Five days to runway ready

James Ferreira puts together collection in record time to fill in for Manish Malhotra, sponsors too pulled out three days prior.

Designers usually take about six months to create a collection. Mumbai-based designer, James Ferreira plans to put his work together in five days. When Manish Malhotra decided to pull out of Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) on Sunday, due to an overly hectic film schedule, the organisers rushed into damage control mode, and turned to Ferreira to fill the slot.

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Ask Ferreira, who will present a full Summer Resort collection in record time, how he’s dealing with the lightening bolt and he says, “The credit really goes to my tailors and workshop for helping me pull this off. I cut new garments everyday, so it’s not really a problem for me to put together the designs on such short notice. I also have many dresses that I’ve never shown before, so I’ll be using those in the show too.”

Ferreira has made his displeasure with the management of the Mumbai fashion week public in the past. Ask whether he’s settled his differences now, and he says, “The management has changed from top to bottom, and the new head of fashion, Anjana Sharma, is keen to try something fun. I just hope the show I put together is better than my last.”

While Malhotra claims his hectic film schedule is the reason behind him deciding to cancel his show, he does admit that sponsors Aircel pulled out three days before he announced his decision. But Sharma insists that the brand has not severed its ties with the fashion week, saying, “The paperwork regarding the sponsorship of Manish’s show was taking time, so he assured me that he’d decided to go ahead on his own. Now, James’s show is not being sponsored either.”