The fourth Lakme India Fashion Week in association with Liberty started here on Friday with great pomp and show but there were only a few catwalks -- the fashion industry is focusing on how to get corporatised.

Fifty-eight designers showcased their work to 350 Indian and foreign buyers at the industry's annual trade fair.

International buyers such as Selfridges, Celine, Marks and Spencers, Shoppers Stop and BE are watching the show from the sidelines.

This year, deals have been struck for an estimated Rs 25 crore (Rs 250 million), 25 per cent more than last year's Rs 20 crore (Rs 200 million).

The fashion week began with a series of seminars on the business of fashion, organised to gauge the market potential and address all issues relating to the growing industry.

The seminar on the opening day highlighted the need for developing and sustaining India's crafts tradition. Titled "Designs on Craft", it was addressed by Ashok Chatterjee, director, Crafts Council of India.

Chatterjee called for a change in the attitude of the industry to help foster partnership between designers and craftsmen rather than a relationship of servitude.

He highlighted the unpredictable nature of fashion, which is a danger to craft communities due to the constant change in trends.

Stressing the importance of market research and an understanding of the buyer's psyche, Chatterjee said: "The crafts community needs to develop an insight into marketing and management. We need to work together to bring about a synergy between the garment and apparel industry and the crafts community."

He also stressed a code of ethics that would stipulate how designers should relate to crafts people.

Just as clothes designers feel the need for corporatisation and want the help of Indian companies to build their brand names, Chatterjee called for the corporatisation of the crafts sector and said, "A step in that direction will be the introduction of a 'Craft Mark', which will ensure standardisation and quality."

"In the emerging scenario, it is important to protect our intellectual property rights and geographical identity lest we lose our traditional crafts expertise to other nations," he added.

Acknowledging the role played by FabIndia and Ritu Kumar in understanding the needs of craftsmen, Chatterjee urged the design fraternity to practise a system of fair payment and longer commitments to help uplift the crafts community.