WLIFW S/S ’12 dates announced

The Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) has announced the spring/summer 2012

schedule for Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WLIFW). It will be held from September 14 to 20 this year. Sunil Sethi for FDCI says the reasons behind the six months advance announcement is: “Firstly, our many designers participate in international events, so we wanted to give them time in advance so that they can plan their international calendars. Secondly, we wanted to give our international buyers notice so that they can plan their trips. They will have better budgets if they start with us. Lastly, when we had our last season in late October, the domestic market had voiced their opinion that time of the year is when they start selling. So, it would be better for them if the buying starts earlier. But our focus right now is completely on the current season.”

Sethi and his team are busy getting the current season’s event ready to run. According to Sethi, there are 15 Hi-5 designers who will be participating in the fashion week. Usually the event permits only four-five young designers, but this time around, there are 15 new designers who are getting ramp shows. Also, there is a big waiting list for the stalls as requests for stalls are still pouring in despite the event has already achieved full capacity.

The coveted 9.30 pm slots on all five days have been occupied by big names like Tarun Tahiliani, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Manish Malhotra, Abraham and Thakore, and Sabyasachi. However, one star is missing in the big marquee – Rohit Bal. Meanwhile, Sethi has been re-elected as President of FDCI.