New Delhi, March 5 (IANS) Rajesh Pratap, known for his simple yet stylish designs, has been chosen as the designer at the finale of the upcoming 15th edition of the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW). The organisers feel his collection will impress international buyers.
“Rajesh is my favourite designer. His designs are the most sold ones at Wills Lifestyle and the entire design fraternity considers him to be the most credible designer in the country. He has every reason to present the grand finale and we are very happy to give him the platform,” said Sunil Sethi, president of Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI).

Atul Chand, the divisional chief executive of WIFW title sponsor Wills Lifestyle, said: “The finale is a key highlight of WIFW and it has been our sincere endeavour to show the best of Indian design talent. Thus, we are getting the highly acclaimed Rajesh Pratap Singh for the finale as a tribute to his meticulous and simplistic sense of styling.”

This is the second time that Singh has been chosen as the finale designer. He had earlier brought the curtains down on the fashion event in 2007. The internationally popular designer is extremely happy about his comeback.

“It’s good to be back. I am happy to be showcasing the finale this year. The (fashion) industry has been through trying times since the past few years, but we are very happy with the support we get from bodies like the FDCI,” Singh told reporters at an event here Friday evening.

Singh, who is among the few Indian designers who has showcased at prestigious fashion extravaganzas such as the London and Paris fashion weeks, is still clueless about how grand his show would be.

“I leave the set design and music mostly to other guys and I concentrate on the collection. We are still in the planning stage for most things and even the number of designs I will be showcasing will be decided an hour before the show,” he told IANS.

What about the Bollywood quotient?

“Well, I have invited 200 Bollywood stars for my show,” he quipped, and added: “Jokes apart, I really haven’t given it a thought yet.”

Singh’s collection has been titled Bespoke Tales. It is inspired by the evolution of clothes and will experiment with textiles, shapes and colours.

Sethi and Atul Chand are confident that Singh’s designs and show will raise the expectations of international buyers from Indian fashion designers.

WIFW is to be held at the NSIC grounds in Okhla Industrial Area March 24-28.