Designer Delhi fashioning out Mumbai

The recently concluded Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week in

Delhi has raised some questions about the engagement of big names of India’s fashion marquee with this prestigious fashion event. Whilst the Fashion Design Council of India may feel the loss of established stars like Shantanu & Nikhil, Rohit Bal, Suneet Verma and Anamika Khanna, the stellar gaps were filled with shooting stars from the Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai that was held just a while before. As Alpana of the Alpana &Neeraj duo commented whilst inviting the media to their show, “We’re one of the few designers showing at Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week this time.”

Rishta’s Arjun Saluja was one of the first to jump on to the Delhi-based fashion event and was soon followed by Anupama Dayal and Rahul Mishra. Aneeth Arora of Pero, Anand Bhushan, Nikasha Tawadey and Rimzim Dadu have since followed suit. Dadu said, in an interview about Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, “This format suits me better and since the response is the same as it is in Mumbai, I’m staying here in Delhi.”

As the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week follows the international fashion calendar and exhibits in advance of seasons and the Lakme Fashion Week shows off the current season, it makes more sense for Pero to stick to the former. Arora feels, Pero is booming in Delhi and Lakme Fashion Week’s system doesn’t work well for her because she caters to international buyers who work six months in advance. There are more international buyers at Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, so it makes business sense for her to be there. Veteran Mumbai-based designer Krishna Mehta agrees. She set up a stall at the Delhi based-fashion event showcasing the collection she had exhibited at the earlier Lakme Fashion Week. She says there are more buyers there compared to Lakme Fashion Week.