2 October 2024 09:30 am Views - 40
What the audience gets to experience is hard work of a minimum of 6 months and a team of around 300 people coming and contributing their bit to make this vision of ours come to life in creating this week of glitz and glamour.
Along with Managing Director Satyajit Mohanty, Sidharrth has transformed GICW into a global platform, where designers showcase their talents, including our Sri Lankan design stars. The event continues to foster international partnerships. After four successful years, it’s great to see a lineup of Sri Lankan designers making their international debut on a phenomenal stage like this.
For me, it was neither.
Neither was I drawn to the glitz and glamour, nor was I bored of the regular clothes because for me, both of them have their own space in the market. Instead what drew me to this world was the play of fabrics, prints, embroideries and all the creativity that goes into creating such a variety of garments. I got to see the craftsmanship and learn about the artisans who put in hours of labour and skills passed down through generations which unfortunately is not getting it's due respect on global platform. That was what drew me to this world to create such platform which would give space to such creators and artisans to showcase their work, which in turn would impact the fashion industry at a very grass root level, and hopefully bring some change in the entire value chain rather than just the end product which a consumer recieves in a typical fashion show.
For almost 20 years now, India has had many big designers already showcasing their collections but with GICW we wanted to create a platform to give opportunity to other designers and brands who are looking for a platform to present their creations.
Q:Fashion has this magical way of making the world feel smaller—like a cosy cashmere scarf! What’s it like playing style ping-pong with designers from across the globe?
Every collection presented is influenced by the designer's culture, their heritage and the craftsmanship of their country. The global world of fashion has yet to explore this.
Q:Sri Lanka’s been strutting down your fashion runway in recent years. How’s it been working with our local talent? And do you think the next big designer could be hiding right here on our island?
We have been working with Sri Lankan designers for the past four years. The amount of raw talent and variety that I have seen coming from Sri Lanka does put me into a very confident position to reinstate my core belief behind starting GICW which is that true genius can come from anywhere and everywhere. So, yes, I do believe talent is not limited to demography of a location, instead it is purely the basis of how free the mindset of the creator is in terms of coming up with the design which could be the next 'it' thing or a viral sensation.
Q:Global India Couture Week is like the Oscars of fashion—how would you describe this dazzling week of glamour and glitter?
Firstly, thank you for comparing GICW to the oscars of fashion but we have just started our journey. There is this very famous line of a poem, "Miles to go before I sleep", every member of GICW believes in this and works with the same attitude. What the audience gets to experience is hard work of a minimum of 6 months and a team of around 300 people coming and contributing their bit to make this vision of ours come to life in creating this week of glitz and glamour. For us, its not just a fashion week but a platform where we want to bring on board Indian and international designers who can experience each other's creations and exchange their views and values.
Q:Small businesses are like the unsung heroes of the fashion world, keeping old-school crafts alive. What’s your advice for them to become the next big thing without losing their roots?
For this season of GICW , the focus was around the cultural heritage and sustainability; we wanted to bring forward the forgotten textiles and shift the focus on the variety and selection of handloom fabrics, giving platform to the brands and designers who are working in keeping the age old crafts alive and working towards the sustainable future. We totally believe this is the way to go and will continue to keep our focus on such designers and brands.
Q:Have you been keeping an eye on Sri Lankan designers? What’s your take—are we on the cusp of something huge in fashion, or is it all just catwalk chatter?
Q:So, what’s cooking for next year’s GICW? Can we expect some jaw-dropping couture moments, or are you keeping us in suspense?
Next year is all about taking things a notch up, that has been our goal since day one of GICW. In terms of sharing, I would like to keep things in suspense for now.
Q:Ever thought about taking the show on the road, beyond India? I mean, why not let the world have a taste of the GICW magic?
As of now, the variety of designers and creators who are looking forward to showcasing their work is so vast that our prime focus is to ensure that we continue to bring those brands and designers forward. But for future, anything and everything is possible.
Q:Do you think there’s still room on the fashion scene for new brands to break through, or is the catwalk getting a little crowded?
Absolutely not, the very birth of GICW was to give opportunity to new talent, keywords being talent and creativity. Our core belief revolves around providing opportunity to showcase collections of designers based on their creativity. We are very open to bringing on board upcoming and new designers.
As for the second part of your question, if you think that the ramp is over crowded, it actually means that their is a market and opportunity. Apart from us (GICW), in the last two years, in India itself many other platforms have come up to give newer designers such opportunities. At the end of the day, it is all about giving designers and brands a value proposition in which they get their due mileage out of a fashion show.
Pix By Sidharrth