Before egos and interests trailed high heels and crazy silhouettes onto the Lakme India Fashion Week runway, Delhi was the mecca for aspiring designers. From the choicest social butterflies and the most prestigious buyers to jostling shutterbugs and curious scribes, India’s only fashion week promised all the works for a fledgling designer with promise. However, now, with four fashion weeks already in sway and another in the offing, the excitement seems to be diluted by some nagging questions. Will debutantes get the generous slice of attention and adulation in the crowd of new faces?

While the Lakme Fashion Week this year launched 75 new designers, the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week presented around 55 newcomers while the Delhi Fashion Week flaunted about 22 new faces. “When we launched LFW three years back, our aim was to define the future of fashion and the future obviously lies with new designers,” says Anil Chopra, advisor, Lakme. Chopra maintains that the sudden mushrooming of fashion weeks have not affected the brand value associated with LFW, but at the same time, he is unable to say the same for newcomers elsewhere. A feeling echoed by designer Abhishekh Dutta. “What is very important for a designer, new or veteran, is reviews in the media. However, with consecutive fashion weeks, people don’t get time to breathe and reflect. Naturally, the reviews suffer in quality and quantity, that is of no help to a designer,” says Dutta who had showcased his collections in WLIFW.

Kolkata-based designers Rumi and Bappaditya Biswas, whose label Bailou specializes in hand-woven scarves, dupattas and sarees, debuted in the Delhi Fashion Week this year organized by Sumeet Nair’s Fashion Foundation of India. “We have been in business for six years now but never considered a fashion week before. We thought a breakthrough, with our rather wearable and simple collection, was not possible until Sumeet Nair’s wife suggested we took part in Delhi Fashion Week,” says Bappaditya Biswas. Biswas, who feels that multiple fashion weeks mean more exposure for aspiring designers. Small firms, like Bailou, would probably find it difficult to break even in the industry with a lone fashion week around, but business, say designers, doesn’t support visibility always.

“It’s true that so many fashion weeks make it easier for new designers to showcase their talents. But visibility often doesn’t translate into business,” says Dev, of designer duo Dev r Nil who debuted in LFW 2006. There’s no denying the fact that establishment as a designer comes with business, and foreign buyers who play an important role in recognizing a designer’s potential, are confused about the credibility of a fashion week and its participants. “Our fashion industry is not at par with those abroad. There can be several fashion weeks in countries in the West, but over the years they have established their significance in the world fashion calendar,” says Dutta who feels that the country needs one well-rounded fashion week to establish itself as a fashion major for international buyers.

Amrita Hans, who showcased her line of handcrafted semi-precious jewellery for the first time at the Delhi Fashion Week, finds the idea of so many fashion weeks a little intimidating. “The important buyers are mostly divided between the several fashion weeks now. For better business, it makes more sense to participate in as many fashion weeks possible. However, that would mean that both the exclusivity and the quality of the collections suffer,” says Hans. Vouches Kolkata designer Preeti Jhawar who made her fashion week debut in WIFW 2006. “Whichever be the week, established designers naturally hog the limelight because the fashion weeks here do not revolve around different styles mastered by groups of designers,” says Jhawar. The multiple fashion weeks would make more sense if they concentrated on different types of clothing feels Jhawar. “It would be better if we had fashion weeks exclusively for bridal wear, prêt etc. That way, they would be more focused,” echoes Dev. Are the fashion fathers listening?