By Shweta Thakur, IANS
Mumbai : Simone Tata, chairperson of Trent Ltd, which owns the retail chain store Westside, says that the country’s fashion industry is on the growth trajectory and it is very important to encourage budding talent.
“The Indian fashion industry is doing well. Everyone wants to be fashionable today. And youngsters have pronounced it more,” Tata told IANS.
“When you look around, everything from a mobile phone to a washing machine is designed. It is becoming more professional as well. Since youth is the future of the country it is very important to encourage the talent latent in them,” she added.
The business honcho was at the Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) to announce Westside’s association with emerging designers.
“With an endeavour to promote budding designers we will give some of them a platform to showcase their prêt collections across Westside stores in the country,” she said.
A distinguished selection board comprising of Tata, renowned creative expert Narendra Kumar and Westside buying head Gaurav Mahajan will “select the designers on the basis of creativity, technical knowledge of garments and textiles, commercial acumen and vision for future of fashion”.
Working under the aegis of Kumar and a non-binding policy, the select emerging designers would create high-end prêt designer wear for the brand, which would be on the floor by the coming festive season.
However, the company hasn’t zeroed in on the number of the designers it would associate with and how many outfits they would design for the store.
“The initiative will bridge the gap between designer wear and the fashion conscious consumers. Also, it would help designers understand the market better, follow deadlines and reach a wider customer base.
“We already have an association with well known style experts like Rocky S and Anita Dongre and the alliance has proved beneficial for both,” said Tata.