‘INDIA BRAND SHOW’ TO KICKSTART IMAGES FASHION FORUM 07
FASHION INDUSTRY AWAITS MOST COVETED ANNUAL LYCRA AWARD
Mumbai, January 22, 2007: Lifestyle & luxury brands and retailers from across the globe are converging on The Renaissance at Powai in Mumbai for IMAGES FASHION FORUM, known the world over as IFF – the 2007 edition to be held at the Renaissance, Mumbai from Monday, January 22 to Wednesday, January 24, 2007.
IMAGES and LYCRA® in association with Kshitij Retail Destinations are all geared up to present this magnum opus of the business of fashion in India, bringing together some 2,000 leading global and Indian names from the world of fashion branding, retailing, merchandising and the entire gamut of fashion retail support organizations to share perspectives and build a knowledge base unique to Indian expectations.
Clothing, footwear, watches, jewellery, beauty, home fashion & lifestyle make up a huge Rs. 3,00,000 crore market and the IFF challenge is to organize each of its segments and grow it strategically with value addition for all the stakeholders.
For the first time in the history of branded fashion industry in India, the forum this year will see the launch of the Future Fashion House ‘THE INDIA BRAND SHOW’ – showcasing fashion and style trends of 2007 by some of the most powerful brands – live on the ramp. Highlight of the IBS will be the Triumph show live.
Bill D’Arienzo, CEO, WDA Brandmarketing Solutions, USA said: “I am very excited about the INDIA BRAND SHOW. They are having four showings and that is excellent. It is going to position Indian brands and highlight their full potential as business opportunities. They are going to add a high dimension to an extraordinary programme.”
Carol Williams, President, May Co. Int., USA said: “I’ve been a retailer and I have always sourced goods from this country. There is such a tremendous positive energy here. I am looking forward to IFF ’07 to get a better understanding of the Indian retail market opportunity and to explore and help in its accelerated development.”
Conceptualised seven years ago as a platform to prepare the fashion and retail industry to meet the needs of the emerging Global Indian seeking a global shopping experience at home, IFF ’07 has added interest this year with the current focus in India on organised retail and the current retail boom, the explosion of malls and entry of global fashion houses and retailers.
“It’s an opportunity to interact with industry stakeholders, get updated and develop a sense of what to expect in the future,” said Kabir Lumba, Executive Director, Lifestyle.
With two days of brain-storming, interactions, discussions, partying, chilling and winning memorable awards, IFF ’07 will serve as a platform for presenting new avenues for learning and sharing experiences, exhibiting products and innovations. As India’s only event on such a scale and repute, IFF ’07 is the best networking opportunity for professionals and companies in the retail and fashion sphere, facilitating the process of finding partners for growth. As IFF has grown over the years, it has been attracting more brands, more experts and more retailers to help ‘fashion the future’ of retail in India.
The Keynote address will be delivered by Kishore Biyani who is revolutionising the fashion business taking it to the masses. High profile celebrities as Tarun Tejpal of Tehelka fame, and Prahlad Kakkar from the Ad world besides some of India’s top policy makers and Global and Indian Gurus of Fashion, Retail & Consumer Marketing will address the forum. IFF will have almost cent per cent attendance of the Indian branded fashion retail fraternity including The Future Group, Shopper’s Stop, Trent Ltd., Raymond, Lifestyle, Globus, Arvind Brands, Hidesign, Provogue, Gitanjali Group, Titan, Liberty and others.
IFF ’07 emphasises once again how it is the business of fashion that has given that momentum and impulse to retail. Each retailer here has a story to tell – almost a saga of the market they struggled and flourished in. The market could be in northeastern Shillong, the northern Panipat or the quite recently carved state of Chhatisgarh. In keeping with the business of fashion retail, there are several other features in sync with the theme.
“The biggest expectation for me is how we are entering into a new era of competition from national and international brands with the expanding economy in India and how we are gearing up to face it. There are so many eminent speakers and I am looking forward keenly to interacting with them,” Mr Shreyas Joshi, President, Raymond Apparel Ltd., said:
One highlight of IFF ’07 will be Fashion High Street with brand boutiques of Van Heusen, Dockers, Savile Row, Allen Solly, Reebok, Blackberrys, among others.
International companies representation include Channel, Bin Hendi Enterprises, Baccarose, Porsche, Benetton, Orra, Swatch, Pepe, Triumph, Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, Levi’s, Mango, Aldo, La Cenza, Adidas, and others.
International speakers include Carol Williams, President, May Co. Int., USA, Meg Lustman, Group Strategy and Development Director, Mosaic Fashions, UK, Catherine Dixon, Senior Analyst, GDR Creative Intelligence, UK, Bill D’Arienzo, CEO, WDA BrandMarketing Solutions, USA and Jon Penrice, EVP, Apparel Global Marketing, Invista, Switzerland, Klaus N. Hang, Editor & Publisher, Sportswear Int., Jeffrey Doltis, MD, The Savile Row Co UK and Aziz Merchant, Director – Brandz International Inc. UAE
LYCRA®, the global fashion brand, once again complements IFF. The event will also enjoy the participation of companies like Kshitij, Liberty, Safe Express, The Future Group and Titan Industries.
The forum will conclude with The 7th Annual LYCRA® Images Fashion Awards on the evening of January 24.
Says Amitabh Taneja, Chief Convenor of Images Fashion Forum (IFF), “Over the last six years, IFF has grown to be recognised as the knowledge platform of the Indian retail, fashion and apparel industries, providing companies with a platform to partner, network and promote their business interests through a sharing of experiences. Serving as a catalyst, the objective of IFF is to assist in the development of the Indian retail and fashion businesses and create powerhouses in the fashion industry.”
Talking about a key highlight this year, IFF spokesperson, Meher Castelino added, “IFF 2007 will once again provide an element of intellectual glamour with teams representing the fashion and retail industries battling each other in a quiz hosted by quiz master Derek O’Brien.”
The topics of discussion this year include the following:
• Brand Pride
• The Business of Luxury
• Funding Fashion Future
• Evolving Speciality Concepts
• Foreign Vs. Indian Brands – A Debate
• Successes & Failures, Learning & Experiences, Investment & Returns
Some of the major events at IFF 2007 include:
• Springboard: Annual launch pad for new brands and collections.
• Trend View: Fashion directions and materials from the world over.
• Asia Shop: Store design and retail support systems – US$ 2 billion shopfit market.
• L Cube: Retail real estate opportunities available across India.
• Franchising Expo: Fashion & lifestyle retail concepts.
• Future Shop: The best of retail IT & futuristic retail prototypes.
• Fashion Conference: Vision and views of brand makers, market creators and thought leaders from across the globe.
• Fashion Theater: New-age fashion brands catwalk.
• The Evening of Fashion Titans: Raise a toast to fashion titans on the 1st evening of IFF. The highlight of the evening will be the most enthralling TRIUMPH show and a fabulous glitterati party hosted by Titan Industries.
• 7th LYCRA® Images Fashion Awards: IFF culminates in grand style with the annual awards felicitating India’s most admired fashion brands, concepts and personalities.
