Indian designers looking at new avenues for growth

Renowned names from the fashion industry seem to be taking to new routes to span out their businesses. Instead of designing just clothes, now they are following different passions like designing homes, hotels, furniture, cars et al. However,

what remains common among all these new professions is that they have taken up is their love for designing. While Raghvendra Rathore recently redesigned a vintage 1947 Chevrolet, Tarun Tahliani and JJ Valaya are into designing hotels and homes, Rohit Bal and designer dup Ashima-Leena plan to sell designer furniture, and Suneet Varma has worked with brands such as Swarovski and BMW.

And while on one hand, Indian designers are increasingly getting global recognition with many international celebrities flaunting their creations either on the runway, awards or other events, designer clothing industry in India is yet to scale up as businesses. Barring a few known names such as Satya Paul, Anita Dongre, Ritu Kumar, Tarun Tahiliani, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, and Shantanu & Nikhil, who have tasted success by retailing their labels in India, Indian designer wear market us still at a nascent stage when it comes to taking the retail plunge.

Perhaps this is why many Indian designers are diversifying into different segments and finding new channels for creative expression so as also to scale up their business. According to a recent Assocham report, the designer wear industry in India is likely to cross Rs 11,000 crores by 2020, riding a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 40 per cent. The reasons for growth as cited by the study were diverse, from higher disposable incomes to emergence of mall culture, changing sense of style and dressing to growing fashion consciousness among urban Indians. No wonder designers are looking beyond apparels and experimenting with new categories like cars, homes, jewellery, furniture and so on.

The Assocham report also said currently, India’s share in the global designer wear industry is Rs 2.2 lakh crore, a mere 0.32 per cent, but is likely to reach 1.7 per cent by 2020. According to experts, this is the right time for Indian designers to tap growth opportunities that exist in various segments. They have to think big, take risks and jump into the big league by corporatizing their designer wear label.