Six designers with credible businesses and creative voices argue why fashion weeks are no longer relevant for their brands

Today, March 26, is when the 25th year of Indian Fashion weeks begins to roll out. A series of shows and events at Mumbai’s Jio World Convention Centre under the nomenclature of Lakmē Fashion Week in partnership with FDCI, will mark a quarter century of design, style, business and brouhaha.

Ever since LFW x FDCI revealed its show schedule ten days back, listing participating designers at this edition that will culminate in a celebratory Gala this Sunday, the industry has been abuzz. Between loudly expressed disappointments and hushed, confidential murmurs is a minefield of realities. Or, different opinions expressed without malice or grudges.

Some designers now find fashion weeks irrelevant for their brands, given alternate platforms and opportunities that have opened up after the pandemic. Some find the format ineffective for international buyers while others feel that hefty participation fees can be invested in other ways. There are those who find fashion weeks unsuitable to crafts and textiles-based brands where process is as important, if not more, than the product. Sections of designers say their mindsets do not align with the grammar of sponsorship and shortlisting processes of fashion week bodies. Others feel the showstopper x front row celebrities x PR controlled publicity is formulaic and disinterested in experimental voices.

The Voice of Fashion spoke to seven designers. All—with the exception of Chinar Farooqui—have formerly participated at fashion weeks. They no longer do so. These are all credible brands with stable businesses and consistent retailers in India and abroad. Here is what they have to say.

Aratrik Dev Varman, Founder and Creative Head, Tilla

“Fashion Week and I have had, at best, a flirtatious relationship. My first one, of the three I have done, was in 2014 and left me with a definite sense that I enjoyed it fleetingly but it was not for me. I liked learning about styling,

makeup and choreography, and found the backstage madness a lot of fun, but I did miss a certain intellectual and critical quotient at these events which felt reductive in their glamour. The voice and context of the artisan, a huge part of my brand, was barely represented, even though so many collections showed traditional textile crafts. And I was uncomfortable with the idea of a showstopper—it felt disrespectful to the models, all super professional in their own right. It just didn’t feel like I was talking to my audience and this remains an area for exploration within the format.”

Padmaja Krishnan, Founder and Creative Head, Studio Padmaja

“Fashion weeks have long been an effective platform for brands to showcase their creativity and connect with key industry players. I have showcased at fashion week several times and runways have an unmissable, addictive energy. That said, a creative brand must step back, re-evaluate any marketing/business model and find ways to subvert it. The post-Covid world opened up the possibility to showcase through alternative platforms, and the avenues to reach potential customers and buyers are broader than ever before. Evaluating costs versus benefits is especially true for a slow fashion brand like ours, whose focus is in making simple, elegant, timeless clothes while staying committed to the earth, empowerment of women and marginalised communities, quality over quantity and style over trends. There exists a close connection between cloth, music and human culture. If one could explore fashion week through more intimate, artistic narratives that speak to cultural expression and individual identity, it would be possible to create an immersive experience for viewers.”

Chinar Farooqui, Founder and Creative Director, Injiri

“Injiri has always been deeply involved in the creative process—the nature of our practice demands immersion, unfolding through research, experimentation, and the sustained involvement of artisans over time. This process is neither linear nor bound by seasonal imperatives; it demands immersion, patience, and an ongoing dialogue between material and maker. Fashion weeks, as collective industry events, require a concentrated effort in staging and presentation, they require a different kind of preparation—one that is structured around deadlines and spectacle. For us, the process itself is central, and we choose to dedicate our time and energy to the continuous act of creation.”

Shantanu Das, Founder and Creative Head, MAKU

“Indian fashion weeks have not evolved to be a part of the global fashion week circuit. Their relevance is fading because they are still not able to pull international buyers. The amount of money a designer has to spend to participate in shows along with PR is so high that it makes more sense for a brand like us to invest that money to show at an international trade event in Paris and communicate with buyers directly. I also think that fashion weeks have become boring and repetitive and there is absence of creative progress. The same formulaic format continuing over the years prevents designers from presenting an immersive experience for consumers—it is hard to bring one’s own view of creativity within that formula.”

Hemang Agrawal, Creative Director, The Surekha Group

“Fashion weeks and textile-craft based apparel has always been an unequal marriage. However, back in the day, the weeks did offer such clothing labels a relevant set of audience as well as trade exposure. In the post-pandemic era, the extremely visual-centric platforms do not offer process-oriented fashion a level playing field. With fashion weeks not having evolved, they are unfortunately playing a poor second fiddle to the digital medium and as a result, content creators as well as consumers seem to be revelling in a great celebration of mediocrity. As a conscious decision, we are limiting our exposure to both these mediums and investing in the physical channels both for the B2C (business-to-consumer) as well as B2B (business-to-business) parts of the business.”

Amit Vijaya and Richard Pandav, Founders and Creative Directors, AMRICH

“Our interest dwindled during the Covid years as fashion week was looking for designers to invest in digital films. We felt that instead, a central body that oversees fashion needed to support and guide designers about business, stability and retail. Now, we don’t find fashion week participation relevant as after Covid, we developed consistent buyers who believe in the product rather than big shows. International buyers are not interested in highly publicised events or showstoppers. Whereas Indian buyers largely work on consignments. Also, the amount of participation money needed these days is hefty. We think it is more important for us to spend it on R&D to elevate our label and reach out to new markets. Or, create shows where we have the authority to make a statement instead of following a set of guidelines. Sharp editing, curating by merit to bring deserving names to the forefront is a need of the hour.”