Pragati Maidan play host to WLFW

New Delhi, Sep 4: The spirit of fashion will take flight when the curtains are raised tomorrow upon the eagerly-awaited Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) at Pragati Maidan.

Fashion heavyweights, including Rina Dhaka, Tarun Tahiliani, Vikram Phadnis and Ranna Gill, will cast a spell with showcasing of their collections through topmost models at a tumultuous five-day exposition.

The WIFW will see participation of 72 top established designers from across the country who will enliven the atmosphere during the 30 ramp shows. Asia's largest fashion extravaganza will also provide a chance to greenhorns to learn and interact with the industry's best.

The five-day fashion fiesta will be a tribute to designer Rohit Khosla, the pillar of the modern fashion industry in India. A special wall commemorating his contribution has been installed at the venue along with an audio visual.

Not just that, to celebrate the 10th edition of the fashion event, a 'History Wall' has been erected that will be a walk down memory lane on fashion, highlighting various memorable benchmarks since the inception of Asia's leading Business of Fashion platform.

The burgeoning demand of the fashion industry pushed the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) to shift its stage to the trade promotion site. FDCI's sole aim behind the move was to provide its established and upcoming designers ample area to showcase their talent, leaving no room for space constraint which could have otherwise marred the popularity of such events.

Talking about Pragati Maidan, Ms Rathi Vinay Jha, Director General, FDCI, said, ''Pragati Maidan meets with FDCI's objective of accommodating an ever growing event and reinforcing WIFW as promoting the 'Business of Fashion' in every sense. The change in event venue will definitely allow us far more freedom to set up the venue without the restrictions faced in a hotel. It's like a canvas that can be decorated in any way and our team on ground will ensure that we have the best facilities available to the participants and guests during the event.''

According to Vice President Marketing, ITC's Lifestyle Retailing, Atul Chand, ''Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week is the country's most prestigious fashion event and has been growing in size and stature from edition to edition. The new venue of the event offers both the required amount of space as well the ability to be customized in terms of decor and functionality. We are looking forward to a spectacular tenth edition of the event at the new venue.'' 'Hall number seven' of Pragati Maidan, first-timer to hold the fashion week, has been specially designed to conduct the event of this grand size. Extra efforts have been put in to match the grandeur of five and seven star hotels so no participant and visitor miss the hotel ambience and traetment.

The venue comrises a cluster of eight halls situated at the spacious ground floor which is spread over a sprawling 7323.25 square meters, with an additional 1300.00 square meters being built by the FDCI.

A number of facilities like transportation and valet services for minimum walking at the giant trade venue, besides food and beverage at on-site restaurant by Olive Bar and Kitchen, would be available to participants and buyers for the comfort of guests invited for the shows.

Care will be taken for comforting the tired feet and weary guests. The Wills Lifestyle VIP Lounge and the Chivas CDs Lounge have been set up for special guests and visitors.

On security front, over 300 security guards and 105 bouncer man will be guarding the site round the clock along with fire security personnel and medical attendants to meet any untoward incident.

FDCI, a non-profit organisation, is the apex industry body in the field of fashion design in the country. Its primary objective is to provide a cohesive platform for Indian designers and act as the mouthpiece of the industry at all relevant platforms, in a bid to promote Indian fashion - at home and abroad.

Essenza Di Wills, ITC's brand of personal care and grooming products will be the associate sponsor for the 10th edition of WIFW.

Chivas and Nokia will continue their association with WIFW as sponsors. Elle magazine will be the magazine sponsor and Le Meridien hotel will be the hospitality sponsor for the event.

Spread over 149 acres of prime land in the heart of the national capital, Pragati Maidan has today evolved as the ideal center for hosting trade fairs attended by business visitors from India and abroad.

UNI