When 27-year-old Jalandhar-based fashion designer Sidharth Kakkar sent in his application to be a part of Jabong?s India Online Fashion Week (IOFW), India?s first online shoppable fashion week which went live on July 25, little did he know that he would end up being one of the final 15 designers to be shortlisted for the mega event.
Looking to encourage next-generation fashion designers, models, hair stylists, photographers and make-up artists by giving them a platform to showcase their work, the IOFW aims to make affordable designer clothes accessible to Indians at the click of their mouse.
?India is full of talent, but there are not enough platforms to help people showcase their expertise. The IOFW is one such initiative to bridge the gap between aspiring artists and the dynamic fashion industry, and enable them to showcase their talent to the world,? says Arun Mehra, CEO, Talenthouse India, a crowdsourcing platform, which is partnering with Jabong for the event whose grand finale is on July 30.
The fashion week can be viewed live on http://www.iofw.comwww.iofw.com.?For the IOFW, we received an outstanding number of entries from all parts of the country. We also leveraged our alumni networks and social media platforms to reach out to talented artists,? says Praveen Sinha, founder and managing director, Jabong.
Surprisingly, besides metros like Delhi and Mumbai, entries poured in from tier II and III cities like Aurangabad, Bikaner, Dehradun, Dhanbad, Guwahati, Lucknow, Meerut and Nasik, among others.
One such candidate is Kakkar. ?There is a market for everything that you make. But there are giants out there, who have already captured that space. With a platform like the IOFW, budding artists like me can reach out to the right audience and occupy a bit of that sustainable space,? he says.
But isn?t a traditional ramp show the dream of any designer? ?The charm of a traditional ramp show, undoubtedly, is something different. But these shows function under many constraints like the limitation of space and audiences. There are limited passes distributed among the media, prospective buyers and others. The IOFW certainly has an edge over them, as the show will be aired live, reaching out to a larger audience and hence ensure better exposure,? Kakkar says.
Agrees 23-year-old fashion designer Shreya Mistry, one of the final 15: ?The IOFW is a one-of-its-kind fashion week which is completely different from traditional fashion shows that have been happening for years. Not only has the IOFW given us the opportunity to showcase our talent to the world, but also a great opportunity to sell our collections on Jabong.com.?
