FIO picks up more capital from angel investors, India Accelerator

Fashion Is One (FIO), which hosts a yearly fashion and design event Asian Designer Week, has raised an undisclosed amount of capital from a clutch of Gurugram and Noida-based angel investors and an accelerator. 

The investors include India Accelerator; angel investor and former senior managing director of Copal Amba Sorabh Agarwal; managing partner and the head of global alliance and partnerships in Delhi NCR of Venture Catalyst Neeraj Tyagi; joint managing director of Skootr Puneet Chandra; real estate developer and angel investor Lalit Wadhwa; founder of Prospering Advisors and angel investor Rahul Jain; information technology professional and angel investor Saurabh Negi; independent angel investor Rohit Shankar; Cutlass partners Vikas Bagaria, founder of Pee Safe and Rahul Morali, senior vice president of ZEE5; and AVG Investments member Gaurav Methi, an information technology professional and angel investor, the company said in a statement. 

FIO will use the fresh capital to expand digitally and on-site in national and international fashion and design markets, the company said.

“FIO is the first fashion and design week-based startup to have received funding and strategic support from professional angel investors globally,” founder Vivek Rawat said. 

Founded in 2019 by Robby Rawat and Vivek Rawat, the fashion and design network platform  majorly hosts internet protocol (IP)-owned events that include runway shows, pop-ups, exhibitions, conclave, startup pitches and networking meets. 

“FIO is disrupting the fashion and design industry. A one-stop platform to launch young talent and bring brands, buyers, suppliers, retailers, consumers, manufacturers, in fact, everyone from the fashion and design ecosystem under one roof sounds fascinating. I am sure FIO is an emerging game-changer in the industry,” Venture Catalyst’s Tyagi said.

The statement added that FIO also plans to launch a global incubation centre with its industry body Asian Fashion and Design Council and Whizdom Club by MQDC. The aim of this centre would be to support  sustainable ideas in the fields of fashion, design and innovation with a focus on social impact. The centre will select some such ideas in their early stages and help them grow professionally for bigger markets.