New Delhi, Oct 13 (IANS): The five-day Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) spring/summer extravaganza ended Wednesday with business breaking all records, said Sunil Sethi, president of the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI).

For once, there was very little of Bollywood, enabling the focus to remain on the designers and their works.

"We were able to break most of the records this time when it comes to business. Most of the designers are still calculating their orders. Many new international brands have joined the list of buyers and they were very impressed with the way things have shaped. Some of the buyers even stayed back to interact with designers," Sethi told IANS.

WIFW, held at Pragati Maidan, witnessed a power-packed list of more than 120 designers who presented their collections through the ramp or in stalls. Some of the popular names who got appreciation for their designs included Wendell Rodricks, Namrata Joshipura, Nandita Basu, Rajesh Pratap Singh and Sanchita Ajjampur.

While most of the designers chose to stick to the theme, which was spring/summer, some showcased ethnic Indian lines with a mix of modernity. Deepika Padukone, Freida Pinto, Kangana Ranaut and Prateik provided the token Bollywood representation.

Designer Samant Chauhan, who is known for his 'Ahimsa silk' collection, said the event this time was high on business and he received an outstanding response.

"This time, a lot of new buyers have walked in. They visited for the first time and were very excited to see the collections and check out the stalls. The business response this time was really great, better than last season.

"Also, we added value to our products as there were lot of buyers who were looking for lot of embellishment so we tried to do that. We added three-four stores to our list apart from buyers from Dubai, the Middle East, London and the US," Chauhan told IANS.

Designer Nida Mehmood, who brought popular Indian 'tamasha' on the ramp with puppets dancing, said she always gets good business.

"The business for me is always great. Yes, this time I have added a number of buyers to my list. There were two buyers from Paris, a lot of Middle East buyers, seven from Japan and quite a few enquiries awaiting for confirmation," she said.

Anand Bhushan, a Mumbai-based designer known for using different inspirations and contexts for his collection, thanked the FDCI for taking extra care of buyers this time around, which has automatically resulted in good business.

"Business was fantastic. FDCI is really trying to notch out every season to the buyers. This season, they made sure that the buyers came and for that they took extra care of their stay, travel and everything. It's great step to attract the buyers.

"This time, my business was almost double, which is fantastic as a lot of international buyers walked in. Domestic buyers are already there any which ways," Bhushan said.

Other designers, including Charu Parashar, Anupama Dayal and Rahul Mishra, to name just a few, also expressed their satisfaction with the business-to-business event.

Japanese buyer Tomoko, a regular at WIFW, was appreciative of what was on offer.

"A collection of sheath dresses, jumpsuits and tunics were good. Also I loved Indian fabrics like khadi. It's always great to be the part of such an event and see the designs," she said.

Dossi Lee, a new buyer from South Korea, was happy with her first fashion week and said that Indian fashion had progressed in leaps and bounds.

"This is my first visit to this fashion week and I am really impressed with the way Indian fashion has grown. Some of the designers were very inspiring and I loved the use of bright colours and asymmetrical hemlines on the garments," said Lee.

As the apex body of the fashion industry, FDCI is the nodal point for interaction with the government and works closely with various ministries and Sethi thanked them for supporting the event.

"I want to thank ministries of textile and commerce, who supported us throughout the fashion week. Their help made the fashion week a much more successful venture this time," Sethi said.