BlackSoul: Creating a niche with denim

Aastha Design’s brand Blacksoul launched in 2009 in Mumbai has already spread its footprint to Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Pune. After tasting success, the denim brand is now focusing on retail expansion. As Prabhas Pande, MD,

Aastha Designs explains, “We intend to open EBOs in all metros and small towns. The MBO channel will be addressed through a combination of distributors and direct dealers. Currently, we are present only in one large format – Central. But in coming seasons we are targeting other leading large format stores as well.”

Targeted at young people aged 18 to 35 years, Blacksoul is priced between Rs 799 to Rs 15,000, while the accessories line start from Rs 400 and go up to Rs 3,000. Eying a turnover of Rs 60 crores in the next 2-3 years, the brand is also planning to expand its product portfolio and would add loungewear, gym tees, walker shorts, hot pants and chinos for spring/summer 2012.

High fashion, dirty jeans is the current trend in denims. Designer jeans have not yet made in-roads in Indian market since awareness is low. As Pande says, “The Indian market is not ready or open to high fashion jeans wear. Currently, dark and faded jeans with dirty and resin washes and torn effect are popular. Narrow fits with loose hips for men and skinny jeans for ladies are in demand here.”
As far as BlackSoul’s collection is concerned, they provide three different lengths in each fit -- short, regular and tall. The jeans have a lot of detailing and are properly cut and sewn with good washes.

Talking about the prospects of denim industries, Pande says that with consumers gradually becoming fashion conscious, there is a lot of potential, however the pace of this awareness is still quite slow and that is the biggest challenge for high end fashion brands. “In general there are enough players in the mid-price segment but these are mostly players from unorganized sector. Therefore, there is still a big potential for the brands to grab market share from the unorganized segment,” he adds.

He feels the women’s denim category is yet to take off in India but is showing great potential especially with demand increasing even in small towns. “It’s all about the mindset of Indian women and the options available to them such as saris, salwar kameez etc. Generally, Indian women have been very conservative about dressing up but increased awareness about fashion among the young generation, the mindset is changing”, Pande asserts. Blacksoul also has a collection of casual trousers for women known as Fun Pants. But Pande feels that though casual trousers create a fashion statement, brands are failing to capitalize on it.