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LIFESTYLE: FASHION WEEK
Boosting The Retail Market
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| SWAYING PASSIONS: Many top models are sore over
the high discounts being demanded |
Sponsor Lakme's
dominant role has also turned many puce in the face. Lakme has already
decided on who the three finalists are going to be at the "Sparkle,
Shimmer, Shine" grand finale. The decision was based on "who
would best suit the theme", according to Bal, one of the finalists
along with Rina Dhaka and Manish Malhotra. Though Lakme isn't ready to
divulge, Bal insists he will be doing the Shine sequence. The Gang of
Three will endorse Lakme's products, including lipsticks, nail enamel
and make-up. Lakme has also roped in its own models for the finale-Lisa
Ray, Yana Gupta and Indrani Das Gupta. Anil Chopra, business head, Lakme
Lever, explains they watched global trends, spoke to an expert panel and
"chose the designers who agreed with our views".
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| SUMEET NAIR SAYS: If the big names
weren't participating last year I'd be worried. Now the event has
become bigger than an individual. |
| HE MEANS: The Beris and Rodricks have
done their job by being a part of the first LIFW year. Now we can
do without them. |
Lakme may have found a compliant lot eventually
but many couturiers question LIFW's efficacy in boosting the retail market.
"No doubt it's a good platform for designers but I think it's premature,"
says Jaikishan. "India hasn't reached the stage where retailers will
readily order pret lines. Also, membership fees should not vary for each
category." Ritu Beri voices similar apprehensions. For all the spiel,
she was a part of the event last year but after Paris Couture Week 2001,
la Beri would rather focus on getting her October pret line for Paris
ready. "Stores in India still don't understand what ordering and
merchandising is all about. Besides, a show in August is completely confusing
as it falls neither in the summer nor the winter category," she says.
While Bajaj, a board member in 1998, resigned because .. er ..
he "just didn't have the time", rumours have it that he is miffed
with the board for ignoring him after his resignation and not sending
him an invitation. "Such events don't really generate business,"
he says. Jaikishan, Beri and Bajaj may have a point. Organised retailing
comprises only 2 per cent of the total, and for all the ficci's drumbeating
about cashing in on the "Rs 40,000-crore domestic retail market",
it cannot work unless an infrastructure is formed to track and develop
business even after the much-hyped Weeks end.
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| NETHRA RAGHURAMAN SAYS: They
are asking for too much of a cut and will really make us work during
those seven days. |
| SHE MEANS: But I'll still take part
as it's good for a model to be seen at the LIFW show. And I'll get
bulk shows at the end of the day. |
Many FDCI members are irked by the covertness
that surrounds the board and its decisions, be it the secrecy about jury
members or accounting transparency. Designers from Delhi are unhappy over
the high expenses which include travel costs for staff and hotel bills
despite the proferred discounts.
An FDCI fellowship and an associate membership
comes for a one-time fee of Rs 50,000 and Rs 30,000 respectively, while
registered members have to pay a single fee of Rs 10,000. In addition,
there is an annual charge of Rs 3,500 across all categories. The participating
cost for LIFW is Rs 1 lakh for a solo show with a stall, Rs 50,000 if
two designers jointly put up a show, with a stall each, Rs 33,333 in case
of a trio. A 20 per cent discount is offered to designers who don't want
a stall. So, with additional costs, each designer ends up spending a minimum
of Rs 2 lakh if he or she is in the Rs 33,333 category, and up to Rs 3
lakh or more if he or she is in the Rs 1 lakh show category. Designer
Aparna Chandra is abstaining from LIFW this year because it is too expensive
to attend. So is Manish Arora.
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| APARNA CHANDRA SAYS: I
have a lot of things in hand and don't really have the time. i wish
i were there. |
| SHE MEANS: Going to Mumbai is just
too expensive and definitely not worth it. Plus they haven't given
me the slot I wanted. |
"Where does the huge sponsorship money go?"
ask the members. The fdci says that there are many event expenses, including
choreographers, sets, stalls and venue hiring but the show registration
fee is sacrosanct and goes only into the FDCI corpus fund for activities
like research.
In an industry as insecure or perhaps more than
the Indian film industry, and infinitely smaller, these answers need to
be conveyed more effectively and openly to the members. If the FDCI has
audited its accounts, as it maintains, they should be widely circulated,
not just among the board members. Despite the fact that it is a young
body, the FDCI could do with a bit more revamping and streamlining. The
lesson: being transparent isn't enough. The idea is to also appear transparent.
Much like the fabric its members use. The floodlights can be harsh.
-With Anshul Avijit
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