Buyers unhappy with Lakmé Fashion Week

Mumbai: Lakmé Fashion Week's certainly pulling out all stops when it comes to show-stoppers. But behind all the glitz and the glamour of the ramp, do designers really mean business at Fashion Week?

This year, the buyers, both domestic and international, have given designers a thumbs down.

“We used to work with more than 143 designers, we've actually toned them down, we want to work with just 50 serious guys, people who have a long-term vision, a long-term road map, who have a logistic sense, who have the will to innovate and keep adapting and keep adhering to international forecast models,” said buyer Pradeep Hirani.

Designers attempting to court the international market also seem to have missed the mark.

“I’m here looking at winter and what am I seeing? Lots of spring/summer. They should know what they're doing. We shouldn't have to come here and teach them. We should come here and be able to buy it,” complained a buyer, Albert Morris.

“Most of the designers here that we deal with admit to us that international buyers are not the buyers, 98 per cent of the buying is done by the domestic buyers, but the sheen is added, the white skin is added by the international buyers. They are even willing to provide them very small collections at throwaway prices just for the heck of it,” Hirani revealed.

According to some estimates, the designer wear industry was worth Rs 300 crore last year and it's estimated to be growing at 35-40 per cent a year. But when it comes to meeting the demands of the global ramp, it looks like our designers still have to pull up their socks.

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