJ Valaya (who later re-iterated that he will be part of the FDCI’s Delhi Couture Week). Rocky S and Vikram Phadnis are also supposedly part of this alternative Couture Week.
I yet again ask – do we need two Couture Weeks back to back in Delhi? Should designers who are members of FDCI ( a body constituted by them and for them) participate in an alternate couture/fashion week? Is it the lure of money that is making designers opt for an alternative organiser? What does the alternate Couture Week bring extra to the table that FDCI’s Couture Week doesn’t?
The number of Fashion Weeks and Fashion Bodies India have is greater than the sum total of Fashion Weeks held in London, Milan, New York and Paris. Besides the primary two – the India Fashion Week organised by Fashion Designers Council of India (FDCI) and Lakme Fashion Week organised by Reliance-IMG the other Fashion Weeks are nothing but trash. A ‘Fashion Week’ is B2B Model where fashion designers showcase their collections to Buyers and Media. The trashy ones are just ‘tamasha’ where there is absolutely no business.
Now a Uttar Pradesh based Real-Estate Group – AMR has ambitiously got on to the bandwagon of Fashion. The promoters of this Company have absolutely no experience of fashion business yet they have forged a body called India Fashion Council. Most amazingly India Fashion Council is a ‘Proprietorship‘ firm. Anybody who knows a bit about ‘Councils’ and their memorandum should know that ‘Council’ is a non-profit body and can never be floated by a ‘Proprietor’. The fraudulent ways of AMR’s IFC is further exposed by their ‘FALSE’ claim of being associated with a Leading English Newspaper of India. The objective definitely has nothing to do for the growth of Indian Fashion and fashion Designers but to garner publicity for their real-estate brand. The group has roped in some mediocre event company and a former FDCI executive along with few senior fashion journalists to put together a fashion week.
The way AMR went about the whole deal was rather unscrupulous. First they approached FDCI showing interest in sponsoring a fashion week. Later they announced forming a fashion council. Anyways there are dime-a-dozen designers who they can lure in by paying money to do a show but that’s about it. Many ambitious people and groups have attempted to form councils and fashion weeks but all have burnt their fingers.
It is high-time our designers shun these fly-by-night operators and not let them dilute the concept of ‘fashion week’ for their personal gains.