New Delhi, Aiming to return traditional Indian wear to the runway, the country's inaugural Couture Week is set to be launched Sep 16-21 at Mumbai with 12 top notch designers showcasing their collections.

"Over the years, traditional Indian garments have all but disappeared from our fashion shows. More importantly, the craftsmanship that Indian artisans are so well known for seems to have taken a back stage. We need to revive this," fashion impresario Sumeet Nair, who will be the consultant for the show, told IANS about the event.

"We've noticed that if designers showcase Indian garments at fashion weeks, they are criticised because of the impression that such events are meant to display only pręt collections," Nair maintained.

"There is also the feeling that buyers who attend fashion shows are essentially looking at foreign markets and thus would not react to Indian designs," he added.

In a happy turn of events, the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) will be endorsing the Couture Week that is being organised by the newly floated Fashion Foundation of India (FFI).

This also sets at rest speculation of a split in India's fashion fraternity that had been triggered by Nair's exit in June as the FDCI's executive director.

"In fact, the Couture Week was on the FDCI's to-do list but it never happened. Now, it's on," Nair said.

FDCI president Sunil Sethi welcomed the new event, terming it "a celebration of Indian designers".

The format for the new event will be completely different from the FDCI-organised Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW), two editions of which are conducted every year. There will be just two showings a day with no grand finale and no associated events.

However, the 12 participating designers will be encouraged to hire a suite in the Grand Hyatt hotel where the Couture Week will be staged to conduct negotiations with potential buyers, Nair said.

Designers Ritu Kumar and Rohit Bal will open and conclude the Couture Week. Tarun Tahiliani, Anamika Khanna, Abu Jani & Sandeep Khosla, Pallavi Jaikishen, Suneet Verma, Ashish Soni, J.J. Valaya, Manish Malhotra, Varun Behl and Manav Gangwani are the others who will showcase their collections at the event.

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