Neeta Lulla to launch EBOs for prêt line

The Indian fashion industry has bestowed her with the title: ‘Czarina of Indian Fashion’. Designer Neeta Lulla’s repertoire ranges from the elegantly simple to the majestically royal. With a flutter of chiffon and unabashed glamour, Lulla whirled into the

fashion scene more than two decades ago. Now, Lulla has just launched her spring/summer collection. “My spring/summer is cocktail wear tunics and light weight saris. My diffusion label comes out in summer because people don’t want couture. This time we have focused on tunics and prêt, which are quick-moving lines,” she says.

Lulla’s expertise, clarity and creativity, humility arising from quiet confidence has earned her both the respect and clientele of Bollywood’s famous personalities. The fraternity has helped her achieve her own stardom. She has won three President Award for films like ‘Lamhe’, ‘Devdas’ and ‘Jodha Akbar’. With over 375 films to her credit she has extended her design expertise to Hollywood projects like ‘Bride and Prejudice’, ‘One Night with a King’, ‘Mistress of Spices’ and ‘Provoked’. Currently, she is working with southern superstar Rajnikant on his film Rana.

Speaking on her latest collection, the doyen of Indian fashion says, “It is a collection with beautiful free flowing lines. The ensembles are crafted with a multitude of panels and drapes giving it the romantic volume and flow.” It has saris, churidars-kurtas, tunics and dresses that are embellished with laces, cutwork and crystal work that spell true opulence.

Lulla’s, men’s wear is more of made-to-measure. She’s mainly into bridal wear. Lulla’s couture starts at Rs 30,000 to Rs 35,000. The diffusion range is priced from Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000. The prêt segment is less than Rs 10,000. Lulla says, “I am already in the men’s couture line, a lot of men’s bridals. We are looking at a movement toward bags and accessories as well. Soon I am launching an artificial jewelry line. It’s a case study or a preview”. She added, “Basically, we are focusing on women’s wear but will diversify the brand across different price segments to cater to a bigger market.”

Lulla has a standalone flagship store, supported by an e-commerce site. The site has attracted a good response with 300 to 400 people visiting it everyday. Whilst the main website is exclusively dedicated to couture wear, another e-commerce site retails prêt, which will soon have a brick and mortar outlet as well. Lulla’s collections are currently retailed through 11 shop-in-shops joint ventures across India. “In India we feel we have already saturated the joint venture route. Now, we are trying to have our own stores. We may open two exclusive stores in 2011 in leading metros. For prêt lines one needs to have standalone formats. If you go in for tie-ups, the volume doesn’t justify the business. We export to Canada and the UAE. We have three stores in Canada and two in Dubai.”