Response has been disappointing

Fashion stalls

Since its first edition, ‘Blender’s Pride Bangalore Fashion Week’ has had an interesting side activity — stalls given to the designers as a part of the full package, so as to allow them to show their work to visitors. In theory, this is a great idea — not only do the visitors have plenty of time between shows to browse, but it also allows young designers to use this as an effective interface. In practice, however, this is far from the reality.

In the recently-concluded eighth edition, many designers had opted not to use the stalls at all and empty mannequins were seen lying around. Metrolife speaks to a few designers to find out their experiences with the stalls.

For young and up-and-coming designers like Sandhya Reddy, who runs a label called ‘Studio Vanille’, these stalls are an opportunity to take up without having to think twice. “I basically see it as a way to build up a network between the buyer and the designer. I’m a beginner in this industry and I’m here to make contacts, not only to show people my work. And in that respect, it has been quite helpful,” shares the optimistic designer, adding, “there’s a lot of scope to display your work for people attending the fashion show. Though I’ve just had people browsing so far, I think it will eventually translate to sales.”

Others, though, have confessed that the response has been disappointing. “It hasn’t helped my work at all. I’ve put my stuff up on all four days of the show and people have come and appreciated my work. But that’s about it,” says Akshita Jain, whose debut show took place at the fashion week.

There are also some designers who had a good experience. “Everyone has been allotted stalls and some chose not to use it. But I feel that stalls are a good way to showcase your clothes and take them off the ramp. Normally, on the day that a designer has his or her show, the stall stays empty because the clothes are used. On the other days, they should keep the stuff on display because in case someone missed the show on a particular day, they still get to know what a designer’s collection is like,” notes designer.

Anjali Rao, who claims to have received more than just enquiries and compliments.
From the organiser’s perspective, the stalls seemed to have matched up to their expectations, though they are waiting for feedback from the designers themselves. “The stalls give more exposure to the designer’s line,” informs Sajad Mahajan, marketing director of Dream Merchants, which put the whole show together.

“For a lot of interested buyers at fashion weeks, the presentation isn’t enough. For instance, they can’t touch the fabric that the model on the ramp is wearing. Stalls may not help in terms of orders but act as references to the designs they saw,” he sums up.