Men at Work

It has been a turbulent year for the Fashion Design Council of India FDCI with serious internal differences that eventually led to a breakaway faction that started the Delhi Fashion Week.

Written by Paromita Chakrabarti

December 25, 2008 12:00 AM IST

3 min read

Here comes a fashion week exclusively for menswear, in addition to the seven in Delhi and Mumbai every year

It has been a turbulent year for the Fashion Design Council of India FDCI with serious internal differences that eventually led to a breakaway faction that started the Delhi Fashion Week. However, in an innovative move, the FDCI has announced the first menswear fashion week, slated to take off from July 10 to 12 in Delhi. 8220;It8217;s something we had been planning for a while. We thought it was time we set it in motion,8221; says Sunil Sethi, president, FDCI.

While the autumn-winter 2009 edition of the pret week is scheduled from March 20 to 24, Sethi says the decision not to incorporate the menswear week in it was deliberate. 8220;We did not want to dilute the event. Besides, menswear is a different genre and needs equal attention. We have put it in sync with other menswear weeks internationally to ensure that the dates don8217;t clash,8221; he says.

In India, womenswear has always been the selling point, with a motley of designers like Ashish Soni, Raghavendra Rathore and Arjun Khanna doing full-fledged menswear lines. Men8217;s clothing has never quite been a crowd-puller here, and now with the global economic slowdown, will menswear manage to gain priority for buyers, both domestic and international? Sethi assures that the timing8217;s right for the new men8217;s fashion week, which has been positioned around the wedding season to accommodate both the designer and the domestic clientele. 8220;The largest market for menswear revolves around the wedding season. Most people do their trousseau shopping then. So this will give our designers enough time to cater to their clientele as well as those looking to shop for a wedding in the family. July is a good time for managing orders. This way, designers will get enough time to deliver on their bookings by September and then get on with the spring-summer work. So it works out well for international buyers as well,8221; he says.

As of now, about 30 designers have expressed interest in the week. Generous inputs and support have been volunteered by menswear designers like Rocky S, Manoviraj Khosla, JJ Valaya, Varun Bahl, Manish Arora and several others. The number of participants will be finalised by the end of January.

8220;We are not going about it with any pre-requisites in mind. The market8217;s in turmoil and we8217;ll decide according to the response we get,8221; says Sethi.

While the dates have been decided, the venue and sponsors have yet to be finalised. The FDCI is looking at a completely new set of patrons for this event. Incidentally, the venue for the pret week too is open to discussion with the board toying with the idea of moving it to a hotel from Pragati Maidan. 8220;That8217;s the only decision still pending,8221; says Sethi.

Paromita Chakrabarti

Paromita Chakrabarti is Senior Associate Editor at the The Indian Express. She is a key member of the National Editorial and Opinion desk and writes on books and literature, gender discourse, workplace policies and contemporary socio-cultural trends. Professional Profile With a career spanning over 20 years, her work is characterized by a "deep culture" approach—examining how literature, gender, and social policy intersect with contemporary life. Specialization: Books and publishing, gender discourse (specifically workplace dynamics), and modern socio-cultural trends. Editorial Role: She curates the literary coverage for the paper, overseeing reviews, author profiles, and long-form features on global literary awards. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent writing highlights a blend of literary expertise and sharp social commentary: 1. Literary Coverage & Nobel/Booker Awards "2025 Nobel Prize in Literature | Hungarian master of apocalypse" (Oct 10, 2025): An in-depth analysis of László Krasznahorkai’s win, exploring his themes of despair and grace. "Everything you need to know about the Booker Prize 2025" (Nov 10, 2025): A comprehensive guide to the history and top contenders of the year. "Katie Kitamura's Audition turns life into a stage" (Nov 8, 2025): A review of the novel’s exploration of self-recognition and performance. 2. Gender & Workplace Policy "Karnataka’s menstrual leave policy: The problem isn’t periods. It’s that workplaces are built for men" (Oct 13, 2025): A viral opinion piece arguing that modern workplace patterns are calibrated to male biology, making women's rights feel like "concessions." "Best of Both Sides: For women’s cricket, it’s 1978, not 1983" (Nov 7, 2025): A piece on how the yardstick of men's cricket cannot accurately measure the revolution in the women's game. 3. Social Trends & Childhood Crisis "The kids are not alright: An unprecedented crisis is brewing in schools and homes" (Nov 23, 2025): Writing as the Opinions Editor, she analyzed how rising competition and digital overload are overwhelming children. 4. Author Interviews & Profiles "Fame is another kind of loneliness: Kiran Desai on her Booker-shortlisted novel" (Sept 23, 2025): An interview regarding The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny. "Once you’ve had a rocky and unsafe childhood, you can’t trust safety: Arundhati Roy" (Aug 30, 2025): A profile on Roy’s recent reflections on personal and political violence. Signature Beats Gender Lens: She frequently critiques the "borrowed terms" on which women navigate pregnancy, menstruation, and caregiving in the corporate world. Book Reviews: Her reviews often draw parallels between literature and other media, such as comparing Richard Osman’s The Impossible Fortune to the series Only Murders in the Building (Oct 25, 2025). ... Read More

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