New Delhi: Lakme India Fashion Week, the country's largest fashion extravaganza, is expected to generate 25 per cent more business than last year, with over 400 buyers including the who's who of the global fashion industry participating in the event.

Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) Executive Director Vinod Kaul told UNI that the LIFW held in Mumbai last year saw business of around Rs 35 crore and hoped this would increase to Rs 45 crore in the week-long event that gets underway today.

Mr Kaul said the country's nascent fashion industry, estimated at Rs 200 crore, would get a boost with the ongoing fashion week, which would catapult it to the world stage in the coming years.

"LIFW aims to serve as an effective platform to promote fashion design and industry professionals to form trade linkages within India and abroad," Mr Kaul said.

"Following feedback from international buyers, the timing of the event has been advanced to align it with the international fashion calendar," he said. The annual event was held in July-August till the last year.

Mr Kaul said that he had visited Milan and New York Fashion weeks last September and met with buyers, who suggested that the event coincide with the international fashion weeks.

The FDCI chief said over 400 buyers and 57 individual designers including seven debutants, were participating in the mega event.

Some of the expected buyers include Michael Fink from Saks Fifth Avenue, New York, Albert Morris from Browns, London and Joyce Boutique Ltd, Hong Kong.

Mr Kaul said visitors would also be coming in from the Gulf and Singapore where Indian Fashion had good response.

The Fashion Design Council of India is a non-profit, apex body, representing the Indian Fashion Design industry.

Asked why India lagged in brand building, Mr Kaul said while awareness about Indian fashion was quite good, there was inadequate networking.

On why India remained at the low end of the value chain and only a sourcing base, Mr Kaul said quality, delivery and infrastructure were not up to global standards, hindering growth.

"We have something unique to offer in our fabrics, design and colours. The role of the designers comes in here to contemporarise the traditional designs and create modern style garments."

Dismissing concerns that the Indian textile industry would not be able to compete globally with the end of the quota regime next year, he said in the long run, the industry would bounce back and gain from the dismantling of the MFA.

"LIFW helps to attract investment from Indian and foreign companies, which is the need of the hour to enable the Indian fashion industry to hold its own against competitors."

Mr Kaul said the FDCI carried out studies from time to time to gauge market response and the last one was conducted by FDCI-KPMG on corporatisation, which was seen as the biggest challenge. The study was on how to corporatise, which direction to take, which joint venture models were required to get people to think about designer wear and how they could weave it into their business plans.

Mr Kaul said this year besides LIFW, a 'Market Week' would be held in October which would be a purely commercial event.

"We won't have fashion shows, we'll have stalls and buyers. It will be a typical buyer-seller week. The whole idea is that since the business has grown and matured in the right way, there is the need to buy twice a year for both the collections and hence the need for the two events."

He said having a fashion week was very expensive, so they were starting with `Market Week`, which would facilitate the commercial needs immediately. Two or three years down the line, it would become a fashion week and would follow the same cycles internationally.