India is all set to host its first digital Couture Week from September 18. The six-day event will be organized by the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) and will give the participating designers a chance to explore their creativity like never before. Speaking exclusively with Opoyi before the main event kicks off, Sunil Sethi, the President of FDCI, says that going digital is the beginning of exciting times ahead. He also says that the onus of presenting the show in the best way possible is more on designers this time.
“I must say digital has made it much easier for FDCI for Couture Week because the onus and responsibility is on the designers to come up with new things because earlier it was a massive physical event and that meant a lot of work on our side in coming up with things. Our involvement was fully with whatever is going on in a physical event and 20 hours were needed to prepare massive sets .Now all that responsibility of things being done in the best way is no longer with us. The creativity is with the designer now,” Sethi told Opoyi.
Talking more about how the shows will work this year, he says that every designer has been given an open canvas to experiment and present couture in the way that they like.
“Which means if they want to do it through FDCI then we are here. (In that) we have created a mini kind of MSA (Main Show Area) in case a designer wants to do something there but that could be an experiment to show that it’s not a ramp show but the way the designer wants to do it. But a lot of people want to experiment in different ways like through a very creative video and that video can be played,” Sethi adds.
Elaborating on the possibilities presented by the new format, Sethi says, “People can think of going out in nature and create one. Also, offsite shows are rarity in couture week but now people are able to go to historical or heritage building and do that or people can create video from within their office or studio office so that is why this season, the designer’s effort is much more than the FDCI’s effort because not only do they have to do the collection bit but also how they are going to present it is also very important.”
“Our idea was to start by saying that life doesn’t end if the physical format is not possible, it is not the end of fashion. It is the beginning of exciting people and bringing them back into fashion is what we have done,” he added.
The Fashion Design Council of India is a not-for-profit organization that works to further the business of fashion in India and ensure its sustainable growth. It promotes and nurtures its over 400 members, who represent the best in Indian fashion. These members include fashion and accessory designers and professionals, educational institutions and corporates.
The FDCI’s calendar of events includes the bi-annual India Fashion Week (prêt) for Autumn-Winter in March and Spring-Summer in October. It also hosts India Couture Week, the country’s most exclusive and premier fashion event, every July. All three events are held in New Delhi. Other than these, the Council collaborates with the Textile Ministry and the Commerce & Industry Ministry, Government of India, as well as other countries and organizations on hosting fashion- and textile-related events and initiatives and creating opportunities for FDCI members across India and abroad.
While talking about how physicality will remain a no show in this fashion season, Sethi says that “I am still a old school person who thinks that physicality is a very important part of fashion.”
“I am still very of that opinion but how digital space has taken but in my four months in lockdown and experimentation with new things for FDCI, social media has proven to me that potential is very large in that. Going forward in future, I see a very good marriage between both physical and digital events. I cannot predict whether digital will surpass the experience zone, maybe time will tell. But I feel both have now become an integral part of taking fashion forward. In fact, digital is a bit more easier and practical .
“I feel that if there is no digital arena then fashion would take big beeping so I am thankful that we are first to do that. It’s the first important digital show that is going to take place in the country and the fact that FDCI has been spearheading and being the leader once again is very important to me because at the end of the day, we are here to watch the fashion designers interest and this is good move and very much welcomed by the couture designers,” he said.
But what about the business aspect?
“The best thing in these four months is that people who are engaging with us have increased manifolds so we are able to provide our full database and get directly to a B2C platform here instead of the B2B platform that we have for India fashion week. We will be partnering with more people who are in this business so if somebody is very big in a wedding portal so we are on the lookout and going to be closing our contracts this year`. We are doing all our own research to bring that to the platform and see more and more people are coming on the platform while the shows are underway,” he said.
