New designers making the trip to Tranoi

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New Delhi, May 27:: His visit to the India Fashion Week last season might have raked up a controversy that is threatening to blow the Indian fashion fraternity apart, but Armand Hadida, owner of the prestigious Tranoi Fair, has made sure that his selection for the Parisian event has a blend of the best and the youngest of Indian fashion.

The 13-member team from India has relative newcomers like Atsu Sekhose, Nitin Bal Chauhan and Raakesh Agarvwal, besides stalwarts like Tarun Tahiliani, Ashish Soni, Varun Bahl and Manish Arora. “We had met Hadida at the Paris Fashion Week and he expressed his wish to come down for our Week. He came, had a look around and gave us a list of the guys he wanted at the fair in September,” says Sumeet Nair, executive director, Fashion Design Council of India. Incidentally, some of the senior designers, who are on the FDCI board of directors, have been complaining that Hadida had been given a recommendation list before his visit, which closed the door for other aspirants.

Hadida, who owns the high-end boutique L’Eclaireur, apparently visited the selected designers’ stall, meticulously went over their work and gave them pointers for Paris. “He is a man of few words, but he did tell me that he liked my detailing and was looking for a designer who did clothes that suited the European market, but with an Indian twist,” says Sekhose, 30. Chauhan, who has his platter full with a number of showings at international events this year, says, “He dropped in at my stall after my show and said he liked what he saw, particularly a few items from my autumn-winter 2007 and spring-summer 2008 lines. He gave me his word right there about showing in Tranoi. Later, I got to hear about it from the FDCI as well.” Chauhan will be taking his spring-summer 2009 collection to Paris, comprising a blend of women’s western wear, including summer jackets, dresses and skirts.