Feature

From couture, to diffusion, to prêt. The designs of fashion in India, since the inception of the India Fashion Week just five years back, has seen the high-brow fashion designer stoop to meet the masses at their price points. From sheer drama on the catwalk to a drama created to draw buyers and not just mere applause to the rounds of cocktails and Pg 3 titter, the success of the annual Weeks can now be measured in terms of this gradual movement. Incidentally for this edition, ‘Join the fashion...

To say this is the worst of times for the Indian fashion designer would be an outrageous fallacy. To say this is the best of times also might not always ring truly true. I'm sure there will be raised eyebrows aplenty even over this assertion. But, let's look at simple figures. The prêt industry has the potential of generating business worth Rs 2,500 crore annually. The present day figures will not touch even a Rs 100 crore mark if it is just designer prêt we talk about, and this inclusive of...