23 July,2009 08:53 AM IST | | Namita Gupta
Only one local designer will take the stage today. Organisers say that's because they want a mix of talent and from other cities too
THERE'S not going to be too much of Bangalore at the Bangalore Fashion Week.
The number of local designers at BFW, which kicks off today and goes on till Sunday at Hotel Ottera, is disappointing.
Sajad Mahajan, marketing head, Dream Merchants, says: "The reason why BFW has a mix of talent from all over the country and not just Bangalore is because we want it to be a common platform for established and upcoming designers. It's the same during fashion weeks in Delhi and Mumbai.
"Also, since it's the first time, a lot of upcoming designers are getting a chance who would otherwise have been overshadowed. For instance, Raj Shroff was given just a stall at the Wills Fashion Week and he was the only one from Bangalore. He didn't even get his models to walk the ramp."u00a0
u00a0So, why has Raj Shroff backed out of BFW? Sajad puts it down to the fact that he was busy with the Blenders' Pride show.
Choreographers for BFW are Rahul Dev Shetty, Gautam Pavate and Sheetal Sharma who worked with Prasad Bidapa Associates for many years.
Local contingent: Namrata G, Manoviraj Khosla, Ramesh Dembla and Sanchita Ajjampur are among the few designers representing the city file pic
Local not so vocal
Here're the local designers you'll get to see at BFW:
Day 1: Namrata G
Day 2: Ramesh Dembla
Day 3: Rekha Jacob, Sanjay and Shammy Choraria and Manoviraj Khosla
Day 4: Babita Jai Shankar, Sanchita Ajjampur, Lokesh Ahuja and Jason and Anshu.
THE FASHIONABLE WEEK
Day 1 Thursday, July 23
12.00 Noon Opening Ceremony
12:30 PM Abhi & Rahul
12:45 PM Zubin Vakil
02:30 PM Tejas P Gandhi
02:45 PM Neelam Ashley
04:30 PM Parvesh & Jai
06:00 PM Lina Tipnis
07:00 PM Bhumica & Hiral
08:00 PM Namrata G
09:00 PM Abdul Halder
Day 2 Friday, July 24
12:30 PM Koushik Ghosh & Priti Bansal
12:45 PM Pankaj Kumar & Ajit Parihar
02:30 PM Bhakthi Reddy
02:45 PM Kaira Gurnani
04:30 PM Priyanka Thakur
06:00 PM Mohit Falod
07:00 PM Product Launch
08:00 PM Ramesh Dembla
09:00 PM Samant Chauhan
Day 3 Saturday, July 25
12:30 PM Soma Nath
12:45 PM Rekha Jacob
02:30 PM Sumita
02:45 PM Yash Vardhan
04:30 PM Suman Chowdhury
06:00 PM Sanjay & Shammy Choraria
07:00 PM Product Launch
08:00 PM Jattinn Kochhar
09:00 PM Manoviraj Khosla
Day 4 Sunday, July 26
12:30 PM Puja Rajvanshi
12:45 PM Babita Jai Shankar
06:00 PM Product Launch
07:00 PM Sanchita Ajjampur
07:30 PM Lokesh Ahuja
08:00 PM Jason & Anshu
09:00 PM Rocky S
Bidapa to skip BFW
Bangalore's fashion guru is not a part of the city's newest fashion fiesta. Why? We get him talking
What do you feel about BFW?
Who are the people behind the scenes? I genuinely have no idea at all who these people are. I have been busy with my fashion shows, but I am waiting to see how it goes.
It's sad that you are not a part of it. Will you be going to see the shows?
I have not been officially invited by the organisers. My fashion designer friends have invited me, but the venue is really far, so I think I will give it a skip.
Do you think the fashion shows will be professionally handled?
Really, it is none of my business to comment on these newbies in fashion biz. I hope Bangalore gets a nice name out of this fashion week. I wish them luck.
Sheetal Sharma has worked with you and is now choreographing independently. What do you feel about it?
Yes, she was working with us for many years. I just hope she has learnt something while she was here (laughs).
