London ramps heat up courtesy India

New Delhi: The London Fashion Week starting from February 14 has more than it's usual dose of India.

CNN-IBN Correspondent Neha Sachar previews the collections of the only two Indian designers who are all geared up to set the London ramp on fire - Ashish Gupta and Manish Arora.

The sun never sets in this two room workshop in the heart of Delhi. Working for over 18 hours daily, the workers in the shop are on their way to bring to life garments that are picked up by the likes of Sarah Jessica Parker and Madonna.

It is designer Ashish Gupta's workshop that is in overdrive for the London Fashion Week, 2006.

"My collection for this event and for this year as a whole is more grown up, extremely romantic and feminine gorgeous," says Gupta.

Even though this is the sixth year in a row that Gupta would be showing on the London Runway, he is yet to explore the Indian market.

"All of my shows are on the international runway. I present myself to the international audience and I am happy doing just that as my career began in the UK. However, India is my inspiration and I will hopefully be retailing here soon," says he.

While the fashion fraternity may have to wait for sometime before they can dress like London's elite, they are at the moment content with dressing up like a covergirl on Vogue.

The style is courtesy designer Manish Arora who is all set to make his mark on the London ramp for the second time.

"I only hope this is not my last time," grins Arora.

With a collection that draws inspiration from comic characters like the Red Riding Hood, the city of Varanasi, Christmas, flowers, snowfall, hearts, angels, forests, plants, animals, mountains and pretty much everything under the sun, one would be excused for thinking that Londoners would have enough to chew on till next season.

However, two largely self-funded seasons in a row seems too expensive to be true. It pretty much seems like Manish Arora did some significant business last year.

"Oh we got some really big stores like Harrods, Browns, Selfridges, Saks and Fifth Avenue in UK and other big stores in Paris, Milan and Russia, so yes we are doing good business," says Arora.

Apart from Manish Arora and Ashish Gupta, Kolkata-based designer Anamika Khanna and designer duo Abraham and Thakore are also contributing to the Indian presence at the London Fashion Week.