Debut Season

So Dutta has brought together names like Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna of Cue,Gauri and Nainika Karan,Wendell Rodricks,Zubair Kirmani,Anjana Bhargav,Shane and Falguni Peacock,Manoviraj Khosla,Narendra Kumar and Kolkata-based designers Mona-Pali,Dev n Nil,Abhishek Dutta and Sharbari Dutta among others for the Kolkata Fashion Week between April 2-5. For good measure,Dutta also has Bangladeshi designer,Bibi Russel,a regular in the Kolkata fashion circuit in the line-up. There will also be a showcase by Bengal weavers,who will put forward a display of their cottage industry. “We are planning to hold an auction at the end of the week in aid of the weavers,” says Dutta.

However,the most famous faces of design from the city,Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Anamika Khanna,are both missing in action. Likewise,designers like Swapan and Seema,Ekta Jaipuria and Ruchira Kandhari of the label Ekru,who are regulars at the Fashion Design Council of India-sponsored fashion weeks in Delhi are also not participating. “So far,because of the buyer turnout and the stature of the event,Delhi is great as a branding exercise. We’ll like to wait and watch how the Kolkata event does before we choose to participate,” says Swapan.

In times of economic meltdown,even the Ekru designers are not sure how the week will turn out to be. “We’d rather be cautious about business at this point of time. Hold on to the buyers we already have,before we look at something else,” says Ekta. Dutta though thinks there’s no time like the present to go ahead with his plan. “We have 40 buyers,both domestic and international,some,even from the US and South Asia. It’s a prospect for enhanced business,” he says.

Interestingly,Dutta is reticent to give out details about who these buyers are and what the rates for the ramp shows and stalls will be. While rumours abound that the participating designers are being paid,some of them are forthcoming about the actual deal. “We aren’t being paid to participate,but everything down to the tiniest detail is being taken care of,which means we don’t have to invest anything. Markets like Kolkata and Chennai are important for us,so this gives us an opportunity to explore the scene,” says designer Nainika Karan. The countdown has begun.