Fashion's new crescent

REAL ESTATE: Delhi's designers are celebrating their designs at the capital's newest fashion address.

Fashion designers in Delhi have found a brand new joint. It's not a party place, it's not where bubbly flows over mandatory air kisses, it's not lit by strobes that give the term "persistence of vision" new flashes of meaning.

Far from it. Almost 30 leading designers are ready to display their work at a new address: The Crescent at the Qutub.

The red stone building spread over 30,000 sq ft overlooks the historic Qutub Minar and has 40 shops leased out for three years to some of the biggest names in the business, including Rohit Bal, Tarun Tahiliani, Namrata Joshipura, Ritu Kumar, Suneet Verma and Manav Gangwani.

"Visit Crescent in 10-15 days, when nearly 75 per cent of the shops will start functioning," implores a Crescent spokesperson. A visit to Ritu Kumar's forthcoming store reveals workers busy fixing the woodwork and scraping rough edges off the interiors.

With nearly 3,300 sq ft of space, Kumar has one of the biggest stores in the mall "" the other big stores belong to Tarun Tahiliani and furniture label Casa Paradox "" with a spectacular view of the Qutub.

Though most stores are still getting into shape, two launch parties, including Kumar's, have already taken place at the mall's piazza "" which sprawls over 7,000 sq ft.

After the 1 MG Road debacle, the new location offers designers a sense of security. "I had heard horror stories of demolitions and wanted to be careful," says Namrata Joshipura, who has taken 300 sq ft of space in the mall, and is busy with finishing touches to her store (with interior designer Ambrish Arora).

"Even though the rentals are steep," she adds, "I think this place will attract the right mix of clients and tourists."

Though Joshipura refuses to divulge details of her deal, sources say that designers are shelling out Rs 1 lakh per month even for a small store here.

"It is much more expensive than 1 MG Road," says a designer who doesn't want to be named, "but compared to the new mall in Saket where charges vary between Rs 150-250 per sq ft, it is reasonable."

Crescent's operators have roped in nearly 50 employees from Vipul Facility Management to look after security, house-keeping, landscaping and maintenance.

And even without the bubbly, airkisses, strobes or anything else, the afterglow of the attention drawn by the 1 MG Road demolition may be enough to ensure that interest in the fashion designers' latest work waxes rather than wanes.