The Hindu Business Line : Lakme India parts with FDCI to walk alone

INDIA'S fledgling fashion industry has split vertically into two with cosmetic major Lakme, which has largely led the fashion industry into the limelight with the Lakme India Fashion Week, announcing that it will host its own fashion event in India beginning March 2006.

Lakme's five-day fashion event, titled Lakme Fashion Week, will be held in Mumbai between March 28 and April 2, 2006 just days before Fashion Design Council of India's fashion week kicks off in New Delhi on April 5.

Lakme's six-year contract with FDCI ended this April and it did not renew the contract, reportedly over the new terms for title sponsorship of the India Fashion Week. The announcement has the fashion fraternity in a flap and has left the 100-odd designer community with the prospect of having to choose between the `official' FDCI fashion week and the Lakme event which is being backed by event management and fashion major IMG, which owns the high-profile fashion weeks in New York, Los Angeles, Australia and Europe .

Round one of fashion's unseemly spat kicked off from Mumbai by the Lakme's Vice-President, Mr Anil Chopra, who is believed to be peeved about both the sponsorship deal offered to him (he has to pay three times more) and the fact that the FDCI proposes to hold the fashion week only in Mumbai.

The FDCI Director-General, Ms Rathi Vinay Jha, however, is not taking the bait, as yet. "There is no confrontation as far as we are concerned. If Lakme is holding its own fashion event in Mumbai, it will provide more market exposure to the designers in the city," she said talking to Business Line. The Lakme event, meanwhile, is promising the designers the possibility of showcasing their work in IMG's international fashion events such as the Olympus Fashion Week in New York, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios in Los Angeles, Mercedes-Benz Australian Fashion Week and the Singapore Fashion Festival.

"Our relationships in the global fashion world date back to 20-30 years and we bring to the table a compelling case for the fashion design industry which will get both local and global opportunities to showcase their talent and market their brand," says Mr Ravi Krishnan, Senior Vice-President, IMG.

"The new development is unfortunate because this is one industry where we could have gone out and made a mark and competed globally. But with two conflicting events we might end up sending the wrong signals to the world and potential buyers could probably end up being confused," says designer Rajesh Pratap Singh.

"The positive side, however, is that may be this will provide a platform for more designers to showcase their talent," he says.

Designer Ashish Soni, who found international fame when he was invited to show his work at the IMG-New York fashion week a couple of months ago, said the new event would, in all probability, grow the domestic fashion industry. "This is a huge country and I am sure there is enough space for both the events to coexist. In fact, not everybody can make it to the India Fashion Week event in Delhi and they can now make it to the Mumbai. For the fashion designing industry as a whole it is a good thing because it means more platforms and more opportunity to do business," he says.

With four months to go for the India Fashion Week, the search is still on for the title sponsor for the event. While no official figures are available, industry sources peg the sponsorship cost at over Rs 25 crore for a 3-year contract.

"We can't find a sponsor overnight but we are hopeful that we will tie up a title sponsor this month," Ms Jha said.

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