A model shows off a Sabyasachi Mukherjee creation: Vintage India. Picture by Pabitra Das

If Indian fashion is going places, Indonesia is the next scheduled style stop.

Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Sharbari Dutta, Abhishek Dutta and Megha Modi are amongst the first designers from Calcutta to confirm participation in Passage to India, the first such India festival scheduled between October 1 to 8 at Pasaraya Grande, the most glittering fashion address in Jakarta.

“I am sending a vintage Indian collection with some Indo-western influence. It is targeted at the Indian buyers there, and I believe there is a very big potential market,” says Sabyasachi.

“It is meant for the Diwali buyers,” adds the designer, who will head straight from Milan Fashion Week, where his creations will hit the ramp end-September, to the Indonesian gala.

Passage to India includes at least two fashion shows and is being organised by Nazakat, an arts event management agency. “The store wanted to put together an India festival to showcase designerwear, as there is a huge demand for Indian clothes and styles,” explains Rajiv Beri of Nazakat.

Sharbari Dutta, veteran men’s wear designer, will also be going from Calcutta with her collection of ethnics, with some Indo-westerns thrown in, as well. A similar line was a sell-out at her show in New York recently, and will click with the Asian audience, too.

“Foreigners are buying our clothes nowadays, with the breakdown of cultural barriers. But our main buyers are still Indian. So even in Jakarta, the Indian population should be the biggest clientele for the show,” feels Dutta, who may also take pieces from her men’s jewellery line.

The entourage is to include a total of 25 designers from Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore including a showcase of accessories like shoes, bags and jewellery. “Top-line designers from around Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore have expressed keen interest,” reveals the Calcutta-based Beri.

Models, make-up artistes and other technicians will be Indonesian, and will be organised by mall officials.

Pasaraya Grande reportedly sells merchandise worth $2-3 million every day, retailing labels including Gucci and Armani. “The merchandising manager approached me with the Passage to India concept when I had gone there with some of my wife’s (Nisha) designs,” he explains.

This is, apparently, the first ever country-specific promotion being organised at the mall.

“The management is trying to reach out primarily to the Indonesian population, with whom Indian styles and Bollywood are very popular. Indians, too, will obviously come,” adds Beri.

There is no sure-shot indication of what will work with the somewhat untapped audience (“it is a bit of an experiment at this stage”, admits Beri), but Indo-westerns appear high on the demand list.