NEW DELHI: The latest to join the reality TV bandwagon is Star One. Early next year, it will unveil a show, christened Lakme Fashion House, which is, of course, tailored to suit the brand image being propagated by the channel – that of catering to the upmarket youth in the age group of 15-34.

What adds zing to the show is that the winner, who has to be a budding fashion designer, gets to do a six-month stint with the Italian fashion powerhouse Versace; all expenses paid by the organisers of the show.

This one-hour show would have 12-15 aspiring designers giving flight to their fancies and creativity. The final products will be modeled by a group of celebrities to add some pizzazz to the whole proceedings. The whole process is likely to take slightly over two months.

The winning creation would be branded by Versace as part of a marketing initiative.

The show is being brought to India by Star after it had a hugely successful run two years back on Sky Italia, another News Corporation-controlled TV channel in Europe. Even the Versace angle is part of an international agreement that News Corporation and the game show format owners, FCB, have with the fashion house.

Considering Versace and his creations are well known in India now, courtesy proliferation of Fashion TV, the reality show is likely to create a buzz not only among participants, but also viewers, mostly comprising the P3-types.

Star India COO Sameer Nair denied that this reality programme has anything to do with taking on Times group-controlled Zoom, which thrives on glamour-based shows, and said, “Since Star is the pioneer of reality shows in India (starting with the hunt for Viva through Popstars), Lakme Fashion House is another initiative to bring innovative shows. This one was very popular on Sky Italia and we think would be here in India too.”

On Sky Italia, the show’s presenting sponsor was Nokia.

The entries for this reality show would start flooding the market soon and the show itself will culminate to coincide with the annual Lakme Fashion Week held in April-May.