Pardon me, but the slip is showing

NEW DELHI: In what seems to be fashion showbiz''s biggest showdown, a designer has claimed his stolen garment showed up in a Mumbai-based colleague''s collection at the India Fashion Week on Wednesday. The longstanding complaint that Indian fashion is more about bickering than business could not have found a better opportunity to rear its head. In what has been the most serious charge ever in Indian fashion circles, Delhi-based designer Nikhil Mehra said that he spotted an outfit designed by him at Krishna Mehta''s show on Tuesday. Mehra said that he had unveiled the off-shouldered linen dress at a fashion show at the Hyatt in Delhi a couple of months ago. Model Carol Gracias had bought the outfit from Mehra and was wearing it during the fashion week. During one of the fittings, during which models try out a designer''s clothes to check out the size, Gracias lost the garment, which later showed up in Mehta''s collection. Immediately after word spread, the two designers were huddled in a meeting with Vinod Kaul, executive director, Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), which organises the fashion festival. The meeting was held to figure out how exactly the goof-up happened. Both the designers are at a total loss. "We are still investigating," said Mehra. He would not say Mehta had stolen the outfit, but did not rule out any possibility. "I won''t imagine that (stealing) to be the case. I have known Krishna for long." Kaul and Gracias could not be contacted despite repeated attempts. Designers and choreographers refused to comment. This is not the first time Mehta has courted controversy. She had boycotted the first Fashion Week and openly expressed her resentment over Delhi being the venue. The divide between the Delhi and Mumbai designers over the issue had then finally erupted in a full-blown free-for-all at a well-attended press conference. Rohit Bal was heard mouthing four letter words at the Mumbai lot in full view of the media. While any such incident is unlikely to attract legal action, fashion industry insiders feel that it will surely tarnish the designer''s image. It, however, remains to be seen if the FDCI takes action against Mehta if found guilty.

TOI

Pardon me, but the slip is showing