We don’t need the stars

Why allow a movie star to take the focus away from the collection? Top designers slam the trend of Bollywood stars on the ramp.

Why allow a movie star to take the focus away from the collection?” is a pertinent question being asked by top fashion designers even as the ongoing fashion week in Delhi continues to boast of a high ‘Bollywood quotient’.

Top designers such as Manish Arora, Rajesh Pratap Singh and Ashish Soni, who have never got filmstars walk the ramp unless it’s a sponsored show, have come down heavily on those piggybacking on star power.

Arora, who’s dressed up international stars such as Lady Ga-Ga, MIA and Kate Perry says, “In a fashion show, the garments are the stars. Why should I put a filmstar to distract attention from the stars I created?” Pratap concurs, “Models are cloth-horses and they are models because their bodies carry an outfit perfectly. The idea is to show garments and not pretty faces, so a movie star doesn’t fit in.” Soni says, “You present a story on the ramp... why would one dilute it by using a filmstar?”

The argument, however, is slammed by those who term it a ‘lack of confidence’. Designer Namrata Joshipura says, “If one is not confident of his/her collection then they go for a film star. Have you ever seen a movie star walk the ramp in New York, Milan or Paris? At most they grace the front-row.” Omar Haider of Show House who organize the Grand Finale show said, “Our designers are stars themselves — why get a filmstar?”