THE CONTROVERSY.

After all said and done, india fashion week is not associated with Lakme.The FDCI(fashion design council of india) has re-launched the india fashion week as wills lifestyle india fashion week. this event would kick start on the 5th of april in the fashion capital of india, delhi.
http://www.lakmeindiafashionweek.com/

the reason for this split is still under covers. But, lakme being a pioneer in india fashion week has not stepped back. it has organised an india fashion week in Mumbai, although it is not associated with the FDCI.

blogs on indian fashion.

I did have difficulty finding blogs and forums which discussed lakme india fashion week. Most of the postings that i found were cynical about the event and the others were about getting tickets to the event. Below are a list of few postings which i thought had very well written articles.

A blog by sunny, which constitutes articles not only about Indian fashion and textile industries but information on other countries too.
http://2f.hometexnet.com/PersonBlog/index.aspx?PersonID=22

blog article on India`s very famous, kingfisher swimsuit calendar.
http://pchere.blogspot.com/2005/04/kingfisher-swimsuit-special-calendar.html

yet,another posting.

cynical posting on the NYT`s coverage of lifw

posting by rashmi bansal, editor of India`s leading youth magazine,JAM

media coverage

Even though lakme india fashion week is just 4 years old, it has attracted media from all over the world. Every year, as the fashion capital of india, delhi gears up foe this extravagent fashion bonanza, news agencies across the globe send thier reporters to capture the event.
It is not only indian media which is present to witness this event, but also chinese and British media.

If global media shows the same enthusiasm for the indian fashion event, it will be soon that it will become an international event.

indian summer-contd.

Coming back to lakme India fashion week, every year more that 40 designers showcase their work.here is a list of few designers whose designs walked the ramp last year

1)ABHISHEK GUPTA

SLIDESHOW OF HIS COLLECTION

2)ANITA DONGRE

3)TARUN TAHILIANI

4)SABYASACHI

These are just four designers out of the 48 that participated in lifw.

With Delhi, the capital of india, hosting the Lakme india fashion week every year, the number of designers who take part has rapidly increased.

india and fashion industry

India has had a history of very rich textile industry, but as far as fashion industry is concerned it is relatively very young. Four years ago, with the first ever Lakme India Fashion Week (lifw), the fashion industry has gone more corporate. With “join the fashion movement as the theme for last years lifw, fashion industry has added a significant amount to the nations GDP.

an article on how fashion has changed in India, both in films as well as the audience.
http://www.seasonsindia.com/beauty/fashion1_sea.htm.


Article on basic Indian clothes.
http://www.cuisinecuisine.com/CultureClothing.htm

backgrounder-indian summer

As a backgrounder, I thought I would do it on Lakme India Fashion Week. It is the most important event which takes place once a year. Since the last four years lifw gives platform to over 40 designers to showcase their prêt-a-porter, not just to the Indian media but to global audiences as well. This year lifw starts on the 5th of April and goes on for a week.

The following link has all the information on the last years lifw.
http://www.cosmoworlds.com/lakme_india_fashion_week.htm

the launch of lifw has changed the fashion industry of India globally.

concept of lifw.
http://www.bharattextile.com/features/lakme-india-fashion-week/2004/

audio stories-the last word

Audio stories are a very effective way of telling news. But as mentioned earlier, with the advent of video, audio has lost it`s importance. With bare minimum use of audio, it will be soon when it will be soon forgotten. Journalists must make an attempt to keep the audience getting oblivious to audio stories.

Adding audio to any story changes the nature of news. It adds a more personal touch to it.
As young journalist we must make an attempt to keep audio stories and audio reporting from diminishing.

audio stories-contd

As with the examples of audio stories, I had an equally tough time finding forums and blogs which dealt with the same. The most recurring topic for almost all the audio stories happen to be the Iraq war.
Here is a blog, which has examples of various online radio shows. All of which are based on the ongoing Iraq war.
http://www.npr.org/news/specials/iraq2003/blogs.html

This is an article by Brian storm on how photojournalist should have audio in their reporting.the article has further links

http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue0506/storm.html

the article justifies the use of audio to tell the story to the viewers. Also in the article are various links to other audio related subjects.

Other examples of audio stories


Brian Ross Investigates: Keeping Us Vulverable at Home (MP3)
http://a.abcnews.com/podcast/060301brianross.mp3

Goldman Sachs Fourth Quarter 2005 Financial Results
http://customer.talkpoint.com/GOLD006/quarterlyearnings/speaker.asp?entity=4q2005

http://www.ojr.org/ojr/blog/

more about audio stories.

Limitations to audio stories.
There are many limitations for audio stories.
Some of the files available on the internet require you to have the software that supports the use of the file. If a computer does not have it, it might not play the file.
Speed.
The internet speed plays a vital role in listening to the audio files. If the speed is not good enough it creates a lot of hindrance. The audio appears cracked with many gaps in between.
As mentioned earlier, it is very difficult to find examples of audio stories, but with a lot of hours of internet surfing, i came across the following stories.

George Weller reporting from Nagasaki
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4717966&sourceCode=RSS

A U.S military Dr., Stewart reporting on duty in Iraq.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4714196&sourceCode=RSS

The reason i think it is difficult to find examples of audio stories is because, with the advent of video, audio has been lesser in demand. As humans, anything visual attracts attention more than just listening to sound bites.
as the old saying goes, SEEING IS BELIEVING.

Audio Stories-The beginning

As an assignment in my online journalism class, i have been asked to find out various aspects of audio stories.audio stories are one of the most effective ways of communicating, that`s precisely the reason why radio did not fade away after television arrived.what exactly are audio stories?As the name suggests audio stories includes the narratives. in more simpler words it`s the news that you can hear on the internet, rather than reading it.personally i feel, that audio always has a more impact than reading words.There are three types of audio files that we come across while useing the internet.
1) Instant
Usually provides feedback to users, e.g. a beep sound when a button is clicked and is of a very short duration.
2)Looping
Soundtrack repeats endlessly, e.g. a music loop. It is controllable i.e the user can stop or start sound and/or change volume; sometimes can even change the track or sometimes is not controllable.
3)Non-looping
Sound plays once and does not repeat automatically. It can be ambient/natural sound, music, voiceover, etc.It is controllable i.e the user can stop or start sound and/or change volume; sometimes can even change the track orcan be not controllablethat was all about different audio files one can find on the internet.

coming back to audio stories, it was difficult finding examples of audio stories with respect to online journalism as most of the audio stories are with pictures which makes them more of narratives.
As my search progressed I came across guardian`s website which has a whole section on audio sories. Some of them as short as 2 mins to an elaborate 6-7 minute reports on Fundamentalists protest at gay ceremony, tokyos stumbling stock market and many more.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/audio/

problems faced by indian fashion industry

India is a country bound with many traditions. It was not until recently that we have started accepting fashion shows. There was a time once when, the swimsuit round of Miss India were boycotted. Following is the article on how few clothes in lifw were criticized.
http://specials.rediff.com/news/2004/may/04fwwitsy1.htm
There have also been many times few political groups in India have boycotted adverts on the basis of them being provocative.
As the years progress, Indian audiences are getting used to the emerging fashion trends and have become more acceptable. Most of the designs which are showcased on the ramp are still unacceptable to most of the indian audiences.
even if the people do not have a problem, it is the fanatic political groups which create hindrances.