It's a mad rush at most designer studios as the much vaunted couturiers of India Inc are still recovering from the hectic swirl that was the Lakme India Fashion Week (LIFW). Business has been great this year, as good as last year and even better than last year for some. Big orders have been contracted, sampling is on for some major buyers. Many deals have been struck, while some are in the process of being sealed.
Tarun Tahiliani has Harrods, Shane and Falguni Peacock are doing samples for them and in talks with Selfridges; Sabyasachi Mukherjee who's seen a “radical growth” over the Weeks, has inquiries worth $ 93,000 from Kuwait, is readying for Browns yet again and at the same time dealing with the work that “serious inquiries from Selfridges and Saks Fifth Avenue” demand, a few more are also hoping to clinch deals with these international players; and, a bulk of the fashion designers have signed on the dotted line with domestic buyers from across the country and a host from the Gulf. JJ Valaya has to supply 1500-2000 pieces, with more expected from anticipated confirmations. Plus, there were multiple buyers from the US, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, the UK, and India. This Week saw him acquire 60 per cent new buyers as this was the first time that “we displayed our entire line at the stall”.
Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) director-general Rathi Vinay Jha corroborates what the designers state: “I have had a one-on-one with most designers after the Week was over. Except for five designers, whose collections I personally think did not fit the needs of the market, all have conveyed that they have had better business than the last year.”
Agent provocateur?
Though this sixth edition of the LIFW saw the regular hype and hoopla, what was a tad less was the ballyhoo of socialites traipsing in and out of each ramp show, a veritable celebwalk hijacking the business of fashion in the earlier Weeks. What also has been happening slowly over the last couple of editions and became stronger this year was the presence of agents, from within and outside the country, wanting to take on the burden of business from designers.
It has to be a good working partnership, says Mukherjee. It is a fabulous trend, avers Rajesh Pratap Singh, adding that agents can bring value to the table. In the same breath he warns that the designers need to know who the agents are and whether they will be able to deliver on the promises they make. 'Chai' Narendra Kumar was approached by one such agent from London last year and another one from the US this year.
“That’s how designers work in the West. This is indeed a wonderful trend. Agents will be able to provide a local face to the designers. Not all of us have an elaborate marketing set-up and this backing to creativity with commerce is a step in the right direction. I am sure there will be more and more such people as the Weeks progress.”
Stating that an agent is important, Mukherjee admits to having had talks with big export houses and a “huge textile guy” even before the Fashion Week, but is yet to strike the deal. “One tends to play it safe,” he contends, adding, “Our design capability is what makes us what we are. Both parties must have the same vision. A lot of people say it does not materialise because of egos. What must be understood here is we are trying to protect ourselves. Until and unless one is convinced of their strategies, it's not easy to sign on the dotted line.”
Anjana Bhargava too is cautious. “Everybody seeks to represent designers overseas. It is a good trend, but we designers must also organise ourselves. Before we take on that step, we must ensure that we have that breadth and width to be able to deliver how much so ever we take on.”
One of the most touted steps towards corporatisation at this Week was the acquisition of the label ‘Deepika Gehani’ by Genesis Colors, the parent holding company of the design label Satya Paul. As the holding company, Genesis Colors will position and promote Gehani’s range of garments to regional and international audiences by opening standalone stores at all major metropolis. The company may go in for another designer or two in the next year, said its MD, Sanjay Kapoor.
Joseph Sam, CEO & director, Saks Clothing, which manages the brands Shahab Durazi and took over Bhargava last October, has now taken on Mandira Wirk. The activities with them would include establishing key areas to manage the supply chain for the respective designers with a specific team allocated for this task, merchandise planning in each category and management of the merchandising function, interacting with buyers, retailing and distribution, marketing and branding.
“Designer brands are celebrity brands and this actualisation of the lifestyle they portray or the inherent capability they have to make someone look or feel beautiful requires a different form of positioning/marketing/branding. Our expertise in this area would be exercised using a sensible balance between their profile and values, the profile of the market they influence and the 'lifecycle' of their creative skills," explains Sam. The partnership, concurs Wirk, is evolving.
Yet another from this growing tribe was US-based Khyati Shah of River by River. The designers, she said, she was looking at included Wendell Rodricks, Sonali Mansingka, Dipika Govind, Monapali, Anjana Bhargava and Narendra Kumar. “We are trying to create a new platform for India Inc in the US. We are creating shelf space for Indian designers in boutiques which were so far stocking only European designers.”
Grouch n' buyers
Despite all the talk of serious business that the Week generated, Shah was among the clutch of not-too-happy buyers. “The Week lacks commercial focus. When you go to the stall, some stalls are closed, some stalls have assistants who don't have price sheets or the assistant does not really know anything about the business that needs to be transacted.”
Ammar Moufti, managing director, Network Trading, that caters to middle-upper class boutiques in the Middle East and also the US, feels the biggest problem is of pricing. “Most of them are not offering wholesale prices for buyers. They quote high prices and then negotiate. This is gambling and all very new to me. I have an experience of 15 years in this field. I am not here to bargain. I'm here to buy. Besides, though the selections are nice, they are not very representative.
"They don't have price tags on their clothes and some stalls even don't have order forms. There are no manufacture and delivery dates. Some have a delivery schedule of 45 days for some buyers and three months for another. There is a problem regarding payments too. Some designers want me to place orders and pay 50 per cent advance. The norm is to pay whenever the consignment is ready and some in the US give me 30 days. But for a deal struck first time you don’t pay half of it and three months in advance!”
Domestic buyers and Indian buyers settled abroad too had their tales of woe. Not wanting to be quoted many raised more than an eyebrow at why “designers go drooling over fair-skinned buyers? Some designers must change their attitude. Buyers have to be given importance not on the basis of the colour of their skin but their buying capacity.”
A lot of the buyers' “unhappiness” also stemmed from the problem of passes, poorly located buyers lounge “which was not vaccummed daily” to no proper look books.
Arise! Awake!
As the Weeks progress from year to year, the learning curve is only getting better for the participants, organisers, and all. Jha has announced two fashion weeks from 2006 which will address the problem of catering to the right seasons at the right time. Many more steps will be taken. But, what is it that extra bit that designers need to do to forge ahead and increase the share of the designerwear market from the present Rs 180 crore, which is just 0.2 per cent of the total apparel market? Designerwear could be the next investment destination for Indian corporates, says the IMAGES-KSA Technopak study on the Indian apparel market and preliminary market potential estimates suggest that the industry could grow to Rs 1,000 crore!
Says Michael Fink, a buyer for Saks Fifth Avenue: “I came back this year too. Although the designers and just about everyone at the Week look more professionally organised this year, what I am looking for is a strong international yet local Indian flavour.” Barbara Constantinescu from Bajra, Switzerland, perhaps spoke for many when she urged on the need for India Inc to come up with more traditional textiles, designs, new weaves, prints. Innovation within the parameters of ‘Indian’ and an appeal transcending boundaries – will the seventh India Fashion Week deliver pleasant surprises? We can only wait and watch.
