The day one at WIFW went through major crisis as the venue did not have fire clearance and the shows went cancelled. This is the first time that the venue for the event had shifted to an open area (NSIC Grounds, Okhla) and the fire clearance somehow went unseen. But definitely the strength of this massive fashion body of India FDCI withstood its grandeur as inspite of all the chaos the designers, the buyers and the various business and trade went on till any official statement from the FDCI. First time in the history of eleven years did something of this magnitude has happened which of course was not a natural calamity but definitely had the potential to explode into one had it not been for the trust and unity among this eponymous body the tragedy would have magnified multiple times. The designers though absolutely clueless of what is in store for the fate of their shows showed their calm their positivity that the show at WIFW will go on, is the reason that everything falls into place by the second day. The media remained equally supportive and entrusted their faith in the event and Sunil Sethi, President FDCI, even when he was not present at the venue to provide any official statements.
It’s been a little difficult for us as well to report live about the whereabouts of the event as our faith could not be dwindled either and more than anything else we felt we are a part of this and it’s our
event that is going under crisis, thus you cannot go for a running commentary when something befalls on your family. Nida Mahmood who was to start the first show kept saying that she was absolutely positive that her show would take place even if it is late. Tarun Tahiliani commented what could he say when such a big tragedy had occurred. There had been anxiety and feelings that are difficult to explain and communicate at that point of time. And we all eagerly waited for Sunil Sethi to come back and tell us the details. And he did at around 6 ‘o clock in the evening and requested everyone to vacate the venue for some constructional changes so that it could be prepared for the next day. Bingo! At last we have a start and we are not clueless anymore. Sources said that the changes that need to be taken care of are considering the fire line around the show area and the exit doors were too small and few as per the fire professionals. The WIFW official blog also had its first blog entry late in the evening stating that the second day would begin as per schedule as per the Day 2 and extending thanks for the support to the 150 designers, 70 buyers and 350 media professional.
It’s a new day a new start and the shows are about to start and I sign off with full faith in the spirit of fashion.
Posted by : Matsya at 05:50 AM
