Brands
Blenders Pride Fashion Tour enters the Futureverse
MUMBAI: Step aside, the runway just got a reboot. Blenders Pride Fashion Tour kicked off its Gurugram edition, plunging fashion into the Futureverse, where couture meets code and the audience doesn’t just watch, it experiences.
The showcase, themed Fashion’s Next Move, transformed the runway into an interactive universe. From Tamannaah Bhatia sharing the stage with humanoid robots to Shahid Kapoor’s holographic showstopper, every moment blurred the line between reality and digital spectacle. Motion-sensing visuals followed every step of the models, while dynamic projections stitched the story together, making fashion not just seen, but felt.
Designers Falguni and Shane Peacock, in collaboration with the Fashion Design Council of India, delivered futuristic silhouettes that reflected a global, forward-thinking vision. The Gurugram edition highlighted the cultural shift in fashion, where audiences crave immersion as much as elegance.
Pernod Ricard India CMO Debasree Dasgupta said, “We’ve taken a bold step into the Futureverse of fashion, creating an immersive experience where technology and style coexist seamlessly. It inspires the next generation to see fashion as a living, evolving expression of identity and innovation.”
Designers Falguni and Shane Peacock added, “Blenders Pride Fashion Tour has always pushed creative boundaries. This edition shapes a new narrative where innovation and creativity define the next era of style.”
FDCI chairman Sunil Sethi, praised the collaboration, noting that the Gurugram showcase celebrates creativity and sets the pace for Indian fashion’s future. Shahid Kapoor and Tamannaah Bhatia shared their excitement, calling the blend of high fashion and technology electrifying and a glimpse into the next evolution of the industry.
The tour now heads to Jaipur, where designers Abhishek Patni and Namrata Joshipura will present high-octane couture alongside miss universe Harnaaz Sandhu and rapper Raftaar on December 6. Fashion, it seems, is not just moving forward, it’s leaping into a digital dimension.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
