Rick Rouge: Popularizing fashion denims across India

Mischief Clothing’s denim brand Rick Rouge is looking to adding three-fourth pants for men to its product portfolio by summer 2012. It’s also targeting Rs 14 crores turnover this. In fact , Mischief Clothing is upbeat about growing at 40 percent

year-on-year . Talking about the brand’s journey, Manish Jain, Director, Mischief Clothing says, “We only cater to men’s segment. We started with cargos and ventured into denims in 2007. Rick Rouge conjures up an image of a biker on a Harley Davidson. We make one and a half lakh denims every year. Six months back, we started shirts and in future we want shirts to grow.”

The brand’s product range has denim in basic lycra that’s priced at Rs 995. This collection comes in about a dozen colours and in a comfort fit. Fashion denims are priced between Rs 1,295 to Rs 1,595 and the limited edition, hi-fashion range starts from Rs 1,795 and goes up to Rs 1,995. The shirts range is between Rs 995 to Rs 1,195. Jain says, “In denims we are not into loud fashion or very fashionable stuff. We are into subtle detailing with nice touches, embroidery as well as washes, which are meant for any age category. But our main age category is 16 to 35 years. Even our basic lycra is meant for people 30 and above.”

The Rick Rogue collection is present in 350 MBOs and it plans to add 50 more shortly. “We are in Chattisgarh, Punjab, Orissa, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, MP, UP, Bihar, Karnataka and Andhra and our shirts range is available in Chattisgarh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala. Soon we plan to take our shirts range to all our denim markets. We exploring Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Assam and the Northeast,” Jain adds.

He believes the industry is open to people, who are passionate about fashion. “There may be brands which are known for fashion but they don’t do innovations. And when you are in fashion, you have to give something new which no one else has done before. You have to be consistent with the product. Sustaining yourself is one challenge and growth is another. If we make 100 styles a season, each of the style has to be different from each other,” he elaborates. For example, For winter 2011 Rick Rouge has done the rags or foam wash and has given some metallic trace on the garment. Also, they have worked on the material by which the denim looks like corduroy. “A laser finish to denim gives a corduroy finish to denim. We have given laser treatment on the thighs so the denim looks like cords.”

Jain further talks about the positive future of the denim industry, where Rick Rouge has created a niche. He says that anyone wearing denim doesn’t feel like shifting to any other kind of trousers. “The denim industry has a bright future. Anyone wearing denim doesn’t feel like shifting to any other kind of trousers. All thanks to lycra. Lycra has become synonymous with stretch,” he
sums up.