 NEW DELHI, APR 28:
As the country's biggest fashion fair
opened in New Delhi, upcoming models and designers are upbeat to
showcase their talent at the Lakme India Fashion Week (LIFW).
Fashion czars who have already predicted the trends for next year,
are busy trendspotting the young blood which holds future for the
country's nascent fashion industry, estimated at 20 million rupees.
This year's show includes seven debutants among usual 57 designers
participating in the mega event.
The debutants see the fashion week as an opportunity to prove
themselves to the world.
Many of the new models who have already sashayed down the ramp for
international houses, are making their national debut.
"I don't feel nervous but yes I do feel stage fright," said
Monikangana, an upcoming model.
According to new designers, the coming years will see a lot of art,
interiors and wall paper designs being incorporated into clothing to
give rise to "hybrid fashion".
The designers have also predicted individualism being the "in
thing" next season.
 Kaveri, a first-timer, said the show gives an international
presence to her designs.
"In fact everyday there are two groups for every fashion week. You
end up doing say three to four shows a day. It is much faster, there
are no rehearsals that happen for the show. It is basically walk
straight up and down. It is physically lot more tiring, slightly
challenging I would say, but you know you are doing so many shows at
the same time. It is much larger platform. People from all over the
world are here. You are being seen, the designers are being seen by
everybody. There are buyers from London, from Paris, Spain, Mexico,
they are all here. So I think it is a much bigger platform, I would
say," she said.
Sister-duo of Divya and Vandana, ready to flaunt their pret line
"Flesh", seek inspiration from experienced designers.
"We feel very excited specially to be at the same place with all
the big names, we are excited but at the same time we are quite
nervous," said Divya.
LIFW, which stretches over a week, is expected to generate 25 per
cent more business than last year, with over 400 buyers including the
who's who of the global fashion industry, participating in the event.
 Organisers of the show, the Fashion Design Council of India, say
that last year's show, held in Bombay, saw a business of around Rs 3.5
million and hope this would increase to Rs 4.5 million in this year's
event.
Two decades ago, haute couture was a word that barely existed in
the Indian vocabulary and fashion stopped at ethnic home-spun cotton
outfits made by neighbourhood tailors.
India's high fashion clothing saw a boom in the nineties when
designers Ritu Kumar, Rohit Bal, Tarun Tahiliani, Abu Jani and Sandeep
Khosla took Indian styles to the international map.
Today the fashion design industry is worth 1.8 billion dollars,
which is growing at 20 per cent, in the 35 billion dollars global
fashion market. (ANI)
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