Male Storm

‘Death of a Tree’ is the theme of Shantanu-Nikhil’s collection. “It’s a collection with an ecological message,” says Shantanu Mehra. “It’ll be a mix-and-match,but primarily handloom fabric,” he says,adding that the textures will have a “3D effect”. Fresh from a show in Paris,designer duo Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna are still picking out the colour scheme and style for their creations which will mostly be in linen.

Vijay Arora’s inspiration is men in uniform. “There will be 30 pieces based on uniforms worn in the armed forces,” he says. Expect a lot of olive greens,camouflaged colours andwhites in cotton,silk and wool from him.

Rajesh Pratap Singh will stick to ethnic,handwoven-fabric signature style but “around 40 per cent of our buyers are outside India andfor Indian menswear to be easy-to-wear for them,I am giving it a practical twist.”

While the audience watches the models strut by in the latest designerwear,the organisers have their sights firmly on the business,now that the pall of recession has lifted. “Last time,we found it difficult to find buyers. But a lot of international buyers have expressed interest this year,” says Sunil Sethi,president of the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI). Sponsor Van Heusen,too,has promised FDCI that its dealers will directly contact designers if they want to buy their clothes. “We are flying in 100 dealers from across the country to the event to convenience interactions,” informs Sheetal Mehta,COO of Van Heusen.

Though the grand plans are in place,all the permits are not. FDCI hasn’t yet got permission from the government authorities to allow designers to put up stalls in the space outside the venue,The Grand Hotel.

— with inputs from Deepika Nath