FDCI’s Sunil Sethi Outlines Hyundai ICW’s Experiential Prowess

In one of the trendiest collaborations and an amalgamation of automotive innovation and bespoke fashion, Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) has yet again announced its partnership with the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) for the Hyundai India Couture Week (ICW), thus making this the brand’s second-time association with the event. With that, it also showcased a specially wrapped Hyundai Ioniq 5 in collaboration with celebrity fashion designers Falguni Shane Peacock.

This specially wrapped Hyundai Ioniq 5 will make its runway debut at the finale of the 17th edition of the India Couture Week 2024. The exclusive collaboration with Falguni Shane Peacock promises to captivate audiences by blending technology with unique design aesthetics.

In its 17th edition, the ICW will highlight the pinnacle of fine craftsmanship on a star-studded runway, celebrating the avant-garde creations of India’s couturiers from 24 – 31 July, 2024 in the capital.

In an exclusive chat with Everything Experiential, Sunil Sethi, Chairman, FDCI, outlined the collaboration, the experience and more.

Throwback & Looking forward

With India Couture Week being in its 17th edition, speaking about the evolution of this bespoke fashion event, Sethi reveals that when they started in 2008, they were not sure whether it was going to grow to this level because there were not too many people interested in bridal couture and the likes. “It is heartening to see how we have progressed now. It's gone from strength to strength.”

And even though a lot of these are simply cliches, Sethi understands that the creativity in the ensembles of the designer would reflect the change in the times. “Sets are becoming larger. And the first impression here is that you are transported to another world.”

Sethi also points out that the event gets so much business for the designers that brands are approaching the India Couture Week beyond the purposes of branding. “People attend the event because the India Couture Week collection possesses the latest designs and collections. The designers showcase their work for the first time. Following this, people are ready to place their orders.”

“There is glamour, there is showbiz, there are celebrities – it is about the fashion fraternity getting together, where everything is very special. And to top it all, you see very happy designers who are proud of their collections. The FDCI is about the business of fashion and it's about the numbers at the end of the day. But talking about the size of the fashion industry still needs some clarity and deeper research,” Sethi adds.

The ICW Experience

Understanding the grandeur of the India Couture Week, it does not come as a surprise that this event does set its unique standards when it comes to the experiential side, whether it’s the stage, the props etc. Sethi has honestly not seen the set people being so creative. “Now with AI and digital coming in, a lot has changed. Sometimes in the past, many of the designers only relied on their ‘muse’ or their celebrities. But, today, the strength of what they put together makes it so interesting that frankly, they do not require anyone else to come in the picture.”

Designers are at the forefront and are managing everything because they show interest. The designer/couturier is interested and works with the set designer, the choreographer. The same designer also now works to see the styling part; the same designer chooses the jewellery.

“Frankly, now, it is a one-man show of the fashion designer who tries to put everything together. And now there are not two or three or five or ten shows. There are 14 shows.

So truth be told, there is a competitive spirit where each one wants to do better. And yet there is a lot of bonhomie. The atmosphere of bonhomie exists because everybody is celebrating something or the other,” underlines Sethi. 

Falguni Shane Peacock are celebrating 20 years in the industry. “Someone is celebrating 30 years, somebody is celebrating 15 years, and yet doing it with the same pomp and show. So the good thing is there's something in it for everyone. And I'm ecstatic that the India Couture Week has taken off to such a level,” he spells out, enthusiastically.

In its second consecutive year of association with the India Couture Week, Hyundai Motor India is making inroads into the fashion industry, with collaborations galore. Ioniq 5 made its debut in the Indian market last year, and this year it is expected to be the ‘showstopper’, quite literally, from the auto major’s stable at this fashion event. 

Sethi can’t stop gushing, “The way the industry and business are supporting us is unexplainable. We've never held such an event at the headquarters of a corporate office, but we're doing it here, at the Hyundai office. So the fact is that the businesses - the Hyundai business is supporting us, whether we are helping Ioniq 5 or Reliance Brands. So the good thing is that today the business of fashion is happening because the industry is supporting my designers; the industry is supporting the couture week.”

Trends

With references to AI (Artificial Intelligence), Augmented Reality (AR), and Virtual Reality (VR), digital and tech innovations becoming a diurnal affair, needless to say, these have had an impact in the space of fashion too. 

Discussing the trends and innovations that are currently transforming the fashion industry and are expected to see a deeper entrenchment in the times to come, Sethi goes back into retrospect of the pandemic and Covid times and divulges that they were the first ones, probably the first or the second ones in the world to do a ‘phygital’ India Couture Week. 

“We never paused the event even during those times, we continued and did a ‘phygital’ version of it. And that turned out to be a huge success as well. That proved to me that the Indian fashion designers are creative in that field as well, wherein they discussed and embraced that they can do many things in digital and AI,” said Sethi.

In one of the largest and most sought-after events in the fashion industry, the experiences at the Hyundai India Couture Week are most certainly looked forward to.

Neha Kalra

BW Reporters She is the Senior Editorial Lead at Businessworld and majorly covers pieces on advertising, marketing, branding and experiential marketing. She writes closely for BW Marketing World and Everything Experiential.