Decoding the runway revenue model

For all those who dig style and fashion Lakme Fashion Week LFW is an important source of what will be in vogue season after season because it throws open collections by diverse established and emerging designers under the same roof This season categorised as SummerResort saw 88 designers showcase from 15 cities While the event was high on fashion drama and Bollywood the business aspect witnessed an alleviation too Designer Krishna Mehta showcased a pret line which was a noembroidery holiday collection u00a0Pic Shadab Khan Money matters ldquoThis season the feedback from our buyers and designers on business was very encouraging While we had a few firsttime buyers including Knots Boutique Kenya Bibi London UK The Secret Space Kerala Maalgaadi Cochin and Beblaa UK we also had several names who have been buying at LFW since its inception Some buyers placed orders for as many as 400 piecesrdquo reveals Saket Dhankar HeadFashion IMGReliance Echoing a similar stance designer Krishna Mehta a regular participant at LFW for several years now reveals that this has been the best year for her in terms of bookings ldquoBusiness is of prime importance to me if you are showcasing a collection otherwise whatrsquos the point A creation by Soumitra Mondal Pic Pradeep Dhivar In fact I was a bit worried this time because LFW happened late and most stores close their booking by now for summer collectionsrdquo she says adding that LFW takes place before Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Delhi but this time it was the other way round and she couldn39t take part in Wills because she was abroad ldquoI didnrsquot know if I would make enough business at LFW But this year has been the best for me in years Irsquom glad that apart from Mumbai I got orders from Cochin Chandigarh and Ludhianardquo shares Mehta Designer Swapnil Shinde For designer Swapnil Shinde who started off as a Gen Next designer in 2006 LFW has been a lucrative option It began with ldquoone buyer mdash Satva in Bandra and season after another he stocked business with Creo every two months Aza every foursix months and international orders with Haya Couture Dubai 75 South Africa and a whole lot of personal clients from New York London Durban and Johannesburg among othersrdquo Pradeep Hirani of Kimaya Buyer talk The buyers who are the most important aspect of the revenue side of the event are a happy lot Pradeep Hirani owner of multidesigner store Kimaya who placed orders with Namrata Joshipura Narendra Kumar and Vaishali S says that this season has shown a marked improvement than earlier shows ldquoItrsquos been very strong from a buyerrsquos perspective Compared to the last season this timersquos collections were better Designers put in a lot of effortquot he reasons Seconding his opinion is Falguni Jhaveri of Fuel who made bookings with Vikram Phadnis Nupur Kanoi Sneha Arora Soumitra Mondol Stephany and Karishma Jamwal The best part she believes was that most collections had a very good retail value ldquoPreviously Gen Next designs would be good but somewhere the wearability aspect was lost this time theyrsquove kept that wearability element intactrdquo she gauges and is also glad that Gen Next designers were geared with production and were ready to deliver clothes by the delivery time u00a0ldquoIn the past wersquove seen that most Gen Next designers lacked the capacity of delivering on timerdquo she adds Falguni Jhaveri of Fuel Suggestion box We asked the experts to suggest ideas for Fashion Week to be an allround success gt Swapnil Shinde They need to focus on fashion first and then on celebrities gtu00a0Arpan Vohra Organisers should focus more on bringing MiddleEastern buyers for better business opportunities gtu00a0Krishna Mehta LFW should have happened earlier for designers to get more time to deliver their orders The first week of February is ideal gtu00a0Pradeep Hirani They need to break away from the mould Itrsquos getting a bit predictable year after year in terms of the event For example when one attends Milan Fashion Week the event takes over the entire city There are so many fashion events at all times in different parts of the city Similar is the case with Japan Fashion Week mdash we need to do something on those lines gtu00a0Falguni Jhaveri Most designers are never at their stalls when buyers drop by so threefour trips have to be made They should be around ideally mdash to connect with the buyer Such criterion should be laid down Also most designers donrsquot keep their collections in the stalls before the show This should not be the case because ultimately itrsquos a trade fair we need to see the collections even if wersquove missed the show Breaking new ground ldquoOver 210 buyers registered for Lakme Fashion Week SummerResort 2013 What is specially interesting is that our buyers within India are no longer concentrated in the metropolitan cities only the buyer base have expanded to Tier 2 cities like Raipur Pune Nagpur and Ahmedabad They not only include buyers who retail through stores but also those names online platforms This year we even saw countries like the United Kingdom Singapore Canada and the United States at LFWrdquo mdash Saket Dhankar HeadFashion IMGReliance u00a0