The venue
The new Pragati Maidan — with its red sandstone plazas and giant stone-and-glass constructions set amid fountains and open amphitheatres — played host to Indian fashion’s most defining seasonal event from October 11 to 15. It was the fashion industry’s return to a beloved venue, one that was (even prior to the makeover) designed to handle large crowds and intense traffic. In short, it works, like it always did. But something felt amiss, or maybe I was just feeling nostalgic for the times where the designers’ stalls sat prominently at the centre of the ground level, and we could watch the bustling business of fashion taking place while we attended the shows upstairs.
This time, the stalls were tucked away behind sponsors’ kiosks, and were smaller in size and number, with just above 80 designers opting to hire one for the five-day period. Why are designers choosing to forego fashion week? Is it the absolute control that social media gives them over their storytelling?
