Online auction of designer clothes to raise money for promoting harmony

New Delhi, March 31(IANS) After supermodel Naomi Campbell walked the ramp at the Lakme Fashion Week to raise money for the victims of the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist strikes, the clothes worn by the models during that show will now be auctioned online to raise funds for another social cause.

The money raised from the auction on the eBay site of the outfits that featured at the March 28 'Mai Mumbai' show will be donated to NGO Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) that promotes communal harmony and friendship among the people of India.

The initiative, eBay senior manager for pop culture Deepa Thomas explained, was their way of paying back to society.

'We are more than happy to be associated with this event as it is our way of giving something back to society. All the money raised will be given to the trust, which believes in promoting peace and harmony,' Thomas told IANS.

'We are honoured to contribute to a cause that is so dear to our hearts,' she added.

Around 50 specially crafted outfits from Indian designers like Anamika Khanna, Manish Malhotra, Raghavendra Rathore, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Rina Dhaka, Rohit Bal, Ritu Kumar, Vikram Phadnis and Wendell Rodricks, and international designers like YSL, Louis Vuitton, Donna Karan, Oscar de la Renta and many more are now live on the site for the auction that started March 28 and will end April 9 with the bidding starting at Rs.1

'Right now, among Indian designers, Manish Malhotra's sari has 19 bidders and is priced at Rs.12,300. Anamika Khanna's outfit has attracted 30 bidders and is priced at Rs.11,300,' Thomas said.

'This is just the third day of the auction and the response has been overwhelming. We are hopeful of generating a good amount of money through this. Also, in a gesture of support for the cause, our global sites in France, Germany, the US, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia are also promoting this auction,' she added.

Apart from Campbell, Bollywood celebrities like Arjun Rampal, Deepika Padukone, Farhan Akhtar, Maliaka Arora Khan and many more had walked the ramp for 'Mai Mumbai' show.