It will be a while yet before fashion designers in India can be the toast of the international market. India continues to be the flavour of the season, inspiring greats like Valentino to Oscar de la Renta, but what the Eurpoean and American markets want is a touch of India on clothing that is executed fine. "The Indian design that will really appeal to us will be that which gives an extra emotion. The designer will fly with his own wings. India is magical, the West is attracted to it," said Chantal Rousseau of Bloomingdales at the five-day Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WLIFW).
French fashion guru Didier Grumbach tipped on what would interest him in a fashion designer. "We would be interested in a designer who has an identity. The designer must not compromise – 'I'll do what I like. I'm different and I'll not do anything different even if a Harrods tells me to'. If he does not compromise, he should find retailers who do not compromise as they are different. There are a few directional boutiques that are aware of new trends and act like a gallery for talented artists. Don't build a brand, build a signature and when you are an artist your talent is constant. You will never transact. In fashion if you select the wrong distribution channel, you are dead. It is the distribution that gives you an image. A brand should be managed like any product. The artists's fame will come from the distributor's image."
There is a world of wisdom in the lines above. On the collections he saw at the WLIFW, Grumbach observed: "There are collections which have an identity but won't really sell. There are collections in a group which convey a lot of emotion. The good news is that there are several designers".
There is a big opportunity in retail, said Patrick Hanly of Harvey Nichols. "There is emotion, colour, embellishment, but the styling is weak. There is a gap in the accessories market for shoes and handbags in fine leather. Accessories can be drivers for a good brand. I saw some exciting jewellery pieces at Connaught Place".
While the menswear was not quite what his Eurpoean buyer would wear, he saw opportunity in topwear that can "emerge as a big potential over swimsuits, jeans, t-shirts and also nightwear". Hand-finishing, he said, is the strength of the Indian market. According to Hanly, some of the designers who in understanding the "bigger picture are beginning to embrace the ethos of an international brand" are: Manish Arora who was "extremely enjoyable", Ritu Kumar, combined the nice things of India in delicate finishing and was not overly embellished, Tarun Tahiliani is starting to bridge the gap between Indian and Europe and "for us that is quite important. Rajesh Pratap Singh I thought only Europeans would be excited, but the Indians were equally in awe, and Ranna Gill". The next thing for these designers to do is to invest in marketing programmes so that the brand gains recognition outside India.
Grumbach, president of the French Design Council, suggested a similar strategy: What needs to be done is to exchange and find partners. "I don't think an artist today is forgotten. Ways are needed to internationalise their images and put them in the right context. Take steps to ensure that all these designers are known out of their national context. It will be a question of opportunity, but it will come soon". And as if to prove a point he has taken along with Maria Luisa of the renowned 'Maria Luisa' store designers Anamika Khanna, Anju Modi, Manish Arora, Meera Muzaffar Ali, Rohit Bal and Rajesh Pratap Singh to represent the fashion industry at the prestigious Festival International des Arts de la Mode et de la Photographie in France.
Considering that the industry is so young, what it has been able to achieve so far is immense, Grumbach averred. "I firmly believe feel each of these designers will be gradually addressed if they have proper management. It is not the collection alone. What is also important is the team around the designer, logistics, commerce management, development – all acquire as much importance. It is first an industry and if you have the inventiveness, you still have the industry!"
Rousseau felt that the "way to make it happen is to have strategies. Let your clothes tell a story. There should be a pointsperson in New York to follow up and take orders. Do not call yourself designers, but rather a dress designer, contemporary designer, or saree designer. Specify your USP. The word designer in itself is very limiting. If it is everything, then there is nothing”.
Shantanu Goenka, according to the Bloomingdale lady was a perfect costume designer, Arora was most impressive, Pratap quietly creative, Abraham and Thakore very good. Sell throughs are important, she emphasised and reiterated the famous proverb that Rome was not built in a day.
Maria Luisa called for "21st century Indian statements".
From Nathalie Blanchet of L'Eclaireur who has five shops and "which never go on sale", the word was to improve tailoring, cuts, and give more structure, styling. "Don't be obsessed with numbers – image should be expensive and not related to numbers".
Lily Amir Arjomand, general merchandise manager for Style Avenue Middle East, the official licensee of Saks Fifth Avenue for Dubai, said the Indian designer fashion industry is going through the growing pains where production, fits and pattern-making need to be polished further. She reiterated what Hanly said on improving accessories like shoes and bags, and that they should receive as much importance on the ramp as off it.
There were as many at the WLIFW who do not want to lose India to the Western frontiers. Raziya Nader Sharif, director, Designer's Lounge, Dubai, rued that the clothes at the Week had more of a European sensibility. "In the long run it is the Indian ethos and colours that will stand out. If you start aping the West, what is the difference, where is your USP?"
Sahiba Chadha of Saffron International, a subsidiary of Albion Group, created to give a platform to Indian designers, stressed that India needs to focus on traditional Indian heritage. Saffron already controls the marketing, branding, management and distribution of Satya Paul and Rohit Bal in the US and Canada. This Week they have taken up JJ Valaya and Abu-Sandeep. And from the Lakme Fashion Week Manish Malhotra, though it is still being worked out.
A host of buyers from the domestic market, who did not wish to be quoted also regretted why Indian designers are chasing the West when “the market is here. We buy in bulk – a lot more than what the Western buyers do. I wanted to see the look-book of a designer and I was rudely told to visit their store. Is this why I have come so far? Why did I come to the Week if I have to trudge to their stores in some other part of the city to just get a glimpse of their look-book". Another espoused the need for more new designers with merchandise in the price range of Rs 2,000-9,000.
What was also suggested at the Week was that it be held sometime by February end, increase timings between shows so that buyers get a chance to meet the designers after the show. Designers and buyers alike lamented the lack of proper guide marks to the second exhibition area and hoped that the next edition would house all the stalls under one roof.
The buyers hoped that missing cue sheets and look-books at most of the stalls would not be repeated in the next edition. It was also “tiring and clumsy” for the buyers to watch too many similar designs in different colours on the ramp. "The shows should be of a shorter duration and should highlight the strengths of the designer. Then it is easy for the buyer to decide," Luisa said.
The designers, specially, wanted food and beverage kiosks across the Week premises, make available subsidised food for staff at the stalls, and space out shows to allow buyers to touch and feel the collections after each show.
What cannot be denied is that the Week is only getting better each year. Divide or not, India Fashion Week seems to be coming of age. A couple of more weeks and business will only add on to what was transacted and will be transacted.
