Click to play videoNew York: Skyscraper heels? Check. Higher hemlines? Check. Bizarre headgear? Check. All the glitzy staples are in place at the Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week for Spring 2010, which wraps up on Thursday.
What is missing is the presence of any Indian fashion designers in a schedule that organisers say has not been shrunk in any way due to the sluggish economy. One of the reasons for their absence - the Indian fashion industry simply hasn't measured up to the demands of this market.
Senior Vice-President IMG Fashion, Fern Mallis says, "The Indian designers still have a ways to go as much as we work with them and as much as I am pushing them and working with them all year round. Many of them are just not ready to do business in this country yet, and ready with the infrastructure necessary to really take a bite out of the Big Apple as we say."
IMG, which organises the Fashion Week in New York, as well as in India, says the decision to move up the Lakme Fashion Week doesn't give Indian designers enough time to come to New York and then prepare for their primary market at home. More importantly, they say, Indian designers need to step up on a lot of levels, including delivering orders on time, being consistent with sizing, and even answering email.
Indian designers have to raise their game to play in the big leagues - that's the harsh but honest message from one of the biggest leagues of all, the New York Fashion Week.
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