A stitch in time means…12

When we heard of the fashion event – Delhi Fashion Week (DFW) presents 12, a two day Fashion Foundation of India organised fashion showing in Dubai – we wondered at the logic behind naming an event ‘12’. We counted the number of participating designers – there were only eleven. Sumeet Nair, director, FFI, laughed when asked about it. “The number of participating designers have nothing to do with 12, the event. Twelve is the figure on the face of the clock – we wanted it to show that we’re encompassing an entire region, Asia. It is an attempt at creating new markets for Indian designers and helping them expand their business. It was a two day event,” explained Nair.

And why Dubai? “We wanted to explore Asian markets. Also, we have to take into account the recession. We’re looking at expanding within the Middle-East, which is the least hit by the recession. Coming here, to Dubai, we realise that we haven’t even made a dent in the local markets. There’s so much potential. It’s also about building regional partnerships,” says Nair, who also hints that based on the strategic tie-ups they manage, 12 could travel across Asia to other nations as well.

But, what kind of partnerships? “We will take back with us a couple of designers who’re selling in Dubai, to the DFW. Also, the people of Dubai and Abu Dhabi now have a sense of what Indian fashion designers can do. And so, I guess, we’ve now made inroads for future interactions,” says Nair, who adds that though they have shortlisted a few names of Dubai designers who could be showing at the DFW here, the names will be revealed only after they go through a “jury process”.

source: indiatimes.com