'Fashion Week' begins on a low key

Neena Haridas in New Delhi

Harried designers, busy choreographers, dolled-up models and excited sponsors -- all the ingredients for a big-bang launch, complete with a ribbon-cutting ceremony by cabinet secretary Prabhat Kumar. But it all started with a whimper. The much-publicised Lakme India Fashion Week, touted as the New York Fashion Week of India, -- which was inaugurated in the Capital on Thursday -- saw none of the expected hype and hoopla.

"It's serious business. We want to showcase an 'organised' Indian fashion industry to the world," says Sumit Nair, chairperson, Fashion Design Council of India, which has brought 33 Indian designers together in an attempt to corporatise the Indian fashion industry. A tall order by any standards, considering that there are few designers who churn out prohibitively expensive clothing for the Richie Richs of this world.

The FDCI estimates the Indian fashion industry to be worth about Rs 4-5 billion in turnover -- a measly amount, considering the huge textile and export market that exists in the unorganised sector.

Says designer Tarun Tahiliani, "The Indian fashion industry can hardly be called an industry. First, there are just a few handful designers. Two, there is hardly the infrastructure to support volumes. And, three, retailing requires a network which has so far not been established."

Which is where the FDCI intends to come in. Says Nair, "Our effort is to make Indian fashion accessible to the masses through the retail market. So far, Indian designers have been selling in select outlets at exorbitant prices. There has been not much effort to create a designer pret-a-porter (ready to wear) market. I think it is time to change this attitude which is what we intend to do with the fashion week."

Hence, the fashion week will exclusively showcase ready-to-wear collection from the designers priced in the range of Rs 800 to Rs 10,000. A far cry from the price tags of Rs 200,000 to Rs 500,000 that designers sell as haute couture.

Says Leena Singh, of Delhi-based Ashima-Leena label, "We were really the first designers to think of retailing. In a joint venture with Pearl Global Group, we launched our retail outlet Kaaya in New Delhi where we sell 12 different designer labels. However, there has been no such attempt in the industry. Retailing requires a different set of marketing strategy -- which is lacking in the fraternity here."

So what does it really take to get the Indian fashion industry going beyond the living room of the glitterati crowd? Says Leena, "Retailing requires a more democratic approach towards work. For instance, if I don't make shirts then I should be able to guide the retailer to another designer who makes shirts. The prices have to be brought under control. Haute couture does not make business sense, it only makes for hype. Hence, an attitude for pret has to be created. And, for the prices to come down, volumes have to be generated."

But the problem facing Indian designer fraternity is lack of infrastructure. From the much-hyped designers to wannabes, most operate from dingy factories in the bylanes of the metropolis with a handful of karigars (workers). So where does volume come from?

Says Nair, "Manufacturing units need not necessarily be set up by the designers themselves. The designers can have two or three units of their own, the rest can be franchised from smaller units. This is what happens with labels like Armani or Espirit -- they source their material from smaller units.

For instance, Espirit sources a lot of stuff from India -- and then sells it in the retail mart. This reduces cost of production, generates employment and makes for good margins. So, I don't think infrastructure will be a big problem."

Adds designer J J Valaya, "As and when the market expands, the designer too will have to expand his infrastructure. But that does not mean mega investment. Even now, most designers have four to five units, may be the workers will have to work a double shift to get the volumes going. So, I don't think infrastructure will be a limiting factor."

For a pret market to develop, what is the kind of volume that should be generated by a designer? Says Asha Bakshi, head, fashion designing, National Institute of Fashion Design: "One important thing to be understood here is that we are not aiming at a Fashion Street market here. I mean, we have to maintain the designer's exclusivity. But at the same time, we must manufacture create enough to have economies of scale. In other words, create enough volumes to keep the prices low. Hence, there is a need for the designer to create a balance."

However, Leena Singh is more forthcoming on the volumes and believes that creating a pret market would mean that a designer should be able to push clothes worth at least Rs 500,000 a month. In fact, the FDCI believes that the fashion week will in itself generate sales of Rs 50 million as retail chains such as Big Jos, Ebony, Folio, Crosswords are expected to place bulk orders from the designers.

Adds Nair, "This exactly what we intend to do. The FDCI will bring the designers and the retailers under one roof and help make business."

What does this mean for the hitherto bread-and-butter couture lines? Says designer Rohit Bal, "The couture lines will obviously stay, because designers make big money on the outfits they sell. (A designer outfit could sell for anything between Rs 50,000 to Rs 500,000). But gradually, pret will also start bringing in money as the volumes increase. On the design front, the designers will have to work double shifts. What I mean is they will have to create different lines for different market. A couture line for the premium market, a bridge line for the in-betweens, a pret line for the masses, etc -- just like in the West. In the same manner, haute couture boutiques such as Ogan, too, will survive as they cater to a niche market. In a sense, the market will evolve -- there will be new opening without closing any existing doors."

Ravi Krishnan, international vice-president, IMG, one of the sponsors, echoes Bal's sentiments, "We have been involved with the New York Fashion Week and I feel such trade fairs are serious business opportunities if conducted in the right manner. We have generated over Rs 35 million for the event -- most of which has gone into the organisation of the event. We wanted to make the first event (we have signed contract for the next three years) impressive enough for the retailers who will come to strike deals."

But as the brand goes mass, the exclusivity too is lost. And most of the designers justify their prices and egos based on exclusivity. Hence, the moot question remains would customers pay for the price of a mass brand? Says designer Ashish Soni, who has two labels -- one for pret and the other for couture, "Making pret does not necessarily mean going overboard. All it means is expanding your horizons by making some sensible clothes. A designer can still maintain his exclusivity by increasing his creativity. For instance, he can give four different designs to four different outlets in a city, and not repeat that design in the next city or improvise it and sell it another city. Hence, it is a matter of increasing creativity. Obviously, copying and plagiarising won't work here."

While the week-long party continues, the designer fraternity hopes that what started with a whimper might just end with a bang, helping them rake in big money in the bargain.

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