Yudhajit Dutta, better known as the marketing agent of Kolkata Knight Riders, is the brains behind the first Kolkata Fashion Week (KFW) and he is unperturbed with comparisons with fashion events in Delhi and Mumbai held earlier this year.
Indeed, KFW will be different, as designers plan to showcase more affordable collections and also more conservative, keeping the preferences of the eastern metropolitan, in mind.
"There are so many talented designers from Bengal who are prominent names in the Indian fashion business. Also, there are weavers and international buyers who swear by the traditional pieces of art from Kolkata. But despite that, Kolkata has never had a proper showcase till now," Dutta said.
So Dutta is organising Kolkata Fashion Week, at an estimated cost of Rs 4-5 crore, and has brought together names like Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna of Cue, Gauri and Nainika Karan, Wendell Rodricks, Zubair Kirmani, Anjana Bhargav, Shane and Falguni Peacock, Manoviraj Khosla, Narendra Kumar and Kolkata-based designers Mona-Pali, Dev n Nil, Abhishek Dutta and Sharbari Dutta, among others for KFW between April 2-5.
Dutta has also roped in Bangladeshi designer, Bibi Russel, as well as a showcase by Bengal weavers, who will put forward a display of their cottage industry. "Kolkata Fashion Week is one of the most expensive proposition, with organisation costs touching Rs 4-5 crore. We have 15 national designers participating and three upcoming designers."
"We intend to make this a bi-annual event and are also trying to arrange some international tie-ups for building credibility in the market. The first year may not see great business prospects considering the current slowdown, but any project needs some time to break even and become viable."
"We have about 30-40 buyers for Kolkata Fashion Week. Some are single buyers, while many are from US, Sri Lanka and other countries."
On the marketing front, KFW will show live feeds on Zoom channel which will also be available on MSN. It also has its own website kolkatafashionweek.in.
Dutta is reluctant to give out details about who these buyers are and what the rates for the ramp shows and stalls will be. While a few of the participants are invited to participate and are not being charged a fee, others have to pay a fee per slot to participate in KFW.
As for the designers and the collection they plan to showcase, one of the biggest takeaways at the KFW this year will be designers’ willingness to build on the affordability range as well as a slightly remodelled collection for the average buyer in Kolkata who is more traditional than buyers in other metropolitan cities.
According to Rahul Khanna, "Kolkata is a different market for us,and we are going to build on our affordable ‘pret’ spring-summer collection priced between Rs 3,000 and Rs 15,000. We expect the affordable range to boost sales for us, as the slowdown in India has brought down our sales by 20-25 per cent. We will showcase the ‘Ode to Joy’ collection at KFW, which has been inspired by art, which is a more feminine and affordable range."
According to Wendell Rodricks, "Since many years now, Kolkata has emereged as a bed of talent. Even this season, Lakme Fashion Week, Gen Next, there were five designers from Kolkata, out of eight designers. Our collection is going to be reasonably priced, between Rs 1,700 to 12,000. A few of the gowns will be available at Rs 25,000."
According to Mona Sachdev, of Mona-Pali fame, "Our collection at KFW will be priced Rs 2,000 onwards for salwar suits. A kurti will be available below Rs 1,000. So while we will have the affordable range for our buyers, we will also build on the ‘comfort’ factor as the climate and mindset of people in Kolkata are different from Delhi and Mumbai, which have been the traditional grounds for a large number of fashion shows. So, for KFW, our collection is designed as traditional ethnicwear, which we think will click with the buyers in Kolkata."
Falguni Peacock (of Falguni and Shane Peacock fame), said, "We will showcase our ‘Spendthrift’ gothic range at the KFW. Our collection is particularly different because women in Kolkata are more traditional. Our range is priced between Rs 4,000 and Rs 16,000."
Falguni Peacock has four standalone stores right now of which three are in Mumbai and one in Delhi. “We plan to open an outlet in Kolkata after a few days. Kolkata Fashion Week will help us understand the business prospects of this market.” “We are also thinking of launching customised designer bed-spreads and will soon launch one standalone outlet for bed-spreads in Mumbai, to begin with,” Peacock added.
Wendell Rodricks, said, “We will soon start retailing ‘Tghos’ collection at Westside nationwide. The range will offer the best price with great quality.”
The Indian fashion design industry's overall production was expected to grow to 7.5 billion rupees ($148 million) by 2012 from 2.7 billion rupees in 2007, according to The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, helped by an affluent class which is increasingly focusing on fashion wear. The estimate has not yet been revised.
But international buyers, drawn by the handicraft and detailed embroidery in Indian fashion, have lowered their budgets due to a crippling recession and adjusted their purchases.
