Business grows at Lakme Week

The just concluded Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive in Mumbai turned out to be a fruitful

platform for participating designers as well as buyers. Since this season was meant to showcase the winter/festive collections, designers used the platform to bring out their creativity in that realm. They also said the event was beneficial not only for business but to make long lasting relationships with buyers. The number of buyers attending the gala between September 2009 and March 2010 rose by 64 per cent, taking the total number up from 94 to 154. The majority of them came from India. However, there's still a gap. The biggest buyers at LFW order between 50 to 100 units, whereas in the United States a typical buyer will put in orders for 10,000 pieces.

Designers like Aneeth Arora, Anuj Sharma, Nachiket Barve, Nitin Bal Chauhan, Rahul Mishra and Swapnil Shinde put together five outfits from their best creations for defining the future of fashion. A highlight of the fashion week was the debut of Ritu Kumar with her prêt line, Label. Fashion designers Neeta Lulla and Malini Ramani showcased their exclusive collections. Malini Ramani was also the grand finale designer, where she presented the gypsy collection. The film industry made a strong presence with Shruti Hassan and Sridevi walking the ramp.