Off, on, or at back: it146;s centrestage at the Week!

Fashion Design Council of India is hosting Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week at Pragati Maidan, and its splinter group Fashion Foundation of India is holding Delhi Fashion Week, about 15 km away, at Vasant Kunj.

If the buyers 8212; most of them with limited budgets 8212; want maximum variety at minimum prices, they would have to take a look of both shows after jostling through ever-so-disorderly and chaotic traffic on the Capital8217;s roads for an hour at least, says an international buyer.

8220;There is no logic for organising two shows at the same time8230;. Buyers are hopping from one show to another and even then not able to properly study the creativity of Indian designers,8221; Kimaya8217;s owner Pradeep Hirani said. Echoing similar views, Dar Usha, managing director of Kuwait-based Hiba Al-Ateeqi said, 8220;Earlier it used to be easy as Delhi had only one fashion week.8221;

But it8217;s difficult for buyers to 8220;attend the shows as it takes too much time to commute from one place to another. We do not expect the fashion industry to be divided.8221;

And the designers, too, are not happy with the split as they used to showcase their talent together; that is, before the creation of Sumit Nair-led FFI. Rohit Bal, one of the country8217;s leading fashion designers, said: 8220;I wish we all can come together again. That will be more productive and beneficial for the Indian fashion industry.8221;

Fellow designer Bobby Grover said, 8220;If divided, the fashion industry will not survive. We all need to come together again to be powerful and have better global reach.8221;