A fashion workshop prior to LFW '10
Sayanti Banerjee, Feb 20 2010



An eminent panel of designers and buyers came together for a fashion workshop aptly termed as 'From Sketchpad to Closet'. The panelists shared their personal experience and valid inputs as key take aways for the audience that comprised students from the fashion designing institutes like International Institute of Fashion Design (INIFD), one of the chief organisers of the workshop.

In order to motivate the aspiring designers from the very beginning, successful designers like James Ferreira, Anuj Sharma, Aki Narula and Narendra Kumar shared their journey so far. They also gave valid advice keeping in mind the participants for the Gen Next (generation next designer category) who need to qualify in order to showcase their creations at the Lakme Fashion Week.

Fashion designer Narendra Kumar shared, "You should try to put forward something that the larger canvas can appreciate. At the same time, you should have your feet on the ground so that you can look around and understand what the next big thing is going to be. All this you cannot do within the confines of a class room. Also consistency is very important in your work." To this Anuj Sharma added, "I don't think resources are important and I personally don't go by trends. One should keep evolving as a designer. Marketing is the second aspect first you should put yourself into the product. That's how I got to my 'button masala' creation that has been very popular. Now I am thinking of adding rubber bands to the same. I feel improvement of your work is personal improvement at the same time."

James Ferreira pointed out, "There has to be a reason or a justification for every element in your design." Aki Narula voiced similar opinion by saying "Trust your instinct and do something new everyday. Make atleast two to three collections totally for your satisfaction." The over all sessions focused on every aspect of the fashion business right from ideation to silhouttes, relevance of fashion shows and finaly how to sell to the buyers.
 
Sangita Kathiwada, Owner of Melange boutique, has been a dedicated buyer over the years. From the buyer's perspective she pointed out, "The price points of designer wear in India is astronomically high. So in order to share the risk we need to opt for consignments. Thus we end up doing three part buying in the process. It would be a much better scenario if we can have the creations showcased at our studios or that of the designers' and we can strike a deal instantly. The price points should be worked out aptly, in advance."