Every event has its share of problems. Season two of Kolkata Fashion Week was no different. There were a handful of designers who showed incomprehensible designs in the name of style. There were also ‘big’ designers who basked in their previous glory in the name of retrospective collections. But an optimist would point out that the city is giving a platform to new talent and that the fashion show is a boost for the local fashion market.
Designer Narendra Kumar Ahmed aka Nari is one such optimist. “What is wrong with having a fashion week in Kolkata? Not many people here are aware of most designers’ works. With a set platform, the masses here are now becoming aware of various designers, their works and are waking up to new trends as well,” says Nari.
Puneet Nanda of Satya Paul says that he makes an effort to not belong to any camp in the industry. “As a participant, I believe Kolkata is a city full of connoisseurs who have a taste for fashion,” says Nanda. On the flip side, he says, “They (organisers) have to make the event commercially ‘hot’ and raise the class on numerous levels – for instance being better organised for the rains, give the audience access to more number of elevators to get to the show area – just the basics.”
But not all are as sparing as Nari and Nanda. A majority of the designers said that though having an event in the city helps to create awareness about the design world, Kolkata Fashion Week has a long way to go before it can be counted as an eagerly awaited event. “It is not worthy to be termed as a Fashion Week,” said a designer who participated in the first season of Kolkata Fashion Week, requesting anonymity. Another designer who put up a much-applauded line for this season says that there was hardly any response from buyers. “I don’t know where the buyers were. But honestly, I look at participation in KFW as a good PR exercise. At least the fashion conscious in Kolkata knows about my line. This awareness will help me set up a store in the city, in the near future,” she reasons.
But not all are as sparing as Nari and Nanda. A majority of the designers said that though having an event in the city helps to create awareness about the design world, Kolkata Fashion Week has a long way to go before it can be counted as an eagerly awaited event. “It is not worthy to be termed as a Fashion Week,” said a designer who participated in the first season of Kolkata Fashion Week, requesting anonymity. Another designer who put up a much-applauded line for this season says that there was hardly any response from buyers. “I don’t know where the buyers were. But honestly, I look at participation in KFW as a good PR exercise. At least the fashion conscious in Kolkata knows about my line. This awareness will help me set up a store in the city, in the near future,” she reasons.
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