Lakmé Fashion Week (LFW) and Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) are two of India’s most prestigious fashion and design platforms credited not only for delivering path breaking innovations in Indian fashion, but also for identifying and nurturing unrestrained design talent in the country. With a vast creative line-up emulating the essence of Indian design and craftsmanship, the biannual events attract fashion buyers from all over the world.

The richness and intricacies of Indian hand embroidery and textiles put India on the world map ages ago, but the disruption being created by today’s designers on a global level is unmatched. LFW, which is jointly organised by Lakmé & RISE Worldwide (formerly IMG Reliance), and FDCI India Fashion Week occur twice a year to showcase top trends for the Summer/Resort // Spring/Summer and Winter/Festive // Autumn/Winter seasons respectively. Spread out across 4 phases, these fashion weeks allow buyers ample time to research and curate pieces for their stores.

FDCI has always been associated with the business aspect of fashion – their way of working and schedule being in sync with the season that the world goes through and according to the international fashion cycle. This gives the designers, buyers and industry the opportunity to prepare for the future. Lakmé Fashion Week, on the other hand, is more current, showcasing the trends and market pulse along with consumer interest in the present, which allows catering to customer needs on the spot and build demand.

But when you don’t know what’s going to happen six or eight months later, when the buyers are not coming in, when retail stores have not opened and the goods are just lying there, it results in unsold inventory and in a time like this, the significance of trends is questioned.

Given the grim situation caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the entire fashion and textile industry has had to rethink ways of operating, doing business and catering to its customers. In the absence of physical shows, the two powerhouses of Indian fashion decided to collaborate this season to launch a one-of-its-kind joint schedule in the form of a phygital fashion week.

The first-ever seasonless Digital First Fashion Week took place from 16 to 21 March 2021 and featured some of the most talented names of the Indian fashion industry. In addition to this, both FDCI and LFW continued their buyer programmes as launched in the last season.

Unbridled creativity came in the form of new trends and innovative concepts surrounding sustainability, ethical fashion, consumption, comfort-first clothing, inclusive sizing and versatile fashion – in sync with the global dialogue surrounding COVID-19 and its ramifications.

Overseas business results in a big share of revenue for Indian designers; so this move on the part of LFW and FDCI ranks high on the advantages list. By cutting out on multiple fashion weeks, they have not only merged their prowess, but also saved on cost and time – a winning proposition for both designers and buyers during this tumultuous period. Of course, the issue of lack of touch and feel arises but the good outweighs the bad.

THE COLLABORATION

“FDCI and LFW are two prominent powerhouses in the world of fashion in India and we have always shared a very positive relationship. Post-pandemic, we realised that the old dynamics have to change and thus we decided to pool in our resources to strengthen our commitment towards growing the Indian fashion industry,” Jaspreet Chandok, Head of Lifestyle Businesses at RISE Worldwide told AR in an exclusive interview. “This year’s FDCI x Lakmé Fashion Week has hopefully created a lot more buzz than usual because of this partnership and we presented the best of curation and designers from Delhi, Mumbai as well as other cities in India.”

According to him, fashion weeks will have to keep at pace with modern evolutions and continue to innovate. They will though always remain relevant, as a place of business for designers and craftsmen and a conversation generator around culture, craft, inclusivity and sustainability.

“I worked as a buying agent for many years before starting Alliance Merchandise 30 years ago, so alliances come very naturally to me,” Sunil Sethi, Chairman of FDCI, told AR. “Even at Sunil Sethi Design Alliance, I joined forces with different designers to form an alliance in order to collaborate and come up with ideas together. I have always believed in this concept of collaboration so when this opportunity came up, it was like a natural step for us.”

Not many people would be aware that this association goes a long way back to the year 2000. At the time, Lakmé had reached out to FDCI as a sponsor – a relationship that lasted for almost 6 years.

In 2021, after a gap of 15 years, this collaboration is back again where FDCI has teamed up not only with Lakmé but also RISE Worldwide.

Commenting on the same, Sunil Sethi said, “People say that necessity is the mother of all invention but in this case, the necessity already existed but nothing required to be reinvented, because we already knew that between Lakmé and us (FDCI), there were only two fashion weeks of any significance in India.”

He then went on to add, “Everyone talks about sustainability but they don’t realise that sustainability also means pooling of resources, spending less money on unnecessary things/cost cutting, etc. Both LFW and FDCI understood the importance and need of a common seasonless showcase in the current times and collaborated as one by pooling in their resources.”

VIRTUAL SHOWROOMS

As a part of their Digital First Fashion Week, LFW introduced a fully digitised version of their showroom, called the LFW Virtual Showroom . This turned out to be a game changer as it allowed buyers to access, and designers to showcase the collection, while sitting in the safety and comfort of their homes.

Shedding light on the same, Jaspreet said, “As a participating buyer, one will be able to see the collections of all the participating designers along with a properly structured line sheet for order taking. The platform has been designed keeping in mind how business usually takes place, hence has features like multiple currency pricing, ability to collaborate with their respective teams while placing orders, request for customisation of styles, creating a wishlist and even the ability for buyers to schedule video call appointments with the designers. The buyers also receive updates regarding their orders on the portal itself.”

FDCI partnered with a specialist for their B2B Virtual Designer Showroom concept, wherein every showroom was equipped with an advanced app with individual payment gateways, individual showrooms with products and look books which buyers could login and see. It also enabled buyers to put in requests for virtual meetings enabling buyers and designers to hold virtual meetings, select specific pieces for orders and negotiate prices without having to leave the page.

“This entire process took place with no profit going to the FDCI – everything was directly between the buyer and designer,” Sunil Sethi explained, adding, “In addition to this, we decided to go ahead with our B2C platform as well – the FDCI Designer Stockroom , where designers could showcase their stock from previous collections at special rates for consumers. We even had LFW support us in this, by promoting our Stockroom which goes to show the common goal of helping the fashion designers to do some business.”

The platform has given fashion buyers another two months post the fashion week to go through each of the designers’ products and place orders.

One important thing pointed out by Sethi, is that buyers on a whole were drawn towards products that were value for money. This theme followed on to FDCI’s Designer Stockroom as well, where anything which was higher priced did not move and anything which was much below its original price or heavily discounted, completely sold through.

ADVANTAGES AND CHALLENGES

“I wouldn’t say that the phygital fashion week was as good as a physical one, but the purpose this year was to stay afloat and have a sort of a continuity, and do things to increase and boost the business,” Sunil Sethi highlighted, adding, “It was a mixed reaction, some designers did really well, whereas some designers did not receive the anticipated orders – it depended completely on the capacity, hunger and demand of the buyer – but if that itself has not been functioning in the same manner as compared to what it was pre-Covid, then it is normal for order volumes also to go down.”

Speaking about the buying behaviour, Jaspreet expounded, “There is a definite shift towards comfortwear and athleisure, and stores are picking up less occasionwear for now. We are seeing some traction on our online initiatives but there is still some way to go for buyers to accept this as the new normal. Currently there is no doubt that buying sentiment remains low and we are hoping for a recovery by Q3.”

One challenge seemed to come in the form of frustration levels prevalent amongst international buyers who are not only missing coming to India to experience the warm hospitality and attending a physical fashion week, but also the wide variety of products that they were being exposed to year after year.

Commenting on the same, Sunil Sethi said, “An important feedback we received was that buyers were happy to discover newer talent and designers this way, because at a physical fashion week, invariably the meetings take so much time that buyers end up meeting the same 7-8 designers each time, and with the shows happening, there is very little time left for them to experiment and try out new designers.”

Having said that, there is no denying the fact that the biggest challenge this time, was to create a safe environment and more a case of everybody’s creativity being challenged. Lakmé Fashion Week created a bubble for their shows and FDCI arranged for an in-house show set-up/studio at their own office wherein they shot more than 16-17 shows.

“Digital formats have allowed designers to take their business to audiences, without geographical restrictions. Social media has democratised fashion, and digital fashion weeks have turned fashion’s insular bubble on its head by introducing an inclusive, level playing field. As we move forward, fashion weeks will have digital programming partnering physical experiences to provide an integrated experience,” Jaspreet added.

DEVANGI PAREKH

Creative Director at Aza Fashions, India

AR – What’s your take on the move on part of Lakmé Fashion Week and The FDCI to partner together and hold a combined fashion week? What does it signal for the future of the Indian fashion industry?

DP – It’s great that Lakmé Fashion Week and The FDCI have collaborated to create one joint fashion week as the alliance makes it easier for buyers and retailers to view everything on one platform twice a year. Similarly, for designers who earlier showcased at both fashion weeks, this makes more commercial sense – as they only have to shoot once. The alliance is sure to leverage and build upon the tremendous experience, industry knowledge and strength of relationships both the fashion bodies come with, thus attracting the best talent. In terms of industry forces, fashion and retail have witnessed heavy consolidation in recent times, and this trend is expected to continue over the next few years. Moreover, phygital as a concept, which marries IRL and URL, is here to stay for the foreseeable future.

AR : How has the buying season changed during COVID-19, with digital and phygital formats taking the lead, and you not being able to see or feel the design detailing and fabrics first-hand? How have you been placing orders – What all did you have to change and adapt to?

DP – I definitely miss physical fashion weeks! Beyond the shows, there was so much activity that would happen in the stall area. The experience of spending 3-5 concentrated days at the fashion week venue, where designers unveil their creations and share their inspiration, and industry members from across the country connect and exchange ideas cannot be recreated digitally.

Post-Covid, buying has largely been digital; however, for larger buys, we do set up in-person meetings to view and understand the collection better. Buying digitally, feels a bit more transactional – the personal and social connect with the design team that would happen at the fashion week stalls is something we miss.

However, overall everyone has adapted extremely well to the shift. We get a lot of details from designers around the fabrics used, the methods of embroidery employed, and imagery to help understand the garments better. Wherever required, we request to see pieces in person. What’s important is that neither work nor customer satisfaction has been hampered as a result.

The shift to a phygital format for fashion week, where all shows are available on social media for everyone to watch has furthered the democratisation of fashion. While shows were available online earlier, they didn’t get the kind of viewership they now do.

With everything available directly to the consumer, and easy access to designers and brands, fashion and luxury have become more accessible. This actually challenges retail buyers to strengthen their unique voice – the way in which we perceive the trends, curate the pieces and filter the collections ultimately has to be very sharp, resonate with our clients, and add value to their shopping journey.

AR – What shows and designer collections stood out for you during the FDCI x LFW phygital collab fashion week and why?

DP – Anamika Khanna’s show was a synthesis of fashion, art, and individuality. True to her style, each piece was meaningful, fashion forward and evocative. I loved how she communicated the idea of impermanence through the show.

Bloni’s show was brilliant and gripping; Akshat used marine plastic waste textile in the pieces and showcased gender fluid fashion exceptionally well. Manish Malhotra’s collection was extremely regal and grand – a bride’s dream come true!

I always enjoy watching the GenNext show because of the fresh perspective it offers; this season, Rahul Dasgupta gave menswear an innovative and much-needed upgrade, with textured and structured statement pieces that were beautifully crafted.

AR – Name some of the designers/labels you have placed orders with for the coming season.

DP – A majority of shows have shifted to a See-Now-Buy-Now format. We are already living with many of the collections straight-off-the-runway on Azafashions.com.

These include Pankaj & Nidhi, Amit Aggarwal, Limerick by Abirr N’ Nanki, Geisha Designs, and Ritu Kumar. We launched Payal Singhal’s collection at the Aza Juhu store. We’ll be receiving many more for the stores and website, including Anamika Khanna, Manish Malhotra, Masaba and others.

AR – What are the top fashion trends set to dominate the near future?

DP – Fun, happy, mood-lifting prints (Pankaj & Nidhi, Masaba, Bodice, Ritu Kumar, Payal Pratap), athleisure (Masaba), jewel tones + colour blocking, tie & dye, a return to heritage crafts & handlooms, the use of sustainable fabrics or recycled waste materials, and structured/architectural surface ornamentation (Amit Aggarwal, Suneet Varma and Rahul Dasgupta) are some of the key trends which are expected to get bigger.

ATINIRMAL G. PAGARANI

Founder and Curator at VESIMI, Dubai

AR – What’s your take on the move on part of Lakmé Fashion Week and The FDCI to partner together and hold a combined fashion week? What does it signal for the future of the Indian fashion industry?

AP – I feel that this is the smartest thing that they have done – we have all heard of the phrase, ‘you scratch my back, I’ll scratch your back’ , and we all know that what the fashion and textile industry is going through… so this collaboration has come as a sort of a boon at a time like this.

Prior to this, designers were usually confused or competing thinking of whether to take part in LFW or FDCI, or do both – it is an added expense for a designer to do both fashion weeks. This sort of collaboration also saves a lot of cost not only for the designer but also for Lakmé and FDCI.

FDCI doesn’t really have the Bollywood advantage which Lakmé is good at, and I feel that Lakmé doesn’t get buyers as aggressively as FDCI does, because FDCI probably is older and a more aggressive platform which is more business oriented; so I think the synergies are superbly matched – it’s one of the smartest mergers, and I wish it is a permanent model because it makes it convenient even for buyers to just go under one roof and find everything – they don’t need to first fly to Mumbai and then figure a flight to Delhi – especially with international buyers like us.

It’s a win-win for everybody – for buyers, for designers, for the set up people and media – media needs more content, so it would prefer two different fashion weeks but I think currently everyone is looking at cutting costs, so this is a smart cost-cutting proposition.

AR – How has the buying season changed during COVID-19, with digital and phygital formats taking the lead?

AP – Digital does not do that much justice – it is obviously better to meet people in person, go through the fabrics, customise things according to our customers and you are also in a sort of a zone because you are not only in that one stall with one designer – you’re going through many other things which allow you to relate things better such as the colour of the season which a lot of people are doing, or an interesting print, or an interesting technique of embroidery which a lot of people are doing — so it’s always better in physical.

That being said, we all have to pivot and the way things are moving, I’m glad that these guys have moved into a digital playroom really quick, in a very smooth manner.

AR – What shows and designer collections stood out for you during the FDCI x LFW phygital collab fashion week and why?

AP – The shows that stood out the most for me, were the ones where people went to view the shows in their cars, the Masaba’s x Boat show stood out because of their impressive line-up of concept saris , their westernised kaftans . Masaba understood that it’s now time to introduce a lot of resortwear because people are travelling and with her price points, no one is going to think twice before buying a product.

Actually all the designers did pretty decent work, I just feel that the designers did not give in as much – what happens is that when you see someone’s fashion show you try to note what has changed in terms of their designs – I don’t think anyone stood out as much this season as most designers are doing something that they have already been doing, but with very minor variations be it in terms of prints, or an embroidery, or style.

I think this is because of the lockdown, as they have been sitting with a lot of dead stock and they don’t want to increase expenses. I don’t blame the designers because everyone needs to cut costs during this period. I also feel that a lot of these designers who had junior designers in their offices, don’t have them now because of expenses so the creativity aspect is also a little lull.

But then again, I can’t cry because at the end of the day, the collection that they are sending us is still selling well with our consumers.

Arpita Mehta’s collection also stood out – she always sells amazingly well… she is giving more concentration to prints now, which has led to better price points, whereas earlier her pieces had started to become heavier. I think Arpita also has very smartly pivoted by adding more prints within her collection and still managed to make it look heavy. Even her silhouettes have become a little resort-y or destination wedding friendly and such pieces are doing really well for our market.

AR – What are the top fashion trends set to dominate the near future?

AP – I think as long as the outfits are destination wedding friendly – when I say destination wedding, it does not mean a wedding in Bangkok or Bali, I mean weddings which are smaller and more intimate. So, do not throw in embroidery, do not peg pieces at crazy high prices.

Some of the wealthiest people are also spending very wisely now because they know that they cannot repeat Indian outfits. They will still go and spend on jewellery, bags and shoes because they know that they can repeat these accessories – you can repeat a bag even a 100 times and no one is going to say that you’ve repeated it but if you repeat an Indian outfit more than twice, then people are going to notice.

Saris are also doing well for us which usually don’t, so this was a surprise product for us in 2020. Consumers are happy to buy a sari and style it in different ways – be it with a blazer or a sexy blouse.

Apart from that anything to do with resortwear – floating kurtas like the ones Arpita Mehta has done, are performing really well. I’ve picked up many Kaftans , because of the resort aesthetic attached to it as it’s a good transitional piece for a function by the pool or an afternoon brunch and these prove to be easy outfits to wear.

Lehengas on the other hand can never stop – people love lehengas. Also, in the past year many people have started taking great care of their health and we noticed that somebody who would never wear a short blouse before, is now okay wearing something more revealing – skin show has increased quite a bit. And it also has the up-cycling advantage where they can repeat the blouse with a sari to create a new look.

RAMAN JOHAL

Director at House of Raina, Canada

AR – What’s your take on the move on part of Lakmé Fashion Week and The FDCI to partner together and hold a combined fashion week? What does it signal for the future of the Indian fashion industry?

RJ- I think it was a fantastic move in the fast paced direction that the world is heading.  With time becoming a rare commodity, it’s a great advantage having access to both Lakmé Fashion week and FDCI in one place.  It helps international buyers connect with more labels and see more shows in a single trip.  I feel that this move signals more collaboration for the future of fashion where different companies can work together for the greater good, creating more opportunities for designers and buyers.

AR – How has the buying season changed during COVID-19, with digital and phygital formats taking the lead?

RJ- Buying was a bit difficult at first as we wanted to pick up a few new designers last season but were not able to physically see their garments.  We relied mostly on references from Lakmé’s directors to help us narrow down on brands that would be suited for the quality and style that our clients were looking for.

Buying definitely has changed its course for us this year as we have had to adapt to the needs of a new client, The Covid Bride . Buying this past year has become focused on facilitating to this type of bride with minimal stress in the delivery process.

AR – What shows and designer collections stood out for you during the FDCI x LFW phygital collab fashion week and why?

RJ- Payal Singhal’s show stood out for us as a beautifully executed show. We were engaged for the entire show as she fully took advantage of the outdoors creating a mood that brought a light and airy feel even while stuck indoors. The fashion was beautiful and well suited to the current needs of our non-bridal clients who have spent this past year just wanting to be comfortable.

Manish Malhotra’s show also stood out as he brought what he does best in bridal grandeur.  His show showed a light at the end of the tunnel where we may one day be able to get back to wearing ornate pieces for extravagant events that we all so sorely miss attending.

AR – What are the top fashion trends set to dominate the near future?

RJ- We feel that prints and light and airy styles will dominate the next year as people slowly start transitioning back into attending events.  With limits still in place we think that clients will dress more for comfort.

AR – Name some of the designers/labels you have placed orders with for the coming season.

RJ – Payal Singhal, Aisha Rao, Punit Balana, Ridhi Mehra, Shyamal and Bhumika, Tarun Tahiliani

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