Nikhaar: From bespoke tailoring to niche brand

Nikhaar, the women’s wear brand earlier known for bespoke tailoring for celebs has evolved as a strong brand now. While beating the last summer’s blues, Nadeem Petiwala, Creative Head is upbeat about this year. “We are known for our fits and cuts.

Every garment has its own fluidity. Cottons move in a different way. Chiffons move in a different way. A woman looks slimmer in our kind of cuts,” he says about the brand. In order to scale up its presence the brand holds road shows with retailers. At the moment it’s available in 700 to 800 MBOs pan India. By 2014, they aim to open exclusive outlets in class II and III cities. “We will begin with 15 to 20 cities. We also go to MBOs in China in cities like Beijing and Shanghai. We are also in Tokyo. We are in small cities in France,” Petiwala explains.

Commenting on the business last year, Petiwala says, “The last season was a tough. It began with the imposition of excise duty followed by increasing interest rates, then big players virtually swallowed up all the skilled labor available, and inflation was the final nail in the coffin. Moreover, big retailers giving six months’ credit cannibalized our product line.”

The 25 year-old label gets inspiration from fashion weeks abroad as their customers are mostly women who follow the trends abroad. Adding further, Petiwala says, “Nikhaar does a lot of surface detailing. Paperwork origami designs are done on our fabrics. We usually use a lot of Indian craftsmanship. We have the look of designer labels but yet very reasonably priced.” The clothes are trendy and aspirational.

Moving along with the changing fashion trends in women’s clothing Nikhaar has developed a skill-set to fulfill the demand for latest fashion. “Our kurti has evolved into a tunic having raised hemlines keeping the Indian touch intact. The salwar kameez is out, we have transformed the kameez into a western wear, which doesn’t have too much embroidery or mirror work.” The brand comes up with a collection every quarter viz. pre-summer, summer, festive season and New Year. At the moment they are working on free flow. “We are working on a lot of pleating. The year 2012 will see a lot of drapes in garments. A lot of detailing is going into drapes,” Petiwala explains.

The brand also has a range of bottom wear consisting of salwars with dhoti or harem pant look. It is currently working on teaming up palazzo pants with tunics using different textures and embroideries. Sounding positive about the outlook for the year, he concludes “I think, 2012 should work wonders for us. Fashion-centric brands will enter the industry, which will make us try harder and give the industry better products. Only those who have their core trends in fashion will survive.”