Curtain raiser: IIFW

Empty seats, few buyers and technical glitches - the India International Fashion Week got off to a disappointing start. But the organisers hope the event will lead to exchange of ideas among designers.

Empty seats, few buyers and technical glitches - the Oxybleach India International Fashion Week (OIIFW) got off to a rather disappointing start. But the organisers hope the event will lead to exchange of ideas among designers.

Unlike other fashion events where you have an elevated ramp, OIIFW has a flat ramp with a very casual seating arrangement - not in keeping with international standards.

Though the organisers of the event had claimed they had many domestic buyers during the three-day event at the Crowne Plaza, not even a single buyer was spotted on the inaugural day on Thursday. The fashion week ends on Saturday.

One of the reasons for a lukewarm response could be the location of the venue that makes it difficult for people to spend a whole day attending the event, considering the long travel time.

With designers from countries like the US, Tanzania, Pakistan, Spain, Israel, Norway, China, Romania, Dubai and Australia participating in the event, expectations were high. Monapali is the Indian designer participating in the fashion week.

"The whole idea of this event is to introduce international designers to India so that the consumers get idea of the international trends and these designers too get a hang of the Indian fashion industry," Sanjay Kapur, organiser of OIIFW, said.

"Through this event we are hoping that we can arrange some barter system where Indian designers too get an opportunity to participate in international fashion weeks. The way we have invited international designers, we are hoping that Indian designers too go there and participate," he said.

Kapur hopes to make the fashion week an annual affair.