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?
In my previous post I wrote about a Real Estate Company – AMR Group creating a new Fashion Council – India Fashion Council (IFC) in alliance with few media personalities, a former FDCI Executive and some designers. You can read the previous post here:
On the 26th of June the Board of Fashion Designers Council of India (FDCI) had a meeting and took stock of the so-called new Council’s formation and unanimously decided to disassociate with any such organisation that is planning to form an alternative fashion council. The designers who were approached by IFC did agree to participate in it under the wrong projection made by AMR that a National Daily is backing the new venture, have now washed-off their hands from it. Once it was clear that IFC formed by AMR is not a Non-Profit Organisation and is in no way associated with the claimed National Newspaper, most participant designers withdrew.
Resultant the much-touted Press Conference and post party announcing the launch of India Fashion Council at BlueFrog on the 1st of July stands cancelled now.
The most ridiculous excuse AMR MD, Kapil Aggarwal came out with was that IFC is India Fashion Company and was erroneously mentioned as India Fashion Council by their PR Agency. Well it is nothing but a white-lie because I have in my posession numerous communications sent out to designers and other people from the fashion industry where IFC was clearly mentioned as India Fashion Council. Kapil Aggarwal in his letter to FDCI President, Sunil Sethi writes – “This is to state that the word ” council” was never the format of IFC , and its a complete mistake of our PR ageny involved in the promotion of Indian Fashion Company.”
Finally an ambitious businessman whose sole – objective is to get his photographs on Page3, which he has ensured by buying Medianet space in Times of India has been exposed and his fashion council stands nipped at the bud.