It’s raining exhibitions in the capital

With the festive season coming, the time for shopping hauls is here. At this time of the year, one gets to witness a spree of fashion and wedding exhibitions as well as pop-ups across the city. Usually, these listed guest-only invites feature unique brands and designer wear, where a day or two is reserved just for splurging on latest clothes and accessories.

However, what is the real crowd-puller at these special exhibits? We ask Mitali Wadhwa and Sharnamli Adhar, founders of The Pink Post Inc, who mention that one-day-long pop-ups bring in a lot of excitement as they usually have small- to medium-sized brands that are quite niche. “With social media picking up and platforms like Instagram becoming popular, smaller brands now get to reach a wider audience... Also, a lot of smaller brands get to exhibit in cities where they have no physical presence and, hence, they reach newer markets through these exhibitions. The one-day timeline also drives the shoppers as they know that the brand is available for a limited time,” informs Sharnamli Adhar.

Many established brands, who believe in direct marketing and updating a new client-base every season, also prefer short-but-eventful showcasing over advertising. Charu Singh, founder of Zooki, says, “The one-day private pop-ups at hotels or stores are not a new concept, but it has picked up with time. In Delhi, a lot of women like to come and browse through the latest trends and the plethora of options to choose. It helps the brands create a fresh client-base; and, after every season, the number of patrons increases, which in turn converts into profitable sales.”

Despite regular fashion runway shows, niche exhibitions curated for a wedding/festive occasion are popular among established designers as well. Designer Ritu Kumar, who recently participated at the Vogue Wedding Show, says that being a part of such reputed exhibits is more of a branding activity and not necessarily an effort to drive sales. She says, “It is not possible to ascertain the business one will get out of it; however, participation in such exhibitions does help in creating awareness in the market. It is a great exposure for a bridal designer to get visitors who can check the brand’s offering at the stalls and then visit the stores to purchase.” Similarly, designer duo Shantanu & Nikhil, opine, “Runway events mostly include key individuals within the fashion fraternity, including the press titles and a small ratio of the brand’s clientele. Whereas, exhibitions like the VWS are conceptualised with a key goal for brands to meet potential customers. They are curated in a B2C format which does help brands to generate business and strengthen recall.”

Not just multi-designer exhibitions, but the solo showcase at posh hotels or private addresses also churn out a lot of business for designers. Hyderabad-based designer Sailesh Singhania recently exhibited his collection of hand-woven saris by weavers from different parts of the country. He explains the reason to come to Delhi for an exhibit, and says, “We brought a collection of heritage handloom saris, and a range of handmade Paithani, Patan Patola, tissue Kanjeevarams and Khadi Jamdani for the festive season. With the help of social media buzz and word of mouth, we were able to get a lot of queries and orders from shoppers.”