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Indian designer garments industry has made its debut in the most exclusive club of the fashion world last Saturday in Paris. Svelte designer Ritu Beri presented her show `Sanskriti’ in the `La Semaine de la haute couture’ or the Week of the High Fashion in Paris. (To say it again, Beri became the first Indian designer to be included in the prestigious event.)

The Week of the High Fashion is an annual gathering of the biggest labels of the global fashion industry, including YSL, Armani, Kenzo, Christian Dior. This is also the time when they display their latest fall/winter collections for their premiere in a series of shows that cram the entire week.

The week is organised by a proffessional association of the haute couture industry which also draws up an agenda for the entire week. Up to five shows are held each day of the week.

The event is basically aimed at the professionals of the garment industry from across the globe and also at the fashion media, which turns up in full strength for the shows.

Using 10 models including the Miss India 98 Annie Thomas, Beri displayed her latest collection to a standing ovation from a 100-strong audience that had gathered at the residence of the Indian ambassador to France, Kanwal Sibal. (Click on pictures for bigger images.)

French embroider Francois Lasarge told Rediff On The NeT: ``India has a rich diversity of textile designs and embroidery. It's really nice when the contemporary Indian designers choose to experiment with the traditional Indian dresses -- sarees, cholis and salwar kameez. They can work wonders with them. I have always liked working with Ritu. She's very imaginative and dedicated to her work.’’
Lasarge and Hemant Sagar, the sole Indian in the business of high fashion in the world with a label Lecoanet Hemant, played a key role in getting Beri’s show on the prestigious official agenda of the week.

Beri also paid her tributes to Lasarge and Hemant for their help in not just getting her show included in the official agenda but for their long-standing help and guidance.

Beri, who trained under Lasarge some years ago, says, ``For me, Francois Lasarge has always been an inspiration. He is the reason I design. Embroidery dictates my sense of fashion. And the guidance of Hemant Sagar has been an immense inspiration for me.’’

According to Annie Thomas, this show is "very crucial" as it has brought the Indian design industry into the limelight at the fashion capital of the world.

"These opportunities are necessary for the Indian designers to make it big in the world market and I am sure it will do a lot to push Ritu onto the global scene. She is a very hard worker and loves her work, so I am sure she will really capitalise on this rare opportunity,’’ she said.

Thomas has worked with Beri for several years and is a regular appearance at the latter's shows.

A brochure prepared for the event includes details of the collection and a backgrounder on Beri herself, besides a note on India as a tourist destination, since the event was also used as an opportunity to promote India amongst the tourists, under the umbrella of the ``Visit India in the Millenium Year’’ promotion that has been launched by the Ministry of Tourism.

The Ritu Beri show was also held as part of the promotion of Indian textile and garments industry by the government. The effort was launched last July when a high-profile show, Oorja, was held in Paris. Oorja saw participation of over a dozen leading Indian fashion designers including Rohit Bal, Ravi Bajaj, A Soni and Beri. The fashion extravaganza that was held in the gardens of the Louvre Museum, had over 150 models displaying both men’s and women’s wear for spring and summer collections.

``It is basically a follow up from the Oorja show. We want to keep the momentum up. It will expose another facet of India to the outside world -- the world of textile and fashion designing,’’ says Kanwal Sibal, the Indian ambassador to France.

Photographs: Kind courtesy: www.indiafashion.com

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