Lakme Fashion Week grows in pull

Lakmé Fashion Week (LFW) has reported significant growth in the number of buyer registrations as compared to the last season. This year, the premiere fashion event received 185 buyer registrations, of which 143 are domestic and 42 international buyers, from across the globe.

Designer Vijay Balhara, who started his career with Lakmé Fashion Week as an emerging designer, claims, “Within two seasons, I have done business worth Rs 1.2 million. I have already managed to plug in many orders within the first three days of LFW 2011.”

Balhara has roped in buyers from India, London, Boston and New York. “My buyers are 50 per cent outright and 50 per cent consignment. If all goes well this time around, too, l should manage to break my own records before the season ends,” he hoped.

Other LFW designers like Arpan Vohra also managed to woo both international as well as domestic buyers. “I have four-five domestic buyers and two-three international buyers,” he says.

LFW is jointly organised by Lakmé and IMG,. It drew buyers such ase Khaled Mekkawi, who retails from the store K & MAK and is the owner of Ginger and Lace (Dubai). He said, “I saw some great collections this LFW Summer Resort 2011. My budget for India is around $ 40,000. The designers we are buying from this season are Anita Dongre, Gen Next designers Anna Liza Ganguly & Anita Walia, Parvesh Jai, Pallavi Mohan and Amit Gupta.”