The week that wasn't

FASHION:The recently concluded Wills India Fashion Week was one of missed opportunities.

Fashion these days is all about change, trends that stay for a bare nano second and then disappear without a trace. However the recently concluded Wills India Fashion Week (WIFW) was more of the same which prompted an upset fashion observer to quip, "Why bother having a fashion week twice a year when all you get is a repeat of the same styles everytime?"

Fashion finds itself in a funny situation. There is burgeoning demand even when there is a complete lack of creativity. The disregard for innovation and the inability to understand the market seemed to afflict most designers this time "" there were notable exceptions like Tarun Tahiliani, Rohit Bal, Manish Arora and Rajesh Pratap Singh.

This may have something to do with the fact that Indian fashion retailers like Samsaara and Kimaya have placed their usual orders this time as well and are expected to spend more on buying collections given the fact that they are all on major expansion mode.

For instance, Kimaya, the Pradeep Hirani owned fashion retailer, is likely to open almost 48 stores in the next three years with the roll-out starting from this June. Said Hirani, "There has been a 170 per cent increase in the buying since the last fashion week for us." With increasing number of fashion retailers, common sense dictates that these stores will require large quantities of fashion merchandise to stock them up.

If Indian retailers are on a buying frenzy, the foreign buyers/observers were a little less impressed by what they saw. Said Fatiha Habchi, fashion consultant for Henri Bendel, one of the most influential fashion retailers, "To be able to sell in the international markets, designers here need to take into account the weather.

Winter for us in the west is winter." Habchi's words could well ring true for India as well. There is winter in the northern part of the country and yet most shows had models walking down the ramp wearing mini skirts, off-shoulder dresses made from flimsy fabrics like georgettes. The larger question here is which woman, irrespective of the weather, walks around the whole day wearing large evening gowns, a staple at most shows this time?

Benedicte Bro, an international fashion consultant, asked, "Who is the target client for the Indian designers? The clothes they showed seem to be for a fantasy woman whose only preoccupation is to look pretty. The designers right now are definitely not catering to the working woman." She added, "Good clothes are powerful."

But while the going looks good right now, there are already rumblings that can be heard which they would be wise to heed. Chantal Rousseau, operating vice-president, Europe Bloomingdales said, "I have been coming for the autumn/winter fashion week now for some time but I am wondering if I should continue because if the week is held in March there is no way the deliveries can happen by the time the autumn/winter collections are in stores in the west."

If delivery schedules are a problem so are the creative sensibilities that international buyers have had issues with. Said Bro bringing her thumb and forefinger together, "For all the designers they are this close but they are not there yet." Indian buyers too echoed the feeling in private though were unwilling to go on record about it.

The emergence of an interesting trend might be something that Indian designers could take note of: Indian retailers are now looking overseas for creative talent and have had some success. Kimaya, for instance, has started buying collections from Malaysian, South African and Lebanese designers and will retail them through their chain. Said Hirnai, "Fashion does not recognise any boundaries. We have already tested the acceptance of these designers on our Indian clientele and they have been very well-received."

For many who sat through the endless number of shows for five days of WIFW, it was a week of missed opportunities. It could have been so much but in the end it was a week that wasn't.