THE INDIAN fashion industry has certainly come off age since the days when all that it could muster were the names of a few known designers like Rohit Bal, JJ Valaya, and Ritu Beri in the circuit. The present fashion circuit is laden with several talented designers who are well known for their expertise in their respective domains, not only in the national arena, but in the international podium as well. So, what really influenced the growth of the Indian fashion industry to such a phenomenal degree? The answer is not very difficult to unravel.

 

India is one of the oldest civilisations in the world, presenting itself as the converging point for a large number of cultural groups professing varied customs and traditions. Respective customs and traditions bind each of these groups to adopt their own way of dressing, thereby inspiring budding fashion designers to experiment with a huge plethora of options. What is noteworthy in this context is the fact that no matter how large the array of options there are for the designers, their final designs always portray an element of ethnicity that acts as a major crowd puller in the markets. As more and more fashion designers recognised the potential of the country to provide ample ground for their creations, they went on a designing spree and brought about a renaissance of sorts in the fashion industry. The generally adopted way of dressing up in the traditional clothing gave way to the adoption of a new cosmopolitan way of dressing that was highly fashionable and was the right cliché to woo the GenNext.

 

Very soon, magnified by the large-scale appeal of these contemporary creations among the trend aware population, which comprised of more than the up-scale urban crowd, a new wave of promotional campaign was ushered in. Tasting initial success with their abstract creations, designers sought to take the couture culture to the next level through road shows and fashion shows in major parts of the country. The gimmick, of course, worked perfectly as expected and made the designers pretty well known faces, owing to the media exposure of the events.

 

Lakme India Fashion Week is one such annual mega event that witnesses the gathering of the nation’s best fashion designers like Rohit Bal, Tarun Tahiliani, Ashish Soni, Rohit Gandhi, Rahul Khanna, Rina Dhaka, Manish Arora and Ritu Kumar, as well as buyers from the home turf and abroad. One good turn out of such events is the exposure of the designers into the international stage, which consequently facilitates profitable business for the Indian fashion industry.

 

A look at the schedule of some of the designers tells you all. Bal is all set to dazzle the audience at the next season of the Paris fashion week, while newcomer Charu Parasher gears up to take on the stage of the Dubai fashion week. The list of destinations seems endless – you name it, you have it. Paris, London, New York, Milan, Dubai, and Australia are some of the popular international fashion arenas. It’s a little wonder therefore, why the Indian fashion industry has become all the rage in the past few years.