MUMBAI: Good news awaits fashion aficionados and designers alike. The Lakme India Fashion Week (LIFW) 2004, which was scheduled to be held in July 2004 has been preponed by three months.

 
The Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), which organizes LIFW in India, recently announced that the much-publicised fashion mega-event, will be held in Delhi from 23-29 April, 2004.
According to a company release, the dates of the event was pushed forward in keeping with the international buying season. The new schedule will facilitate buyers to place their orders with designers well in time to meet their requirements for the Fall/Winter season. The release explains the decision was taken at a FDCI board meeting, held in Delhi, on October 21.

FDCI is a non-profit, apex body, representing the Indian fashion design industry.

The release quoted FDCI's executive director Vinod Kaul, as saying, "We decided to move LIFW 2004 from July to April as we need to synergise the event dates with the international buyers' calendar. We have decided to schedule the event just before the Australian Fashion Week, which is held in the first week of May."

Kaul says, "The month of April also gives domestic and international buyers, enough lead time to place their orders with designers for the Fall/Winter season, and we still have adequate time to organise a second market week in Mumbai later in the year", he adds.

Kaul mentions that the shift in dates was also decided after suggestions and feedback from international retailers, at New York Fashion Week (NYFW) and Milan Fashion Week (MFW), which he visited recently.