Business, matters! The recently concluded Mumbai fashion week was more buyer-friendly than previous seasons

Business, matters!

The recently concluded Mumbai fashion week was more buyer-friendly than previous seasons

While fashion weeks are about showcasing new talent and displaying creativity, at the end of the day, the months of toiling have to translate into business. The Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2012, which concluded on Tuesday night, saw over 85 designers participating across five days. A number of buyers, who were present from across India and abroad, were fairly impressed by the event. Nilesh Parashar, buyer for Ahmedabad-based store Nautanki said, “This time there was a lot of variety. I was particularly impressed by the creations of Vaishali S, even Krishna Mehta surprised me with her collection. I feel the designers this season, have been more flexible. They’ve realised that buyers are looking at price tags and are working accordingly. Designers have also done their homework in terms of delivery. Last season there were some delays, but this time production has already started.” Nilesh who had reserved a good 50 percent of his buying budget for this fashion week was happy with the results. Pradeep Hirani, buyer and owner of Kimaya, says while some shows were unsatisfactory, overall the week was worth the watch. “Mumbai fashion week is a great platform for young talent and the organisers have made more effort to make it buyer-friendly. The Gen Next show in particular was noteworthy. We will need to ask the designers to tweak their creations to suit the needs of various clients, but I think the numbers won’t be disappointing.” The stalls put up by the designers this season, were more organised and ready by day one, asserts Falguni Jhaveri, buyer for Fuel. She says, “The collections were all we looked for. This time the garments were on the racks from the beginning. The best part is designers had kept their collections ready to be sold and price points are keeping the inflation in mind.” sanaya.chavda@dnaindia.net