In what is slated to be a giant leap for the Nepali fashion industry, the elite New York-based fashion house, Couture Fashion Week

New York, will heat up the runways in the Capital at The Kathmandu Post Presents Couture Fashion Nepal scheduled for August 13.

A first event of its kind in the country, the event will see a set from the fashion guru Andres Aquino, CEO of Couture Fashion Week New York, along with sets from 10 different boutiques based out of Nepal. The Couture Fashion Week New York is a premier runway show held every spring and autumn in the Big Apple. Apart from the high-fashion sets by designers, the show will also feature international models including former Miss Honduras and Miss Paraguay, along with supermodels from the US and Finland. Nepali international models Deepak Ghimire, Aastha Pokharel and former Miss Nepal Shristi Shrestha, among others, will also be walking the ramp at the event.

One Nepali designer and two models are also slated to be selected to participate at the next edition of the Couture Fashion Week New York to be held on Sept 9.

The fashion show will be held at the Hyatt Regency on August 13 from 7 pm onwards. Artists Sabin Rai, Abhaya and the Steam Injuns and the Indian DJ Anish Anand will also be performing live sets at the show. As the preparations for the event gather stream, the Post caught up with one of the organisers, Aseem Shumsher Rana, for a chat about the fashion show and what it means for the Nepali fashion industry. Excerpts:

How excited are you for the Aug 13 show? How are the preparations going?

After months of meticulous planning, the big day is finally approaching!

The preparations are in full swing and the team is very excited and positive.

The international guests, designer Andres Aquino and the models are arriving in Kathmandu on Wednesday, and now it feels like we are in the final stretch. It is a very good feeling and we hope to put on a stellar show for Nepali fashion enthusiasts.

An event of this scale, with so many international models gracing the runway, has never been held in the country. How did the idea for the show come about?

It was quite serendipitous. Model Deepak Ghimire had participated at the February edition of the Couture Fashion Week New York this year. There, he got in touch with designer Andres Aquino about doing a similar show in Nepal, and Aquino was intrigued by the prospect. One thing led to another and now here we are, just three short days away from hosting our very own Couture Fashion Show.

How will international events like these help the Nepali fashion industry?

The fashion industry in Nepal has been on the upswing. There are several fashion shows that take place annually in the Capital and beyond. These shows, however, have very little international mileage. With the Kathmandu Post Couture Fashion Nepal, we are bringing together international super-models who will be walking the ramp with models from Nepal, featuring the designs by Andres Aquino and 10 other Nepali fashion houses.

But perhaps the most exciting part of the event will be that two Nepali models and one designer will be selected to participate at the Couture Fashion Week New York in September. It doesn’t get any bigger than that! This will be a tremendous opportunity for Nepali designers and models to make their mark in the Big Apple and catch the eyes of fashion houses and modelling agencies there.

What should the audience be excited about?

This is going to be an amazing show. Like we talked about, it will be a massive gathering of international and Nepali models. There will also be live performances by Sabin Rai, Abhaya and the Steam Injuns and more, who will be providing live music in the background as the models take to the ramp. It will be a very unique event, the likes of which Nepali audiences have only before seen on TV. There will also be an after party where the audience will get to hob-nob will with all the designers and models.

You will also be signing an exclusive deal for the Cannes International Film Festival at the event. Tell us a little more about it.

Aquino is also the founder and director of the Global Short Film Awards which is a part of the Cannes Film Festival. Starting this year, we will be acquiring the license for Nepal and will be nominating a short film (Under 15 minutes) to be featured at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. This will not only help propel Nepali movies into the international arena but will also provide movie makers with the chance to be a part of the film festival in person. It is a very exciting prospect!

Do you envision this event as a stepping stone for bigger, more glittering events in the future?

Yes, this will be a giant stepping stone for future events. This will not be a one-off show but a calendar event. We are looking into doing two events every year so that Nepal will be represented at both the spring and fall editions of the Couture Fashion Week New York.