As many as 50 to 60 buyers were said to have turned up with responses ranging from lukewarm to cautiously optimistic. For some like Manish Kakkar, Merchandiser with Taj's Khazana chain of stores, it was an issue of wearability. "We're looking out for ethnic-wear, but what I saw was very FTVish and funky, not a pret e porter  collection at all," remarked Kakkar on the range from the day one designers, Aki Narula and Savio John.

And for the corporates, whom the designers were trying too hard to woo, it was a question of getting the price right.

Said Vinod Kaul, Director, Retail, Raymond India: "We've found quite a few designers with interesting and ready-to-wear collections. Now the formality that remains is negotiating the right price. While we stock garments priced between Rs 800-Rs 7,000, it was the Rs 1,500-2,500 segment we were concentrating on".

Raymond has recently opened the first of its 'Be-stores' in Delhi, stocking "pret" or ready-to-wear clothes by well-known designers like Raghavendra Rathore, Ashish Soni, Puja Nayyar, and Manju and Bobby Grover.

Others like Viren Shah of Mumbai-based retail chains Roopam were downright dismissive. "It appeared as if nobody was interested in selling. The stalls had a limited price range and some of them didn't even have the price tags,'' quipped Shah about his experience at the stall of a leading designer.

But the organisers had a different story altogether about the three-year-old Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI). "You must remember we're only providing the forum; at the end of the day it's between the trade-buyer and the individual designers," defended Executive Director, Sumeet Nair, who said that these are just teething troubles. Equally happy were sponsors Lakme and Hindustan Lever who have a three-year contract with FDCI.

Anil Chopra, Business Head, Lakme said: "Lakme has been associated with fashion for the last 50 years. And given the perfect match a well-crafted fashion show has with Lakme's vibrant, young, and contemporary image, events like this offer a unique platform to build the brand's image almost overnight."

Ironically, most designers didn't seem to be affected by the lack of business. An industry expert illuminated: "Do you really think they're bothered about how much they sell? Look at the media coverage they're getting. It's worth much more than the Rs 1 lakh that they had to shell out to FDCI."

The truth's probably somewhere in the middle. For designers, being able to showcase their creations to the widest possible audience is more important, which an event like this provides. "Where else would you have the opportunity to meet and interact with an international retailer like Selfridges who've flown down an eight member team," queries Simran Singh, Senior Faculty Member at the National Institute of Fashion Technology. And the hype? Well it's all part of the dream-peddling world of fashion. Brouhaha before business?