Van Heusen India Men’s Fashion Week 2010 ready to roll
The second season of the Van Heusen India Men’s Fashion Week, held by the FDCI is due to take place this weekend from August 27-29, at The Grand in Vasant Kunj. All of 16 designers will participate and four shows will be held each day. The number of designers is reduced from last year, with such names as Ravi Bajaj, JJ Valaya, Gaurav Gupta, Manish Malhotra, Nitin Bal Chauhan, Rocky S, Meera & Muzaffar Ali and several more sitting it out. Narendra Kumar will open the show and Rohit Bal will bring the curtains down as the Grand Finale designer. Karan Johar of Bollywood fame is back in association with Varun Bahl. Manish Malhotra pulled out of the event since he is busy designing costumes for filmmaker Imtiaz Ali's forthcoming movie Rockstar in Prague. Some well known designers who did not participate in the last men’s week but will show this week end are Wendell Rodricks, ANKY by Ankita & Anjana Bhargav, Sanchita, Troy Costa and Karan Johar with Varun Bahl. In a week we will know which of the designers will create a buzz for their creativity, and which of them for the celebrity they can rope in to be show stopper or sit in the front row.
Fashion meets fetish as Latex couture appears on runways
Latex clothing was so far confined to the fetish department, but more recently it has been showing up regularly on fashion runways as latex leggings. Celebrities such as Fashion model Heidi Klum and pop singer Lady Gaga have helped raise its popularity. A trade show Latexpo 2010, that was held in Hamburg this week, is more popular for its rubber and doll. But this year the attendees were able to see latex rubber used to make unusual cocktail dresses, suits, ties, shoes, hats and even wedding gowns! We await the prêt lines.
Is Denmark the new Fashion Mecca–Copenhagen Fashion Week 2010
The Copenhagen Fashion Week in Denmark has made its intentions clear, of becoming a major fashion event to be counted alongside the top such events held in Paris, Milan, London and New York. The event that took place on August 14 has created a huge buzz by holding the fashion show at the Danish Capital’s popular shopping street Strøget, where the ramp was the entire 1,609 meter street, covered with a pink carpet, thereby taking the fashion to the masses. All of 250 models participated in this event which has gone down in history for being the world’s longest catwalk. Nearly 100,000 spectators lined the streets to look at the beautiful people showcasing the latest in cutting-edge Scandinavian fashion. The Danes have got it right. Huge business is generated by holding this fashion week together with Copenhagen International Fashion Fair, which attracts 50,000 visitors and 2,100 exhibitors. We here in India, with our huge resource pool of talent, craft and materials, could take a lesson from this and not treat fashion weeks like an entertainment show held exclusively for a select elite at venues where there is no room to even accommodate the fashion media.
Cheating case registered against organizers of Kolkata Fashion Week
The organizers of Kolkata Fashion Week 2009, Yudhajit Dutta, Pratik Sen, and Randeb Paul, directors of sports and event management company Mindscape Maestro have a FIR filed against them on charges of cheating under section section 420 with section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, by the firm Elite Model Management. As reported, the chief executive and director of ‘Elite Model Management India’, Sushma Puri said, “We along with other industry vendors worked earnestly to make the Kolkata Fashion Week a great success. Mindscape has cheated us and we are now looking for new vendors to conduct other events, which includes another edition of Kolkata Fashion Week. We hope the authorities will take quick action to prevent further injustice.” This was countered by Pratik Sen, who represents the directors, saying that they had not got a copy of the FIR. They also clarified some facts about the director Yudhajit Dutta, who is also a director of another company Purple People Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. According to the statement, Dutta was in charge of supervising all the deals with Elite, and did not inform the Mindscape Maestro directors about these deals including the ones in which Elite asked for the reason of charging exorbitantly for their models. The statement further added that Dutta is no longer a director of the company as he has been removed. Dutta was trying to sell the property of KFW to several sponsors through his new company ‘Purple People’. But the vendor bills were directed to the Mindscape Maestro. He still has stake in the company but not a directorship. Sen added, “We are ready to discuss with Elite if they agree to approach us with a justified reworked outstanding or else, we will be left with no other options but to take legal advice from our advocates.”
Organiser of Kolkata Sportwear Fashion Week accused of making ' tall claims'
Here is another fashion event from Kolkata, the organizer of which has made dubious claims about the names of participating celebrities to earn column inches in the media. Sanjoy Sribastav of Ideas Unlimited, the event organizer of India's first ever `sportswear' fashion week, to be held in Kolkata in November, allegedly issued ads and sent press releases indicating that such sports icons as cricketers Anil Kumble and Virat Kohli, badminton ace Saina Nehwal, footballer Barreto Ramirez, shooter Abhinav Bindra and boxers Mary Kom and Vijender Singh would walk on the runway for the event, for designers of the likes of Manish Malhotra, Anamika Khanna and Kiron Uttam Ghosh. Also, that actors Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor are on the list of showstoppers. As it turns out, neither of the above have a clue as to what he is rambling about since he never approached any of them, including the designers. When this star of the comedy, Sanjoy Sribastav of Ideas Unlimited, the event organiser, was quizzed, he bare facedly insisted that “they do know it“. However, he gave himself the benefit of doubt by adding, “We will check it up again.” The women’s cricket team took offence for not being included in the list, even if falsely. Senior cricketer of the team, Anjum Chopra has volunteered to tread on the catwalk along with her team, if invited. Yet Sribastav did not bite, preferring to suggest the name of Jhulan Goswami (captain of the team). Such a shame Sribastav!
Rajesh Pratap Singh designs a footwear line
Designer Rajesh Pratap Singh , an established name as a menswear and womens wear designer, has launched a line of shoes for his patrons. The small collection comprises unisex shoes, which are functional and with a clean look sans embellishments. He has used materials like distressed leather, wool, fabric and leathers in tan, black, distressed whites and browns. The designer said that he the footwear venture was started keeping in mind the persons who bought his designs and would be hard pressed to find suitable footwear with the affordable range. The prices of the shoe line are from Rs 6,500 onwards.
Jatinn Kochhar irked by last minute cancellation by KVIC
The Common Wealth Games (CWG) committee is marching to its own drum beat, with its eyes shut to all deadlines, which have drowned in the several pools at each games venue. And those odd ones who do meet a previous deadline are penalized. This would seem to be the case with designer Jatinn Kochhar, who has accused Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and CWG authorities of cancelling his contract for designing clothes to be exhibited at the Games Village after he already spent Rs 15 lakh for it. Kochhar was selected on the grounds of his quote in the tender and was issued 1,300 meter fabric, along with a security pass giving him access to the location at the Games Village, for which he was to design. Kochhar reportedly said, "The contract that they made me sign on the opening of the tender clearly stated that I had to deliver everything by August 25 and, you know, you do a lot of things in faith. They said they were getting everything organised. All the paper work is getting done." The KVIC CEO J.S. Mishra responded to this by saying, "Mr Kochhar might have acted in good faith, but who had asked him to start the production without the written work order?" CWG spokesperson Lalit Bhanot said, "I am not even aware of this issue." Clearly Jatin Kochhar does not have much experience of the ways of the GOI departments.
Lalit Dalmia launches bridal wear label VLV
Fashion designer Lalid Dalmia had the huge Indian weddings in focus when he launched his label VLV that is all about bridal wear. The bridal show was put together at Hotel Ashoka where the stage was set like a royal courtyard and models paraded apparel inspired by the Mughal and Victorian era art. The silhouettes were classic, colours ranged from red, orchids and emerald green, fabrics like velvet, raw silk and Chantilly lace gave a rich look. The lilting background score added to the whole effect. An exclusive collection of jewelry embroidery design and motifs also featured in the high luxury line.
Japanese style – a spotlight
By Paulomi Patel
Like many things Japanese, the country’s fashion too has been obscure for most of us who like to consider ourselves style-aware and fashion conscious. And, like most things Japanese, the country’s fashion too is ripe with so much exuberant, non-conformist style that once you delve into it, it almost seems like a Pandora’s Box overflowing with ideas and expressions.
I had my Pandora’s Box moment with Japanese style recently but before going into further details I wanted to first highlight some interesting cultural pointers that have been the fertile milieu which encouraged Japan’s stylish zeitgeist.
In an interview published on Japanese Times, blogger and writer Valerie Fujita, who lives in Japan, mentions that even though the rest of the world thinks that Japan is brimming with formalities and standards, this is also a country where you can wear anything you want. In an interesting comment, she also points out that the Japanese youth have a very narrow window of time in which to express their individuality. Once past their youth and in the formal professional world, they have to "fit in." In a sense it’s almost like trying to live every moment of wild expression in a short period. Because, perhaps conformity comes later with adulthood, youth have the freedom to express their individuality.
Japanese pop culture was initially noticed through manga comics and the country’s music. But its fashion is becoming well-known with the focus on the Harajuku girls.
Harajuku style gets it’s name from the area by the same name in Tokyo. Teenage Japanese girls often gather here dressed in various styles such as the Visual Kei, Mori Girl, Dolly Fashion, Gothic/Lolita, Decora, and Cosplayers.
A brief overview on some of the mor popular fashion subcultures in Japan:
Visual Kei and Cosplay: Visual Kei, simply known as ‘visual style of music’ is a movement that many Japanese music bands are characterizing with the use of over-the-top costumes, hair and make-up. The music is usually a good mix of rock, techno and heavy metal and the costumes are emulations of their western counterparts – wildly dressed and face painted American heavy metal/rock band musicians from the 80s. This type of style also belongs to the costume-based style known as Cosplay. A cosplay enthusiast will usually dress as a fictional or iconic character from a band, game, movie, anime, or manga.
Mori Girl and Dolly fashion: Mori Girl and Dolly Fashion both take inspiration from old Europe using vintages and sometimes even antiques for their silhouettes. They have a special attraction for vintage flower prints, for real fur. They like hand-made accessories, using flowers, fob watches, spoons or hand mirrors. But Dolly fashion which also has a Goth appeal, turns the soft colors into something that looks more dulled and sometimes morbid, using for example dead animals and bones.
Lolita and Gothic Lolita fashion is something apart from the ‘cute’ look and tend to bend more towards more severe and gothic (garments include corsets; accessories include bottles of potions and animal bones and make-up’s dark with strong eyelashes), and therefore probably belong to an admitted underground fashion.
This is just a brief overview of the vast fashion and style culture of Japan. To know more, refer to the resources mentioned at the end of this story.
Outsiders and the confirming Japanese masses too, often consider these sub cultures as means of escapism – a form of refuge for the non-conformist Japanese youth who refuse to big name western brands and prefer assume a creative, home made form of individuality.
Thanks to these masses, Tokyo has been able to compete with any city in the world in terms of upscale international fashion boutiques that sell the creations of the Versaces, the Dolce and Gabbanas, the Chanels and Pradas. It is a city alive with continuous movement. The brightly lit buildings pulsate with vibrant traffic, creating through a ceaseless flux of brilliant images – the typical expression of a metropolitan spirit. Like most capital cities, its irresistible appeal lies in the rapidity and speed of its endless transformations. Japanese are known to be amongst the world's biggest consumers of brand-name fashion and until last year’s recession were amongst the biggest markets for most European fashion houses.
Next, Gap, M&S in major sweatshop scandal with Indian suppliers
The modern day shopper is well aware of sustainability issues and keeps it in the forefront when it comes to selecting a shopping destination or label. This has given sleepless nights to even the top notch brands. An investigation conducted by Observer has exposed that the staff at the Indian suppliers of British high street brands Next, Gap and Marks & Spencers (M&S) were working up to 16 hours a day. Marks & Spencer (M&S), Gap and Next have all launched their own inquiries into the abuses and pledged to end the practice of excessive overtime, which is in flagrant breach of the industry's ethical trading initiative (ETI) and Indian labour law. Workers did come forward to claim that they were paid at half the legal overtime rate. Gap, which uses the same factory as Next, confirmed it had found wage violations and gave its supplier a deadline of Saturday midnight to repay workers who lost out. Workers have reported that those who refuse to work the extra hours have been told to find new jobs or were fired. The offending factory has offered an apology and agreed to reinstate workers who lost their jobs. All of the three brands Next, Gap and M&S have found labour law violations at the units of the suppliers, where minimum wages were not paid in full and workers were forced to put in excessive overtime at half price. They are making amends. Several of these suppliers are based in Kapashera in Gurgaon. The Observer team had investigated workers of such suppliers as House of Pearl factory and Viva Global’s factory.
Indian designers claim better fair trade practices than high street labels
As the news of the shoddy working conditions in sweatshops that manufacture for London high street brands like Gap, Next and M&S broke, the local designers had reason enough to feel smug and came forward to point out that they treat their work force as a family. Designer Ritu Beri reportedly said, “The high street labels charge customers thrice the cost of a garment while treating their labour shabbily. I find it appalling.“ On the other hand, some of the designers said that their commitment to their ‘Kaarigars’ went further than conforming to the government's minimum wage standards. Designer Kavita Bhartia too showed her disgust, “Workers are our most important asset. The salaries at my unit start from Rs5,000 a month and go up to Rs 40,000 for the masterji. During Diwali, they get bonus too. We treat them like family.” Designers Suneet Verma and Tarun Tahiliani expressed similar sentiments.
A Green Wedding and economical too – yes you ‘can’
This was one wedding that absolutely needs reporting. When Peter Geyer and Andrea Parrish decided to get married, they worked out the logistics of the expenses like all sensible people and came to a solution that would not only generate the funds but also a huge buzz that would reverberate across the world. They have paid the entire wedding expense of $3,800 from funds generated by recycling 400,000 cans. The couple was not exactly alien to can collection Geyer would melt cans down on his Weber grill to use the metal to create art. Parrish, who lay awake worrying over her lost job, had a light bulb moment in the middle of the night that aluminum from cans could get money. She built a website and spread the word amongst friends and social media. Help, in the form of cans, poured in. Alcoa donated 150,000 cans to the cause and United Recycling Services contributed another 73,000. The local recycler collected a ton of cans before the wedding which took place on July 31st. Post their honeymoon, the couple are going to donate the extras to Doctors Without Borders and Rim Country Land Institute.
Rohit Bal’s windproof Zippo lighters
Designer Rohit Bal has designed a Windproof Zippo Lighter that was unveiled yesterday at his restaurant Veda. Speaking at the occasion Bal said, “It’s a collector’s piece, very sophisticated, elegant and high end product…will add a lot of chicness to your look as you flaunt this stylish lighter.” The lighter sports the trademark Rohit Bal symbol of the lotus, which is engraved on it. He said, “I’ve a lotus connection. Lotus as a floral motif can be termed as my signature motif, the entire humbleness and purity presented by this flower mesmerizes me. With my roots from Kashmir, I understand the real value of the flower.
Jason Wu and Cissy dolls and more
Fashion designer Jason Wu, who shot to fame for creating first lady Michelle Obama’s inaugural gown is currently working on a collection for the famous doll maker Madame Alexander. Wu has re-imagined Madame Alexander's Cissy dolls, in couture. He has also lend his name to a digital cameras and will soon be launching a line of leather goods. Simultaneously, he is also working on a range of eyewear and will bring out the collection next year. Rushing in to cash in on the new found celebrity hood before it fades, eh Wu?
Dev R Nil, the designers of the national costume of Ushoshi Sengupta, Miss India Universe 2010, have been in the news for the cyan blue, peacock inspired gown that Ushoshi wore at in the National Costume Show held at the Mizuya Lounge of Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. The designers could be pardoned for not going with typical Indian attire, but not for the tacky choice of design and colour which did nothing for Ushoshi. However, we bring for you pictures of what some of the other participants wore for the same national costume round. It would be interesting to know the brief given to the designers of these costumes.
The fashion kingdom has gone global and the sundry Italian, French, Japanese, Chinese etc fashion brands and names of different origins are foxing us as to how to pronounce them correctly. NewsVision has it all simplified for you.
Leena Similu, a graduate of Central Saint Martins, founded the London label Les Chiffoniers in 2008. Previous to this she was the head designer at Stella McCartney and Jil Sander. The label shot into focus when celebrities like Kate Moss and Ashley Olsen were spotted in PVC and leather leggings designed by Similu. Le Chiffoniers is known for its uber glamorous range of rock star leggings, sequined knits and fine jersey basics.
Comptoirs des Cottoniers - con-twar day cot-on-yay
Comptoirs des Cottoniers was founded in France in 1995 and started out with the launch of two boutiques, one in Paris and one in Toulouse in the south of France. Subsequently, the store has set up 229 shops in France, 108 in other European countries, 38 in Asia and 2 points of sales in the United States, a total worldwide network of 377 shops. The boutique caters to both, the chic mothers and their fashion-forward daughters. Although the line is designed in France, the pieces are manufactured separately all over the world, in China, Bulgaria, India, Portugal, and beyond. A typical store of the brand would stock all fashion accessories such as leather handbags, heels, and belts, selection of girls' clothing such as velvet floral skirts, denim overall jumpers, and pleated cotton dresses in sizes 2 to 10 for all age groups, as well as more mature offerings like tunics, jacquard jumpers, cotton turtlenecks, and cardigans and denims too.
In the age of rapid mechanization and high tech advancements it is the artisan who holds the thread of a tradition of ancient skills. Cut away from the mainstream these artisan groups struggle to hold on to what they have inherited and many social groups have come forward to support them. Newsvision introduces its readers to various artisan groups and their crafts in this column.
Kashmir handicraft sector complains of Indian intervention
Although the government if India has recorded that the Jammu and Kashmir State has exported handcrafts items worth Rs1500crores, the local artisans are complaining that not all of it came out of Kashmir. Abdul Majid, an artisan reportedly said, “Now handicraft items are being produced in Amritsar and sold outside the country under Kashmir label. It is only exporters who thrive on the trade, which has proved fatal for Kashmiri artisans in particular and Kashmir in general.” He goes on to emphasize that this has caused the state to lose its skilled manpower. As per statistical records, in the seventies there were over 15-lakh artisans spread all over Kashmir with city people taking it (handcrafts) as primary source of income and villagers as secondary. But in 2003 when the department of Handicrafts conducted a special census, it found 7 lakh artisans in state. The officials of the department say presently the number of artisans registered with it is just 3.5 lakh. The decrease in employment and production in the handcraft sector is attributed to non-serious and half-hearted government policies, which had failed to support and encourage artisans in order to make them comfortable. The Federation of Chamber of Industries of Kashmir President Shakeel Qalanader says substantial number of skilled craftsmen and artisans have shifted to other jobs and remaining were taken to follow their path despite the government claims that all is well. He said after 1947 successive state governments launched vigorous campaign establishing handcraft training centers across the state leading to increase in number of artisans touching over 15 lakh in seventies. The prevailing political condition in Kashmir has also been one reason why the handicraft sector of Kashmir has taken a hard hit.
Recently a new entrant in the fashion events business launched a bridal exhibition. The launch was pursued with much gusto and observers applauded for what could have become another business opportunity for Indian fashion. A number of service providers such as event managers, PR companies, advisors, media and others were roped in. A posh Government Hotel was contracted and and designer previews added to the hype. However, it turned out to be a house of cards as the well-to-do promoter decided to improve her returns by cutting out service providers and with holding their payments just before the event, even while issuing full page advertisements in the dailies. Unfortunately, such poor business practices are the rule rather than the exception in the fashion industry. Today’s journal talks of alleged malpractices at two events in Kolkata. Poor business ethics does immeasurable harm to the industry. It would behoove organisations and councils to be watchful of people behind the same and to bring it to the notice of all for future dealings.
The second season of the Van Heusen India Men’s Fashion Week, held by the FDCI is due to take place this weekend from August 27-29, at The Grand in Vasant Kunj. All of 16 designers will participate and four shows will be held each day. The number of designers is reduced from last year, with such names as Ravi Bajaj, JJ Valaya, Gaurav Gupta, Manish Malhotra, Nitin Bal Chauhan, Rocky S, Meera & Muzaffar Ali and several more sitting it out. Narendra Kumar will open the show and Rohit Bal will bring the curtains down as the Grand Finale designer. Karan Johar of Bollywood fame is back in association with Varun Bahl. Manish Malhotra pulled out of the event since he is busy designing costumes for filmmaker Imtiaz Ali's forthcoming movie Rockstar in Prague. Some well known designers who did not participate in the last men’s week but will show this week end are Wendell Rodricks, ANKY by Ankita & Anjana Bhargav, Sanchita, Troy Costa and Karan Johar with Varun Bahl. In a week we will know which of the designers will create a buzz for their creativity, and which of them for the celebrity they can rope in to be show stopper or sit in the front row.
Is Denmark the new Fashion Mecca–Copenhagen Fashion Week 2010
The organizers of Kolkata Fashion Week 2009, Yudhajit Dutta, Pratik Sen, and Randeb Paul, directors of sports and event management company Mindscape Maestro have a FIR filed against them on charges of cheating under section section 420 with section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, by the firm Elite Model Management. As reported, the chief executive and director of ‘Elite Model Management India’, Sushma Puri said, “We along with other industry vendors worked earnestly to make the Kolkata Fashion Week a great success. Mindscape has cheated us and we are now looking for new vendors to conduct other events, which includes another edition of Kolkata Fashion Week. We hope the authorities will take quick action to prevent further injustice.” This was countered by Pratik Sen, who represents the directors, saying that they had not got a copy of the FIR. They also clarified some facts about the director Yudhajit Dutta, who is also a director of another company Purple People Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. According to the statement, Dutta was in charge of supervising all the deals with Elite, and did not inform the Mindscape Maestro directors about these deals including the ones in which Elite asked for the reason of charging exorbitantly for their models. The statement further added that Dutta is no longer a director of the company as he has been removed. Dutta was trying to sell the property of KFW to several sponsors through his new company ‘Purple People’. But the vendor bills were directed to the Mindscape Maestro. He still has stake in the company but not a directorship. Sen added, “We are ready to discuss with Elite if they agree to approach us with a justified reworked outstanding or else, we will be left with no other options but to take legal advice from our advocates.”
Here is another fashion event from Kolkata, the organizer of which has made dubious claims about the names of participating celebrities to earn column inches in the media. Sanjoy Sribastav of Ideas Unlimited, the event organizer of India's first ever `sportswear' fashion week, to be held in Kolkata in November, allegedly issued ads and sent press releases indicating that such sports icons as cricketers Anil Kumble and Virat Kohli, badminton ace Saina Nehwal, footballer Barreto Ramirez, shooter Abhinav Bindra and boxers Mary Kom and Vijender Singh would walk on the runway for the event, for designers of the likes of Manish Malhotra, Anamika Khanna and Kiron Uttam Ghosh. Also, that actors Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor are on the list of showstoppers. As it turns out, neither of the above have a clue as to what he is rambling about since he never approached any of them, including the designers. When this star of the comedy, Sanjoy Sribastav of Ideas Unlimited, the event organiser, was quizzed, he bare facedly insisted that “they do know it“. However, he gave himself the benefit of doubt by adding, “We will check it up again.” The women’s cricket team took offence for not being included in the list, even if falsely. Senior cricketer of the team, Anjum Chopra has volunteered to tread on the catwalk along with her team, if invited. Yet Sribastav did not bite, preferring to suggest the name of Jhulan Goswami (captain of the team). Such a shame Sribastav!
The Common Wealth Games (CWG) committee is marching to its own drum beat, with its eyes shut to all deadlines, which have drowned in the several pools at each games venue. And those odd ones who do meet a previous deadline are penalized. This would seem to be the case with designer Jatinn Kochhar, who has accused Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and CWG authorities of cancelling his contract for designing clothes to be exhibited at the Games Village after he already spent Rs 15 lakh for it. Kochhar was selected on the grounds of his quote in the tender and was issued 1,300 meter fabric, along with a security pass giving him access to the location at the Games Village, for which he was to design. Kochhar reportedly said, "The contract that they made me sign on the opening of the tender clearly stated that I had to deliver everything by August 25 and, you know, you do a lot of things in faith. They said they were getting everything organised. All the paper work is getting done." The KVIC CEO J.S. Mishra responded to this by saying, "Mr Kochhar might have acted in good faith, but who had asked him to start the production without the written work order?" CWG spokesperson Lalit Bhanot said, "I am not even aware of this issue." Clearly Jatin Kochhar does not have much experience of the ways of the GOI departments.
Like many things Japanese, the country’s fashion too has been obscure for most of us who like to consider ourselves style-aware and fashion conscious. And, like most things Japanese, the country’s fashion too is ripe with so much exuberant, non-conformist style that once you delve into it, it almost seems like a Pandora’s Box overflowing with ideas and expressions. 
This is just a brief overview of the vast fashion and style culture of Japan. To know more, refer to the resources mentioned at the end of this story. 
The modern day shopper is well aware of sustainability issues and keeps it in the forefront when it comes to selecting a shopping destination or label. This has given sleepless nights to even the top notch brands. An investigation conducted by Observer has exposed that the staff at the Indian suppliers of British high street brands Next, Gap and Marks & Spencers (M&S) were working up to 16 hours a day. Marks & Spencer (M&S), Gap and Next have all launched their own inquiries into the abuses and pledged to end the practice of excessive overtime, which is in flagrant breach of the industry's ethical trading initiative (ETI) and Indian labour law. Workers did come forward to claim that they were paid at half the legal overtime rate. Gap, which uses the same factory as Next, confirmed it had found wage violations and gave its supplier a deadline of Saturday midnight to repay workers who lost out. Workers have reported that those who refuse to work the extra hours have been told to find new jobs or were fired. The offending factory has offered an apology and agreed to reinstate workers who lost their jobs. All of the three brands Next, Gap and M&S have found labour law violations at the units of the suppliers, where minimum wages were not paid in full and workers were forced to put in excessive overtime at half price. They are making amends. Several of these suppliers are based in Kapashera in Gurgaon. The Observer team had investigated workers of such suppliers as House of Pearl factory and Viva Global’s factory.
As the news of the shoddy working conditions in sweatshops that manufacture for London high street brands like Gap, Next and M&S broke, the local designers had reason enough to feel smug and came forward to point out that they treat their work force as a family. Designer Ritu Beri reportedly said, “The high street labels charge customers thrice the cost of a garment while treating their labour shabbily. I find it appalling.“ On the other hand, some of the designers said that their commitment to their ‘Kaarigars’ went further than conforming to the government's minimum wage standards. Designer Kavita Bhartia too showed her disgust, “Workers are our most important asset. The salaries at my unit start from Rs5,000 a month and go up to Rs 40,000 for the masterji. During Diwali, they get bonus too. We treat them like family.” Designers Suneet Verma and Tarun Tahiliani expressed similar sentiments.
This was one wedding that absolutely needs reporting. When Peter Geyer and Andrea Parrish decided to get married, they worked out the logistics of the expenses like all sensible people and came to a solution that would not only generate the funds but also a huge buzz that would reverberate across the world. They have paid the entire wedding expense of $3,800 from funds generated by recycling 400,000 cans. The couple was not exactly alien to can collection Geyer would melt cans down on his Weber grill to use the metal to create art. Parrish, who lay awake worrying over her lost job, had a light bulb moment in the middle of the night that aluminum from cans could get money. She built a website and spread the word amongst friends and social media. Help, in the form of cans, poured in. Alcoa donated 150,000 cans to the cause and United Recycling Services contributed another 73,000. The local recycler collected a ton of cans before the wedding which took place on July 31st. Post their honeymoon, the couple are going to donate the extras to Doctors Without Borders and Rim Country Land Institute.
Jason Wu and Cissy dolls and more 
Comptoirs des Cottoniers was founded in France in 1995 and started out with the launch of two boutiques, one in Paris and one in Toulouse in the south of France. Subsequently, the store has set up 229 shops in France, 108 in other European countries, 38 in Asia and 2 points of sales in the United States, a total worldwide network of 377 shops. The boutique caters to both, the chic mothers and their fashion-forward daughters. Although the line is designed in France, the pieces are manufactured separately all over the world, in China, Bulgaria, India, Portugal, and beyond. A typical store of the brand would stock all fashion accessories such as leather handbags, heels, and belts, selection of girls' clothing such as velvet floral skirts, denim overall jumpers, and pleated cotton dresses in sizes 2 to 10 for all age groups, as well as more mature offerings like tunics, jacquard jumpers, cotton turtlenecks, and cardigans and denims too. 
Although the government if India has recorded that the Jammu and Kashmir State has exported handcrafts items worth Rs1500crores, the local artisans are complaining that not all of it came out of Kashmir. Abdul Majid, an artisan reportedly said, “Now handicraft items are being produced in Amritsar and sold outside the country under Kashmir label. It is only exporters who thrive on the trade, which has proved fatal for Kashmiri artisans in particular and Kashmir in general.” He goes on to emphasize that this has caused the state to lose its skilled manpower. As per statistical records, in the seventies there were over 15-lakh artisans spread all over Kashmir with city people taking it (handcrafts) as primary source of income and villagers as secondary. But in 2003 when the department of Handicrafts conducted a special census, it found 7 lakh artisans in state. The officials of the department say presently the number of artisans registered with it is just 3.5 lakh. The decrease in employment and production in the handcraft sector is attributed to non-serious and half-hearted government policies, which had failed to support and encourage artisans in order to make them comfortable. The Federation of Chamber of Industries of Kashmir President Shakeel Qalanader says substantial number of skilled craftsmen and artisans have shifted to other jobs and remaining were taken to follow their path despite the government claims that all is well. He said after 1947 successive state governments launched vigorous campaign establishing handcraft training centers across the state leading to increase in number of artisans touching over 15 lakh in seventies. The prevailing political condition in Kashmir has also been one reason why the handicraft sector of Kashmir has taken a hard hit. 
Poor business practices the bane of fashion
