While the impact of the global economic slowdown continues to hit the Indian apparel and fashion industry, it has not dampened the spirits of the enthusiastic fashion designers from across the country. They are all set to showcase their creativity at the Bangalore Fashion Week (BFW) that kicks off on Thursday here in the city. The four-day fashion extravaganza mainly sponsored by Seagram’s Blenders Pride, will see top models rock the ramp while designers dish out endless haute couture and make up trends.
Being held on similar lines as the Delhi Fashion Week, Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week and Mumbai Fashion Week, though not as big in terms of the number of participants and buyers, the first edition of the Bangalore Fashion Week will do its mite in encouraging upcoming talents and promoting Bangalore as the next big fashion destination, say organisers. According to Feroz Khan, creative director, Dream Merchants, the event organisers, while the event will see participation from who’s who of the industry, it will provide the perfect platform for identifying and giving opportunities to new talent.
The list of 32 designers, most of them based in Bangalore, displaying their collections includes names like Manoviraj Khosla, Rocky S, Abdul Halder, Jatin Kochhar, and Raj and Neetu Shroff. Scorching the ramp would be some of India’s top models like Zulfi Sayed, Shawar Ali, Bruna Abdullah and Acquin Pais, Anjali Rawat, Jacquelene Shetty beside others.
While the event seems to be betting big on domestic demand, buyers from South Africa, Europe and Japan have evinced interest in participating. However, industry sources are apprehensive that these enquiries will materialise in actual buying, against the backdrop of the global economic turmoil.
According to an analysis by industry body Assocham, Indian fashion industry is expected to touch Rs 750 crore by 2012 from the current levels of around Rs 300 crore, with Indian companies heavily investing big sums in the industry and consumers increasingly shifting focus towards designer wear readily available in shopping malls. The Indian fashion industry accounts for 0.2 per cent of the global designer wear market which is worth Rs 1,62,900 crore and growing at 9.5 per cent every year.
As per industry estimates, the size of the Indian apparel market is over Rs 1,00,000 crore. The Indian fashion industry is also at an advantage over other countries as far as its growth prospects are concerned because India is the third-largest cotton producing country in the world and also possesses an abundance of talented designers.
“From a business perspective the fashion industry in India is still in a nascent stage. There is still a lot of talent who can make their mark both in terms of creativity and commercial success,” said Feroz Khan.