Officials of the company that hosted the earlier fashion weeks in the city have differences of opinion and have parted ways. Therefore, this February Kolkata will host two separate fashion weeks.
Last year Kolkata witnessed its first ever fashion week. It was a big occasion considering that established Mumbai models like Candice Pinto and Carol Gracias, and city designers like Neeta Lulla and Narendra Kumar Ahmed took part in it.
However, just a few months later things have gone awry. There seems to be a rift within the body organising the fashion week with the ramp managers claiming that they have ‘issues’. Officials of the company that hosted the earlier fashion weeks in the city have differences of opinion and have parted ways. Therefore, this February Kolkata will host two separate fashion weeks — Kolkata Fashion Week (KFW) Season 3 and Kolkata Fashion & Lifestyle Week (KFLW) Season 1.
One of the co-directors of the company, Yudhajit Dutta, who went his separate way, will host KFLW under the banner of his new company from February 23 to 28. The dates for KFW are yet to be confirmed, but a clash on the calendar seems imminent.
Prateek Sen, co-founder and co-director of the company, confirmed that they would host KFW at a five-star property. He says, “Unlike the last two seasons, this time KFW will be a trade event. Mornings will be reserved for business and shows will be staged only in the afternoons. We are in the process of a tie-up with a Latin American fashion property.”
Amidst all this, the city’s designers are divided on their views about multiple fashion weeks. While Monapali says both organisers have approached them, Kiran Uttam Ghosh is wary of the fatigue associated with two fashion weeks.
She says, “Abundance makes for redundancy. Fashion weeks are good only if they benefit anyone. Too many of them, particularly in one city, is not healthy. There is a lot of talent in Kolkata but they need to be nurtured in the right way. Though in Europe and United States there are multiple fashion weeks, the designers and their collections differ. If we can follow those international standards only then it makes sense.”
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}