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"THERE’S A STRONGER BUZZ AROUND LIFW NOW," FEELS THE LADY BEHIND THE NEW YORK FASHION WEEK

Them and Us

Namrata Sharma Zakaria

New Delhi, April 27: All growth is in the right direction,’’ says Fern Mallis, executive director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, who was also responsible for conceptualising the New York Fashion Week 12 years ago. Mallis is in India for the second time, visiting the Lakme India Fashion Week (LIFW) to give it a shove in the international direction. Her first time was in 2000.

‘‘I think that from then on (since 2000), LIFW has been very organised and there’s a stronger buzz coming out of it,’’ says the lady who is now vice president of the international event organising giant, IMG. ‘‘But everyone’s always asking where the buyers are. We need to understand that people are only still finding out about LIFW,’’ she explains. Besides, many more countries are starting their fashion weeks. ‘‘There’s South America, South Africa, Canada, even Turkey. International department giants and specialty stores have a lot to choose from,’’ she says.

Yet Mallis believes that the LIFW is of a high level. ‘‘But if you ask me to compare it with New York’s, I cannot, as that’s on a different level.’’ The USA markets are structured differently too. The country has been hosting Market Weeks for buyers for years before the fashion week was born. The fashion shows were held at various ends of the city and people could not make it to most of them. ‘‘For Michael Kors show (the designer headed the European brand, Celine, and left it recently to substantiate his own growing label), the ceiling packed up midway through the show,’’ she guffaws. Supermodels such as Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford on the ramp, and fashion editors such as Suzy Menkes (of the International Herald Tribune) had pieces of plaster falling on them. The next day’s newspapers read ‘We live for fashion, but we don’t want to die for it’. And that was Mallis’ call to organise and modernise the fashion movement, and that, gave birth to the New York Fashion Week.

In India, Mallis intends to see as many shows as she can, but especially Tarun Tahiliani’s, who she knows well, and Anamika Khanna’s, whose clothes she had loved when she first saw them. ‘‘India’s on everyone’s minds,’’ she says. ‘‘Prada’s new collection is inspired by saris, gold embroidery and prints. Saks Fifth Avenue and Browns are here on a talent hunt and the cream of the crop will make an impact. Fashion is not a very well kept secret, you see.’’