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LIFW 2005, a good week for business but no figures revealed
While no one is talking about numbers at the Lakme India Fashion Week, 2005, participants, including designers and buyers, as well as the organisers say this has been a good week for business.
While no one is talking about numbers at the Lakme India Fashion Week, 2005, participants, including designers and buyers, as well as the organisers say this has been a good week for business.
"This time around the business doubled compared to last year," Paras of Geisha Design said.
"Our entire collection has been sold out with orders coming from Spain, Kuwait, Hongkong, Dubai and Singapore," he said, declining to disclose the value of the orders.
"We also expect repeat orders," he added.
Shantanu of the designer duo of Shantanu and Nikhil, said 80 per cent of their collection at LIFW has been taken by Tokyo-based buyer Saaya.
"We also have orders from a Swiss buyer for volume production," he said without disclosing the figures.
Giving credit to the organisers of the event, Shantanu said "This time buyers are categorised and are much more organised. It has helped in doing serious business."
Inspired by Indian garments, Spanish buyer Ananda has decided to expand business back home.
"At the moment we have a single store at Murcia in south Spain exclusively selling Indian designer clothes. In about 18 months, we would open another one at Mallorca," said Fancisco Xavier Vazq Sanchez of Ananda.
He said orders have been placed to several designers at LIFW, but declined to comment on their value.
Fashion Design Council of India, the organiser of the event, is happy that the week has been good for business, although it has not offically recorded any figures on the transactions carried out.
"We have spoken to the designers and they agree it has been better from a business perspective," FDCI director General Rathi Vinay Jha said.
She said FDCI would encourage corporatisation of fashion houses in order to do business in a proper manner.
"Not all designers have business acumen. With corporatisation, we feel their products could be marketed properly," she said.
Corporatisation will give the designers financial backing, infrastructure support and better marketing, she said.
