Competition and emotional support prompting designers to team up

New Delhi, Sep 25 (IANS) Immense pressure, the need for emotional support and the desire to successfully penetrate the market are increasingly prompting fashion designers to form duos and even trios in an otherwise individualistic industry.

The 10th edition of the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) held here earlier this month witnessed 13 designer duos and a trio showcasing their collection on the ramp - out of the total 30 shows.

'The fashion industry is extremely demanding and one is constantly under extreme pressure to perform better. Hence teamwork always yields great results,' Alpana of the label Azara, by the creative duo Alpana and Neeraj, told IANS.

'It is no more one person's job, as there are so many things other than designing clothes, which need equal attention. When work is divided logistics are managed quite well,' said Ashish of the label Virtues belonging to the designer trio Ashish, Viral and Vikrant.

'Moreover, a team can formulate better marketing strategies resulting in customer satisfaction. For instance, these days buyers do not want an assistant to deal with them. They need personal attention that is possible only when there is someone to take care of the rest of the things,' he maintained.

Division of work not only brings more professionalism but also averts any kind of distraction for the one handling the designing element.

'My sister Shruti handles the marketing part and I do the designing. I can't imagine working without her because if I have to take care of other things, when will I design clothes? And my creativity will be reduced to zero,' said Kamaali of the duo Kamaali and Shruti.

'It is a round-the-clock job and we stay together so we take our work home and then complete it, which affects our productivity positively,' echoed Shruti.

Interestingly, most of the designer duos including the likes of Shantanu and Nikhil, Ashima and Leena, Falguni and Shane Peacock, and Meera and Muzaffar Ali, are either relatives or couples.

'You will see most of the duos are relatives and if not, then they end up marrying each other because the industry is extremely demanding and the burn out rate is very high. It is the compatibility and trust amongst partners and the emotional support that keeps the ball rolling,' explained Kamaali.

'Anybody who is in a creative field will have immense emotional highs and lows. To handle that you need someone who has the same wavelength as yours and whom you can trust completely,' explained Harpreet of the label Kabbalah by Harpreet and Narula.

No matter how well the partners gel, all of them agree that arguments are bound to occur - although the end results are usually favourable for the business.

'Different human beings think differently so arguments will happen. In our case we have loads of differences of opinion while working on a collection but when we reach a conclusion the designs that come out are unique,' Falguni maintained.

Copyright  IANS

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