It's a Fashion Blogger's turn now

Are you ready for Fashion Blogger's verdict?

The year 2009 was all about creative competition, price cuts and free blogs. Although ‘unexpected’, Mumbai fabulously lived up to these challenges


Where would you have heard terms such as ‘Season-neutral’, ‘Fast Fashion’ and ‘Strategic Shift’? Nowhere else but in Mumbai's fashion circles. And trust BT, it made complete sense for it imbibed what the changing times demanded — voice of the new-age fashionista.
Recession-stricken year of 2008 sprang up cost challenges to be dealt with in the year 2009. Every big fashion designer right from Ritu Kumar to Narendra Kumar Ahmed, Vikram Phadnis to Sabyasachi Mukherjee, was forced to cut down on their label prices. However, the positive side to the story was that this recession also brought about higher creativity within the confines of lower costs, simpler yet elegant lines, and most importantly, affordability to the buyer. Naturally, fashionistas were happy buying more and more ready-to-wear garments that went beyond the needs of occasion wear.
Lakme Fashion Week advisory board took a timely note of the financial jolts, for there was no other way out. The body realised that since Mumbai does not witness a strong summer or winter, it remains season-neutral in its fashion sense on an average. Thus holding a fashion week to please a buyer from Paris or Europe did not make much sense when the aam Mumbaiite was keen to move away from the six month forecast schedule (like the format all other international fashion weeks follow) and wanted to buy clothes off the rack within days of seeing it on the fashion ramp. This paved way to a Strategic Shift, Lakme Fashion Week announced Summer/Resort wear 2010 season to be held in March 2010 — A move which the fashion fraternity in other cities in India commended and supported.
Also in Oct 2009, celebrating 10 years of Indian fashion blurred the camps of Mumbai and Delhi. Gossiping ceased and hardcore business called for the designers’ individual wish to showcase whichever locale he/she felt made more business sense without burning bridges.
People alternatively turned to information which was not influenced by a particular organisation. And the birth of the fashion blogger started to show signs of its longevity thanks to the authenticity of his blog information. Interestingly, that marked the process of Fast Fashion as the trend spotted at a particular ramp show was posted at lightning speeds on personal blogs and was viewed internationally. It couldn’t get faster than that.
When 2008 wrapped up, the year 2009 showed clear signs with hope for better business, greater employment opportunities what with every small city be it Chennai or Chandigarh hosting their own fashion week and of course extending better lifestyle options.

Girl with blue scarf says: A blogger comes at no cost. Delivers information quite prompty and instantly. But will the blogger be able to rake in as much respect as a fashion writer of a reputed publication? Yes, indeed the fashion cycle in India is evolving with a boom and now 2010 shall witness it! But are you ready to accept the blogger's unrestrained verdict?

Anil Chopra, advisor of Lakme Fashion Week, fashion experts Pradeep Hirani of Kimaya and Sangita Kathiwada of Melange have imparted their views to create this article.