New Delhi: From new trends to business opportunities, the 24th edition of Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) spring-summer 2015, starting Wednesday, will have it all. If more than 120 deisgners are set to rock the ramp with a plethora of designs, there will be buyers from countries like the US, Britain and Japan, as also the Middle East, to boost the business aspect of the event. This year the emphasis will be on handloom and trade, an organiser said.
“There are two-three highlights of fashion week this year. Because this is trade event, we are expecting a lot of buyers from both international and domestic markets,” Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) president Sunil Sethi told IANS.
“We have noticed buyers from Middle East bring in a lot of business and this time too there will be a lot of buyers from Middle East, especially from Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
"Also, buyers are coming from London and US. They have prominently been placing orders worth millions,” said Sethi and added that Japan will also attend the event as a buyer.
While textile revivalist Aneeth Arora will open the five-day fashion event at Pragati Maidan, the main venue, ace fashion designer Rohit Bal will bring the curtain down at the Qutub complex.
Bal's grand finale collection is inspired by the rich and the lush Mughal gardens in Kashmir and is named “Gulbagh”. The designer is also paying tribute to all the sufferers of Kashmir floods through his line.
Sharing the high point of the collection, he said: “I have kept the look and the feel contemporary with strong Indian sensibility, which is my trade mark.”
If Bal is taking inspiration from valley of Kashmir, Samant Chauhan's line will have strong influence of Bhagalpuri silk from Bihar.
“The collection is titled 'Dream' and it is all about romance and illusion. The collection represents flow in silhouettes blended seamlessly with Bhagalpur silk fabric with an added element of special silk thread embroidery in the theme,” the designer told IANS.
Other designers who are going to create new fashion statement on ramps includes Wendell Rodricks, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Nida Mahmood, Ashish N. Soni, Gauri and Nainika, Malini Ramani and Anupama Dayal while Abraham and Thakore, Ranna Gill and Namrata Joshipura who will display their work at stalls only.
Continuing the trend of promoting budding designers, FDCI has invited the names like Rina Singh, Payal Singhal and Sneha Arora to showcase at the WIFW.
FDCI will also pay tribute to handloom weavers.
“This year, we are giving a lot of emphasis on handloom. We are having a special show as a tribute to the Indian handloom weaver. And that show will be done by Wendell Rodricks Also, there is special zone where lot of designers will be showcasing their handloom products within their stalls,” said Sethi.
