The spring/summer edition of the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week will be held in New Delhi on Aug 30-Sep 3. There were a few surprises though.

For one, the event was to have been staged in Mumbai and in September-October. However, with Rathi Vinay Jha, director general of event organiser Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) out of the country, no one in the council was willing to comment on these issues.

Jha is in France with six Indian designers whose works will be showcased at an international fashion and photography exhibition beginning Friday.

Curiously, a statement Jha cleared for release before her departure has this to say: 'We have decided (to stage the show) in New Delhi again - the autumn/winter edition was held here April 5-9 - because of the timing of the week and keeping weather conditions in mind.'

But then, the dates chosen fall bang in the middle of the monsoon season in the capital.

Ordinarily, that would not really be an issue but in the case of the fashion week, this could signal a change in format.

At the last edition, one of the two main show areas was in a huge marquee out in the open while another two marquees housed the 100-plus stalls in the trade area.

With the marquees not possible during the rains it means the entire event would move indoors - signalling that the fashion week could be held at Pragati Maidan, the sprawling exhibition grounds in the heart of the city that hosts a number of international fairs.

With the FDCI statement not mentioning the venue, it is quite possible that the fashion week could move to Pragati Maidan, as many designers and others have suggested.

The fashion week is a 'by invitation only' event and while the statement was silent on the number of participants at the spring/summer edition, indications were that this would be the same - 80 designers - at the autumn/winter show.

'Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week 2006 aims to serve as an effective platform to promote fashion design and provide industry professionals with the opportunity to form trade linkages within India and globally,' the FDCI statement said.

'(It) offers participating designers a business presence through a series of marketing tools, including seminars and workshops on various facets of the industry, presentations and research reports - all aimed at informing and updating buyers, investors, corporate houses and the media,' the statement said.

(www.dailyindia.com)