Developing the Fashion Ecosystem- The Future of Fashion Forum

The Future of Fashion Forum, 2015, a prominent fashion event that brought the who’s who of the fashion industry on one platform. The event that was on 24^th January, 2015 saw a huge number of fashion enthusiastic coming to attending the Forum that not only aimed to enlighten the students, but also to give a chance to interactive with some of the biggest names in the fashion industry.

After the inauguration ceremony, the first session of the day started with an interesting topic that was Developing the Fashion Ecosystem. The event was presented by Vinay Nadkarni (MD & CEO Globus Stores Pvt Ltd), Anjana Sharma (COO & Fashion Director stylista.com) and Payal Singhal (Fashion designer). Each one of the speakers gave great insights on the current fashion scenario. “Locally produced fabric to create a sustainable ecosystem is the trend that’s coming in” is what Payal Singhal believes.

Taking the topic further, the panel spoke about the fashion consumed by the masses. “Tier 2&3 cities are not a restriction these cities consume more in comparison to metro, through e-commerce”, Vinay Nadkarni said. Talking about e-commerce, he said, “The buying habits of the customers have changed over the past few years. E-commerce is booming.”  To this Payal Singhal added that, “India is a booming e-commerce nation with a huge population of technologically aware youth.” She also added that, “Digital has given designers bigger platforms and wider reach to showcase their collection to their clientele.”

Talking about Indian Fashion, Vinay Nadkarni said that it is necessary to “maintain ‘Indianness’ in whatever you create, a huge market lies ahead to consume the vibrancy of colors and the Indian essence.” Even Payal Singhal commented on similar lines saying, “India has been a global style trendsetter from the very beginning” and also,“India has always been a global style influencer. There is no other place that provides cultural heritage as we do.”

This session also dealt with the importance of creating a right retail brand building approach and adoption the right business structure. The first thing that Vinay Nadkarni says about this is that, “Research, understand the market, and cater to your clientele.” Payal Singhal elaborates it by saying, “Know your brand vision, execute your ideas, know your clients, maintain the identity to make your brand visible and relevant. Creativity and commercial viability is a balance that one needs to strike to appeal to the clientele.” Also that, “Consumer feedback is imperative to make garments saleable.”

Lastly, Payal Singhal advises the young aspirants present to, “Keep innovating and to also be unique to succeed in an extremely competitive fashion world.”

Part I: The Future of Fashion Forum 2015 - Snippets from the Inaugural Session

As a fashion school, Whistling Woods - Neeta Lulla School of Fashion has always endeavored to make fashion more accessible to the aspirants. Thus, the Future of Fashion Forum was conceptualized that encourages a dialogue between the aspirants and the fashion professionals from all walks of industry. The forum is spread across various categories to cover significant aspects of the fashion and retail industry, while focusing on both creative and commercial aspects of fashion.

This one-day event in its 2nd year, took place on the 24th of January, 2015, brought together leaders in the fashion and retail industry to create a 'Think Tank'.

The event kicked off with Meghna Ghai Puri, President, Whistling Woods International, welcoming the guests while Neeta Lulla, Founder & Dean, Whistling Woods - Neeta Lulla School of Fashion, introduced the guests to the Future Of Fashion Forum. Neeta Lulla, Subhash Ghai, Founder & Chairman, Whistling Woods International; Veteran Fashion Designer Hemant Trivedi; Anjana Sharma, COO & Fashion Director of Stylista.in; actor Neha Dhupia, Siddharth Lulla, Director, Business Strategy, Whistling Woods - Neeta Lulla School of Fashion and Meghna Ghai Puri, 'Lit the Lamp', to start the event.

Inauguration was followed by interesting snippet on 'Learning Fashion', by Hemant Trivedi, where he shared his experience of teaching and mentoring Neeta Lulla. While sharing his journey and knowledge as a fashion professional, he said , 'As a Fashion Designer, Be true to yourself, Don't lose your Indian Identity'. He also mentioned that to evolve as designer 'You need to have emotion and be passionate to be a successful designer'. Inspiring the young audience and fashion aspirants, he mentioned that 'People live for 3 things : Money, Fame & Respect, I live for the third one'.

Actor, Neha Dhupia was also present at the event and shared her experience of being associated with Limeroad.com, an online shopping (e-commerce) site, which is committed to deliver dresses and accessories that are unique in terms of style, quality and reliability. Sharing snippets on her 'inspiration' and the principle she abides by when it comes to fashion, she suggested aspiring designers by saying, 'When you are designing, Keep it Simple, Stupid'. Commenting on the two very different aspect that people tend to confuse, she said that Style and Fashion are often mistaken for the same thing. She cleared the misconception by saying, 'Style has to be inheritant, it has to be you. Style lasts forever, while Fashion is fleeting. Hold on to your style.'  She wrapped up the session interestingly by suggesting that 'It shouldn't be about accumulating wealth, it should be about 'creating' something beautiful.'

Subhash Ghai brought in his insight to Fashion, by very wisely proposing that 'Fashion in its beauty is inspired from spiritualism.' Talking on the occasion, he also shared his experience of working with Neeta Lulla as a Fashion Designer, on his film, Taal. He fondly remembers Neeta Lulla's curiosity and inquisitiveness to know and understand the character and visual appeal of the movie to keep the costumes in sync.

Neeta Lulla took this beautiful opportunity to thank her esteemed mentors, Hemant Trivedi and Subhash Ghai, and shared her journey as a fashion designer with the aspiring designers as guests at the event.

Vogue: The Fashion Bible

Vogue reverently called and considered the Fashion Bible by fashionistas. For well over a century, people have turned to Vogue to keep up with the world of fashion. A globally recognized fashion and lifestyle magazine, Vogue is published monthly in more than 20 different national and regional editions by Condé Nast.

The incredible journey began when Arthur Turnure founded a weekly publication magazine in the year 1982. The first issue of Vogue was published on December 17^th, 1892 in America. He wanted to represent the lifestyle of the upper class. Vogue has to be, he quoted, “in the highest degree an aristocracy founded, in reason and developed in a natural order…The ceremonial side of life attracts the sage as well as the debutante, men of affairs as well as the belle.”

Arthur Turnure

The first editor of the Vogue magazine was woman named Josephine Redding whose first task was to come up with a name for Turnure’s publication. Flipping pages after pages, she came across a word which meant “mode or fashion prevalent at any particular time, popular reception, repute, generally used in the phrase ‘in vogue’: as, a particular style of dress was then ‘in vogue’, such opinions are now ‘in vogue.’” Hence, the magazine was moniker Vogue by Redding.

After a few years of Arthur Turnure’s death, the ownership of Vogue exchanged hands. After much negotiation in 1905, Vogue was bought by Condé Montrose Nast. The fact that the magazine dealt with fashion, society, and the ceremonial side of life, catering to the small circle of elite New Yorkers was the aspect that drew Nast towards the magazine. For Nast, Vogue was a bridge that connected the worlds of the social elite who desired to purchase luxury goods with those who produced and sold such commodities. Nast made some drastic changes, for example, from a weekly publication he turned it into a bi-weekly magazine. He established Vogue in Italy and France. The profits significantly went up and by 1911, Vogue became a prestigious brand. It garnered a kind of loyalty and veneration over the years, a position Vogue continues to enjoy.      

 

Vogue has gone through a lot of ups and downs, it has had a lot of notable editors and in the end, and it has always emerged as victorious. Vogue is not solely about the dressing of celebrities, it inspires to live, communicated, eat, drink and socialize. 

  

Today, getting on the cover of Vogue magazine is a dream of every celebrity. They set the trend and captured the world of fashion in its pages and therefore Vogue is considered as the fashion’s bible!