Accord industry status to fashion industry: Prasad Bidapa

The government should accord industry status to the fashion industry and support corporates and designers to create a cycle of wealth to benefit the country and share it equally among all stakeholders who make the products, renowned fashion guru Prasad Bidapa said today.

This status should be given as the fashion industry employs people in large numbers, he said.

"Let us put all the eggs in one basket and tell the government to support the corporates and designers to create a cycle of wealth, which will benefit everyone in this country and make sure it is equally shared among all stakeholders as 90 per cent is going to the designers and rest is going to other stakeholders. This imbalance should change," he said
 

The participation of the government is very important as it has very deep pockets, Bidapa told PTI at a fashion conclave organised by Phoneix Market city.

Moreover, companies like Reliance are beginning to pump in money to promote Indian designers to create India specific brands and at the same time bringing a lot of international brands into the Indian market, he said

"For too long we have been tailors to the world. Now we have to become designers to the world. The time is coming and it is a very short time away," he said.

The government can also promote Made In India concept to boost Indian brands in the world market, he said.

"Khadi is a concept. It is more than a product. For Indians it is an emotional issue because it makes one feel that we are free men because Gandhiji used it as a symbol of freedom. So the government has a very big responsibility, primarily by declaring fashion as an industry," Bidapa said.

Textiles Minister Smriti Irani has been encouraging the Khadi sector as it was reflected in the programme organised at Banaras where she invited weavers and people with deep pockets in the hope of creating a partnership, Bidapa said.

He said owners of Madura garments and Aravind textiles, "who have deep pockets", should promote Indian designers like Abraham and Thakore, Sabyasachi Mukherji and Tarun Tahliani to create Indian brands for the global market.

He also said global brands were created by financial and advertising support from companies who made millions of dollars.

"Do you think Indian designers cannot do it? They can do it very well, if not better. Today Indian designers are so sensitive to what is happening globally and they are able to create beauty at a lower price," he said.

Bidapa said the next five years could see India influence and strengthen global fashion markets as it's population would cross 1.2 billion and have great purchasing power.