With over 300 speakers and over 1,000 delegates, India Fashion Forum 2025 sets the stage for transformative collaboration
Bangalore: The 24th edition of the India Fashion Forum (IFF), the country’s premier fashion business intelligence event, commenced in grand style on January 28 at Sheraton Grand, Whitefield, Bengaluru. Centred around the theme “India Fashion Collaboration: From Peers to Partners,” the event brings together industry leaders to strengthen partnerships and propel growth in India’s evolving fashion ecosystem.
Padma Shri Kartikeya Vikram Sarabhai, Founder and director of CEE and Chairman of Ambalal Sarabhai Enterprises, was the Guest of Honour.
Nikhil Behl, CEO, of India Fashion Forum, said, “Every milestone we achieve, every challenge we tackle, and every partnership we nurtured brought us closer to reimagining the business of fashion as an ecosystem of care. For 24 years, IFF has been the annual meeting and networking destination for hundreds of fashion companies and thousands of professionals. We have often been described as India’s Fashion Network Mahakumbh! It’s easy to see why, as we kick off our 24th edition in 2025 with a powerful congregation of 700+ fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands, retailers, and business enablers. 2025 marks a turning point for the fashion industry. Building strong collaborations and alliances with value chain stakeholders with similar goals and values will be critical to navigating a rapidly changing, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous environment. This collaborative approach will empower us to overcome challenges and seize opportunities, propelling the industry forward.”
The inaugural session on Day 1 consisted of a power-packed panel of fashion industry leaders.
Akhilesh Prasad, President & CEO, Fashion & Lifestyle Business, Reliance Retail; Shailesh Chaturvedi, MD & CEO, Arvind Fashions Limited; Venu Nair, Chief of Strategic Partnerships & Omnichannel, Myntra Fashion and Vishak Kumar, CEO, Madura Fashion & Lifestyle and Chairman, India Fashion Forum 2025 shared insights on how to rethink, reimagine, and remodel businesses through strategic partnerships across the value chain:
Speaking at the session, Vishak Kumar said, “It is an exciting time for fashion in India because when it comes to the potential for multiplier growth, we have barely scratched the surface. This means that the best is yet to be created. The catalyst for this untapped potential lies in collaboration, innovation, and new partnership ideas. Let’s reimagine our peers as our partners and seize the immense opportunities ahead.”
Former Chairman of India Fashion Forum, Shailesh Chaturvedi added, “We live in fascinating times and for the fashion industry to grow, we need to innovate, differentiate and collaborate. There is enough and more business and growth available in this consumption journey in India, where we are still in the early days of consumption. But we must innovate and differentiate.”
CX Forum & 3 Book Launches
Concurrently, the CX Forum also kicked off during the second half of the day with deep-diving discussions and roundtables on the transformative power of technology in redrawing retail models and consumer experience standards.
The opening day featured insightful panel discussions addressing the transformative trends shaping the fashion industry:
- Collaborate to Thrive: Experts emphasized building strategic partnerships to navigate challenges like shifting consumer behaviours, digital disruption, and sustainability demands.
- Scaling Fashion Profitably: leaders shared strategies to balance profitability with long-term investments in innovation and customer experience.
- Syncing Sales Cycles: A focused session explored collaborative approaches to mitigate disruptions caused by prolonged sales and create a more sustainable retail calendar.
- Global Insights Shaping Fashion Vision 2025 & Beyond: Industry players shared impactful strategies, innovations, and global trends shaping the future of the industry.
- Unravelling the DNA of Next-Gen Fashion Consumers: With India’s consumer landscape evolving rapidly, this session explored innovative business models employed by next-gen fashion entrepreneurs to meet changing expectations.
- Optimising CapEx and OpEx for Sustainable Growth: Top business minds discussed strategies to balance resource allocation, manage costs, and drive profitability while building high-performing teams and leveraging cutting-edge technologies.
- Beyond the Runway: Design to Delivery Dynamics: This session highlighted how innovations in backend operations, such as AI-powered logistics, are transforming shopping behaviours.
- Cracking the Code for Tier 2 & 3 Markets: As India’s smaller cities experience rapid growth, experts examined how brands can tap into these markets with format innovations and local customization.
Day 1 also witnessed the launch of three books:
- ‘Sustainable Promises’, a thought-provoking book by Naresh Tyagi, Chairman of IFF Innovators Club & Chief Sustainability Officer, ABFRL, reflecting the industry’s commitment to sustainability
- ‘India Business of Fashion Report 2025’, 3rd edition of IMAGES Group’s Sustainability Yearbook, an insightful and timely coffee table book, which studies the shift in the industry’s role towards creating a more responsible and inclusive future. The book is a curation of vital stories of pioneering sustainable fashion initiatives, where commerce and creativity align with environmental accountability.
- ‘Shirtopedia’an exhaustive exploration of the shirt manufacturing ecosystem, tracing the journey from raw fibres to retail fashion.
Masterclasses & More
Day 1 conference sessions set the tone for innovative collaborations and intelligence sharing among industry chieftains. The day also witnessed an exciting masterclass by Meghna Apparao, Director of E-commerce & Retail, Meta and Devesh Nichani, Industry Head of e-commerce & Omnichannel Retail on shaping the future of omnichannel fashion retail, apart from insightful sessions with panels that consisted of the who’s who of the Indian Fashion Retail Industry.
With over 300 speakers and 1000+ delegates, India Fashion Forum 2025 sets the stage for transformative collaboration, showcasing how partnerships can elevate the business of fashion in India.
