Since its inception, Lakme Fashion has always lent support to young talent and provided them with relevant opportunities to grow within the fashion industry.
In line with these efforts, IMG Reliance and Lakme Fashion Week have partnered with global co working giant, WeWork, and launched a fashion incubation program.
The Fashion Incubation Programme kicked off recently with the orientation of the first batch of designers at WeWork in Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai. A similar one will be held at WeWork in Gurgaon on 1st March.
Designers who have been selected for the first batch of the orientation were Saaksha Bhat and Kinnari Kamat of the label Saaksha Kinni and Anjali Patel Mehta of the label Verandah, who showcased their respective collections at Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2018. The orientation was also attended by creative design entrepreneurs in the sustainable fashion space including Stefano Funari, Shubhi Sachan, Tanushri Shukla andDarshana Gajare.
This is an exclusive opportunity for young designers to access space at WeWork in Mumbai or Gurgaon for a period of three months. The key objective of the program is to help young designers to be part of a larger progressive movement that WeWork provides with access to cross industry learning which is missing in the fashion industry. This initiative promises to accelerate growth with opportunities to network and learn from peers in diverse fields of creativity and business.
The program will run in parallel across Mumbai and Gurgaon with 80 designers who would be given the opportunity to use the WeWork space. While the first batch is being selected by IMGR, there will be a registration process for future batches. Designers who are interested to apply can register at www.fashionincubator.splashthat.com/ or follow Lakme Fashion Week social media handles for the eligibility criteria. The programme will run for a year till February next year in 4 batches of 20 designers each.
"We are truly excited and honoured to be given this opportunity Lakme Fashion Week and IMG Reliance to use the WeWork office spaces. Being a start-up it is tough enough to maintain a large factory space with tailors, masters, etc without adding on the investment needed to own a studio. It's important for designers to have a nice enough place to hold business meetings and have a space where potential clients can view your designs without having to come to a factory that is bustling, crowded and not the neatest of environments," said Designer Saaksha Bhat of label Saaksha Kinni.
"Working out of the WeWork offices is also an amazing opportunity to meet likeminded people such as photographers, social media experts and graphic designers who you can then collaborate with and who you may not have met in other circumstances. In terms of the WeWork Infrastructure itself, we are super excited to host shoots here it is aesthetically perfect and saves us the cost of renting studios," she added.
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The key objective of WeWork is to create a world where people make a life, not just a living. WeWork builds workspaces of the future, by providing the best of design, technology and services to increase productivity, creativity and collaboration. Aside from their beautiful interiors, WeWork spaces are entirely serviced, allowing one to focus all their energies on delivering amazing work.
The Fashion Incubation Program is a natural extension of WeWork's mission to empower creators. It stems from the idea of creating a fashion and design hub, where upcoming creative entrepreneurs will be given the chance to turn their ideas into reality at the WeWork office spaces, through much-needed infrastructure and networking opportunities.
All WeWork spaces include facilities such as Wi-Fi, unlimited coffee and beer, conference room access, daily events and space to curate pop-ups and most importantly, the chance to be a part of a growing community of young, progressive entrepreneurs who are game-changers in diverse fields.
The spaces are carefully designed to create various environments that are suited to all types of work needs-from brainstorming areas and open spaces to unwind, phone booths for private conversations, and lounge areas to socialize to quiet areas and private cabins for teams small and large. Dedicated community teams create a sense of belonging for all the members, encouraging connections and cross-learning.
"A fun, collaborative workspace - WeWork - resonates with Lakme Fashion Week's idea of providing upcoming talent with ample opportunities to grow, create and excel. Through this partnership, LFW aims at taking yet another step towards helping the next generation of fashion talent with a workspace that allows creativity to flow and path breaking ideas to manifest without worrying about the necessities," said Jaspreet Chandok, Head of Fashion at IMG Reliance.
"WeWork is a platform for creators and we truly believe in offering a holistic creative experience in our workspaces. By partnering with Lakme Fashion Week for this incubation program, we believe that we are nurturing and encouraging some of the best creative minds that will go on to do their best work and will inspire our member community. As an integral part of the WeWork experience, our goal is to support and inspire our community in the best possible manner," said Ryan Bennett, General Manager, WeWork India.