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SOCIETY AND TRENDS: FASHION
DESIGNERS
Patronage for the
designers is forthcoming from another source: the archetypal foreigner
fascinated by India. Take the June 13 Indian fashion extravaganza in New
York put together by Jacqueline Lundquist, wife of former US ambassador
to India Richard Celeste, and Bianca Jagger. Lundquist, once the godmother
for the Delhi fashion set, intrigued American models with the bindi, despite
Madonna's famous fetish. New Yorkers on the guest list were also enchanted
by the colourful cholis and churidaars displayed by Rohit Bal, Vivek Narang,
Tahiliani, Dhaka and Rathore. The highpoint: Hollywood actress Uma Thurman
picked up six outfits, four from Narang and two from Bal.
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TARUN TAHILIANI
Blames import restrictions and bureaucratic hurdles for a successful
global foray. |
Though Rathore termed it a "brilliant image-building
exercise", he added that such shows would yield breakthroughs only
if the designers teamed up with business partners who would be able to
identify the right markets. "You only get one chance in the international
markets," says the man who plans on venturing into it soon. "The
idea now is to be able to camouflage Indianness."
 Maura
Moynihan, writer and daughter of a former US ambassador to India, disagrees.
According to her, it's the Indianness that's endearing. Now, more than
ever, one is likely to bump into ethnic colours and handwoven fabrics
at hi-end fashion stores like Selfridges. In fact, Abraham & Thakore,
dabbling in accessories and home textiles, have made catering to international
markets a priority over indigenous distribution. Their A&T collections
are retailed by over 30 stores in 10 countries, London and Paris being
the primary markets. Their international business has grown over 100 times
since, claims David Abraham.
The textiles that find ready favour at A&T
were first promoted by Kumar. Making the most of the 1970s boom in Indian
exports, she provided ethnic Jaipuri skirts, handprinted fabrics, scarves
and accessories under her label to outlets like Roshafi in London, Judith
Ann Creations in the US and Sanoba Moden in Germany. Now, she has taken
her cultural audio-visual and ramp couture show "Tree of Life"
all over the world and does at least two collections a year in countries
like the US, France, Australia and Japan. But India is not of interest
any longer, says Kumar. It's China and Japan that are the "fashion
inspirations" of the moment. Instead of being fashion or style-oriented,
she develops new textiles or patterns and targets NRIs, who form almost
90 per cent of her customers abroad and for whom she designs mainly Indian
wear. "The NRI market is the only one for Indian clothes," says
Kumar.
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DAVID ABRAHAM
A&T retails textiles in over 30 stores in 10 countries, including
London's Liberty. |
Anurag Verma, general manager of Kaaya, a fashion
store in Delhi that stocks designer wear by Monisha Bajaj and Poonam Bhagat,
agrees. Despite tall claims by designers that they are targeting western
clientele in a big way, only expatriates form the real market, he says.
"We can't compare with the finish of say, Prada. For the Indian designers,
it's still only about getting hands on the mailing lists of NRIs through
the Indian associations there."
Cracking the international market is indeed
tough. Sangeeta Katiwada, proprietor of the eco-friendly fashion store
Melange in Mumbai, is brutally frank. "There is a huge market for
Indian designers but they haven't yet imbibed the dynamics of working
there. In fact, when they agree to a socialite's invitation to present
their designs abroad, it's like cutting the very branch they want to sit
on. The focus should be on their work, on meeting heads of stores like
Macy's and Barney's," she insists.
A big damper is the lack of adequate infrastructure
in India. When Goa-based Wendell Rodricks participated at the IGEDO fashion
fair in Dusseldorf, Germany, some years ago, the buyers were surprised
by the wearability of the Indo-western clothes and promptly placed orders.
But Rodricks admits he didn't have the wherewithal to deliver on time.
More recently, Delhi-based Jatin Kochchar despaired about being in a similar
predicament at an international show. "Taking two bags of clothes
abroad and working overtime on getting press coverage is not doing business,"
he says. "Selling samples, meeting buyers and store owners is."
Tarun Tahiliani talks of the difficulty in sourcing fabrics fast enough
for orders and of the troublesome import restrictions and bureaucratic
hurdles.
Despite all odds, the enthusiasm and commitment
for going global seem genuine. Rodricks is looking for an outlet in Europe
this year. Tahiliani is setting up a studio factory in Delhi that will
help create "fitted clothes" in bulk. Vallaya's NAFF in-the-face
Punjabi look has found a lucrative following in West Asia. After his shows
received applause in Dubai, he began showcasing traditional clothes at
an outlet there. Now he has held shows in the US, the UK, France, Singapore,
Hong Kong, Thailand and Kuwait. It is "naïve" to go West
with evening dresses and sharp jackets that are in abundance there and
in which the competition is much stiffer, says Vallaya. He insists that
the purpose behind his Paris and Germany shows in January and April 2001
"was not so much one-time after-show sales as business development
at a macro-scale". But Tahiliani asserts that ethnic Indian wear
can never make it as high-street fashion. "Clothes with an Indian
touch could," he adds.
A booster could come in the form of the Fashion
Design Council of India's Lakme India Fashion Week in August this year
where international buying houses like Galleries Lafayette and Bloomingdale's
as well as international media are likely to show up. Then in the summer
of 2002, leading stores in London are planning an India fashion week.
With proper marketing and enough money, going global is not impossible,
says Kumar.
Indian couture of the 1980s and 1990s created
label consciousness within the country. The late 1990s saw desi fashion
turning into an exotic fad. In 2000, a combination of design talent, global
savvy and thirsting ambition has shoved the Indian fashion industry out
amidst the wolves. "If going international was not a challenge, I
wouldn't be there in the first place," claims Beri. But will the
international market go Indian is the couture puzzle of the year.
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