Dearth of buyers worry participants

With barely 48 hours to go before the fifth edition of the mega event kicks off, designers who have paid over Rs1 lakh to participate are pensive about the lack of buyers

With barely 48 hours to go before the fifth edition of the mega event kicks off, designers who have paid over Rs1 lakh to participate are pensive about the lack of buyers
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With just 48 hours before the start of the fifth edition of Bangalore Fashion Week (BFW), the organisers are still pensive about business. With a budget of over Rs 1 crore and 20 designers participating in the four-day event, everything else is in place, but where are the buyers? After investing about Rs 1 lakh to participate, many
first-timers are toiling in their workshops with the hope of having a good run at the event.


OOmph: The event promises to be high on glamour and celebrity
quotient. Representation pic

Participants have reason to worry since they have not got a list of buyers attending the event. Event organisers, Dream Merchants, countered these fears claiming that their website 'BFW Labels' focuses on solving just that problem.

"With this multilingual website, participating designer's collections are posted online so buyers from around the world can have a look and place orders. Last season we generated around Rs 80,000 through the site and hope to exceed those numbers this season," said Feroz Khan, Creative Director, Dream Merchants.

No sale, no show
Hyderabad-based designer Zubin Vakil, who showcased his designs at the first edition of the BFW said, "The significance of a fashion week is not just entertainment and drama. Designers put in a lot of effort, energy and money and while good press and visibility is great, it should ultimately culminate in Moolah."

Agreeing to the above, designer Neelam Ashley said, "I agree that business at a fashion week is more to do with an individual designer and their collections, but it is important for organisers to furnish a list of credible tie-ups."

All prepared?
Having drawn flak over the last four seasons, Sajad Mahajan, MD, Dream Merchants, said, "Over 500 invites have been sent to buyers and we are awaiting confirmations." City-based designer Ramesh Dembla said that the event is growing each year and the organisers should get a fair chance at establishing a foothold in the industry. "I wish there was such an event when I had entered the industry," he said.

Meanwhile, Ruben Joseph, in charge of the buyers and designers from the organising team said that though they had local buyers, they are hoping to rope in international buyers as well." While the event promises to be high on the glamour and celebrity quotient, it remains to be seen if the same excitement will show when it comes to business at the event.