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Global fast fashion sneaks into Indian wardrobes

By Sujata Sachdeva

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Business

The fashion retail market is going through quick changes and how. Ecommerce, brands and physical retailers are partnering fashion events and designers to offer trend merchandise off the runway. Also, they are making changes in global runway fashion to suit Indian sensibilities.

From Versace, Zara, River Island, Forever 21 to shelves of Pantaloons, Reliance Trends or online platforms like Jabong and Myntra, fresh fashion trends are making inroads into Indian fashion markets. High street stores and e-platforms are now donning global fashion trends like checks, floral prints, ripped jeans and embroidered peasant tops, office shirts, lace dresses, peplum tops, military prints and polyester jumpsuits at made-in-India prices as well as Indian sizes and choice of colours.

Fashion to suit Indian sensibilities

While international fast-fashion brands are quick at bringing runway favourites to their stores, the fashion on offer is mostly suitable for western silhouettes and preferences in terms of fabrics, fit and even colours. Apparel retailers in India like Pantaloons, Reliance Trends or Shoppers Stop and Westside understand their Indian consumer well. So the same international styles are worked around to fit Indian body-types and in their choice of bright colours.

Online platforms have further made things easier. While following international trends, and offering globally acknowledged styles in dresses like maxis, bodycon dresses, asymmetrical hemlines or mullet dresses and so on, they are working with studios based in Spain or London, to churn out collections for fashion seeking Indian audiences. Pantaloons, for instance, is part of the Worth Global Style Network, a trend-forecasting company that informs all retailers about the latest trends in accessories, shoes, bags and clothes, since 2006. These retailers also visit fairs like Première Vision, Paris, high-fashion stores in fashion capitals of the world to understand what’s trending and then work on a range.

Fashion innovations for Indian fashionistas

Indian brands and apparel retailers are putting efforts to fulfill fashion needs of consumers, who are now aware about latest trends and seek branded wear. Online players have been partnering Bollywood celebs to launch stylish wardrobes, while also tying up with fashion weeks to bring collections directly from runways. Designers too have realised the potential of ecommerce and are either launching reasonably priced designer merchandise with third party websites or launching their own web-stores to reach out to the fashion-savvy customers, based across India as well as abroad.

A recent Google study says, every third search term from India is fashion related. It estimates that by 2020, online fashion retail to be 35 percent of the total online retail revenue generated in India from 1 percent of the 43 billion dollars (over Rs 2,68,000 crores) fashion, accessories and footwear market. While ecommerce major Flipkart acquired Myntra to strengthen its fashion business, Snapdeal acquired Exclusively.in. Jabong and Amazon too are heavily investing in their fashion segments to remain in tune with consumers’ varied choices.

Jabong
Pantaloons