India fashion week: Is it only a metro mania?

doweshowbellyad=0; Neha Kapur More fashion picsDelhi and Mumbai get a high dose of fashion each season and now the designers' focus is shifting to shores abroad...
But are the other Indian cities getting neglected in between?
It's that time of the year again when the media bandwagon goes berserk covering the fashion week down to its minutest details. From what designer shoes and bags the socialites are toting to the hottest things shown on the ramp, almost everything becomes a point of great interest for all.
As the fashion movement in the country continues to spurt wider wings, the message is as clear as blue sky - Indian fashion is soon becoming a global phenomenon.While a battery of designers are busy putting up their collections in the Delhi fashion parade, there are many who are slogging themselves for fashion shows abroad.
Ashish Soni is all set to embark on a New York fashion week tour, designer duo Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna are giving final touches to their collections to be showcased at New York towards the end of the month. Manav Gangwani is Hong Kong bound and many others have off shore commitments. So from India to destinations abroad the Indian fashion tales will continue for some time.
And no sooner than you thought that the fashion frenzy would rest for sometime, the next edition of Lakme fashion week will take off in Mumbai. The same Delhi –Mumbai glitterati would be seen shuffling their styles between both cities. So is the Indian fashion becoming too city centric? What restricts the Indian designers from exploring options within the country first and then showcasing their styles abroad?
Designer Ritu Kumar answers, "Its not that the Indian designers want to ignore any of the cities. I guess most of us from the fraternity must have showcased in various locales like Kolkata etc." But how about taking Fashion week to other cities? To this the designer quips, "Organizing a fashion week is one mammoth effort. It takes so many resources and a whole lot of infrastructure. It may be very cumbersome both for the organizers as well as the participants to adjust to a new location each time."
doweshowbellyad=0; Pradeep Hirani More fashion picsDesigner Kiran Uttam Ghosh says, "I am a Kolkata based designer and we do have scope for great fashion here. When I went to Rome Fashion Week last year, I could even spot similarities between Rome and Kolkata. Living in this city has never once made me feel that I am disconnected to any part of the world. So if a great fashion event happens here I will be very excited."
On why the designer can't choose a city like Hyderabad or Ahmedabad for a high end fashion showcase, the designers admit that the prospect sounds good but even in countries abroad the fashion mecca remains a city which is known for its best feasibility of such an event.
Also since most of the designers are based either in Delhi or in Mumbai, these two cities become the obvious choice. Also the buyers who come from abroad are aware of the capital city and also of Mumbai due to its Bollywood connection but a newer location can add to the confusion.
Wendell Rodricks is one of the very few designers who have chosen Goa as his destination. The designer says, "Its fun to come to both Delhi and Mumbai for fashion showings but I have found peace in Goa. The quaint little place serves good for my creative satisfaction." Pradeep Hirani of Kimaya fashion house adds, "Goa is a fun place and is seen as a great style spot. People associate it with fun, fervour and fashion."
But the larger question that still remains is the real Indian junta deprived of the fashion stirs that happen only in the two cities? Model Deepika Padukone who hails from Bangalore says," It's a place that serves as a good breeding ground for models and fashion here is big. But of course nothing compares to the fashion scene in Mumbai."
According to designer fraternity, when it also comes to economics and statistics, smaller cities can offer much more in much less costing and there also has to be a market to appreciate the designs. Pradeep Hirani says, "I am sorry to say but fashion amongst the masses is still evolving in India. There is a general distaste about fashion. I remember during my last visit to Paris I realized that even a driver there visits a Versace suit and I am seriously not joking about it. So once the fashion awareness seeps in the mindsets of the people all across the country then perhaps there will be greater enthusiasm for such an effort.”
So while the rest of India continues to watch glimpses of semi clad women setting up newer style statements on the ramp only on their TV sets for the Delhi and Mumbai brigade the fun with fashion continues...