Column: From runway to retail
(TNN 12/04/2006) New Delhi - You made my week” said Hilary Alexander of The Daily Telegraph. ”You have put the colors together with great bravado and the result is very convincing,” said Suzy Menkes of the International Herald Tribune. These were reactions to Manish Arora’s debut collection at the London Fashion Week.
After an appearance at two fashion weeks, Manish Arora is the new sensation on the fashion stage in London. Suzy Menkes, Lisa Armstrong, Hilary Alexander and Anna Wintour — the Czarinas of the international fashion media — have all been seduced by his latest collection.
Defying the predictions of all trend forecasters, Arora’s collection featuring his own original palette of colour, embellishments, fabric and design is now on sale in leading department stores like Harrods, Le Bon Marche, Saks 5th Avenue, and 80 other premium destinations.
Everything seems in place for this fashion phenomenon to be converted into a global brand, but a sceptical voice might ask —what needs to be done now? The Indian design industry has in the past boasted of talented designers such as Asha Sarabhai, whose creations inhabited museum spaces around the world, and were lauded for impeccable craftsmanship and fine aesthetics.
But none of this talent was institutionalised as a brand. Our fashion designers have mastered the art of getting exquisite embroidery done by a not-very-organised labour, and created products that inspire designers worldwide. But of the 150 FDCI members, the jury’s still out on how many will truly become brands, whether domestic or global.
Branding today requires huge investments — in showrooms, advertising, PR, brand ambassadors and in this business, fashion shows. The sporadic participation by designers in various internationals Fashion Weeks is in some ways detrimental to brand creation, as “one show wonders” are never taken too seriously by the media and business houses.
Manish Arora has been fortunate enough to be supported by the Centre for Fashion Enterprises, a body that promotes young talent from around the world to help make London the centre of fashion.
So access to public relations consultants, styling and business services are provided by the CFE. Could not the FDCI, which is supported by the government give a boost to the careers of young design professionals by forming a committee that identifies and supports them?
There are already several designers selling in reputed department stores and boutiques around the world. Some of these include Monisha Jaisingh, Varun Bahl, Rajesh Pratap, Ranna Gill and Anamika Khanna.
The recent domestic tie-ups between Suneet Varma and Tuscan Verve and Manish Arora and Reebok are steps in the right direction. They may be small compared to the 120 million Euro fragrance deal signed by P&G and Dolce & Gabbana, or the Tom Ford-Estee Lauder deal, but they will smooth the growth path of the overall industry a bit. Future licensing agreements in other product categories will further help spread the designer brand names.
15 years working with designers like these has led me to believe that most of them are wary of tying up with larger companies. They fear that they will be taken for a ride or lose their identity — despite the success stories from Chanel, Gucci, YSL, and Louis Vuitton and designers like Karl Lagerfeld, Tom Ford, Stella McCartney and Marc Jacobs.
A 2003 study by Goldman Sachs projects that over the next 50 years, India’s economy will grow faster than that of other major economies due to its young and increasing workforce.
This will result in a paradigm shift in what the consumer wants; with increasing disposable incomes, tomorrow’s buyers will have more spending power. That should be the cue for designers to develop a deeper understanding of consumers, and put specially designed offerings on the market.
Retail initiatives like the tie-up between H&M and Stella McCartney created history. The specially designed merchandise was priced between $39.99 and $200, and had customers lining up outside shops to buy the range.
They were sold out within hours, with the first racks getting emptied in three minutes. The mass market bought its aspirational designer label at affordable prices, the designer got branding through nationwide advertising and the store clocked up huge sales.
I think we should now move up the value chain from running GPOs (garment processing organisations) to becoming DPOs: design processing organisations, which can offer our design potential to for brands across the world.
We are truly a reservoir of creative talent, rich crafts, opulent fabrics and a fine heritage — all the essential ingredients that define fashion.
By former professor of marketing and communication at NIFT.
After an appearance at two fashion weeks, Manish Arora is the new sensation on the fashion stage in London. Suzy Menkes, Lisa Armstrong, Hilary Alexander and Anna Wintour — the Czarinas of the international fashion media — have all been seduced by his latest collection.
Defying the predictions of all trend forecasters, Arora’s collection featuring his own original palette of colour, embellishments, fabric and design is now on sale in leading department stores like Harrods, Le Bon Marche, Saks 5th Avenue, and 80 other premium destinations.
Everything seems in place for this fashion phenomenon to be converted into a global brand, but a sceptical voice might ask —what needs to be done now? The Indian design industry has in the past boasted of talented designers such as Asha Sarabhai, whose creations inhabited museum spaces around the world, and were lauded for impeccable craftsmanship and fine aesthetics.
But none of this talent was institutionalised as a brand. Our fashion designers have mastered the art of getting exquisite embroidery done by a not-very-organised labour, and created products that inspire designers worldwide. But of the 150 FDCI members, the jury’s still out on how many will truly become brands, whether domestic or global.
Branding today requires huge investments — in showrooms, advertising, PR, brand ambassadors and in this business, fashion shows. The sporadic participation by designers in various internationals Fashion Weeks is in some ways detrimental to brand creation, as “one show wonders” are never taken too seriously by the media and business houses.
Manish Arora has been fortunate enough to be supported by the Centre for Fashion Enterprises, a body that promotes young talent from around the world to help make London the centre of fashion.
So access to public relations consultants, styling and business services are provided by the CFE. Could not the FDCI, which is supported by the government give a boost to the careers of young design professionals by forming a committee that identifies and supports them?
There are already several designers selling in reputed department stores and boutiques around the world. Some of these include Monisha Jaisingh, Varun Bahl, Rajesh Pratap, Ranna Gill and Anamika Khanna.
The recent domestic tie-ups between Suneet Varma and Tuscan Verve and Manish Arora and Reebok are steps in the right direction. They may be small compared to the 120 million Euro fragrance deal signed by P&G and Dolce & Gabbana, or the Tom Ford-Estee Lauder deal, but they will smooth the growth path of the overall industry a bit. Future licensing agreements in other product categories will further help spread the designer brand names.
15 years working with designers like these has led me to believe that most of them are wary of tying up with larger companies. They fear that they will be taken for a ride or lose their identity — despite the success stories from Chanel, Gucci, YSL, and Louis Vuitton and designers like Karl Lagerfeld, Tom Ford, Stella McCartney and Marc Jacobs.
A 2003 study by Goldman Sachs projects that over the next 50 years, India’s economy will grow faster than that of other major economies due to its young and increasing workforce.
This will result in a paradigm shift in what the consumer wants; with increasing disposable incomes, tomorrow’s buyers will have more spending power. That should be the cue for designers to develop a deeper understanding of consumers, and put specially designed offerings on the market.
Retail initiatives like the tie-up between H&M and Stella McCartney created history. The specially designed merchandise was priced between $39.99 and $200, and had customers lining up outside shops to buy the range.
They were sold out within hours, with the first racks getting emptied in three minutes. The mass market bought its aspirational designer label at affordable prices, the designer got branding through nationwide advertising and the store clocked up huge sales.
I think we should now move up the value chain from running GPOs (garment processing organisations) to becoming DPOs: design processing organisations, which can offer our design potential to for brands across the world.
We are truly a reservoir of creative talent, rich crafts, opulent fabrics and a fine heritage — all the essential ingredients that define fashion.
By former professor of marketing and communication at NIFT.
posted by InCar Group Press Room at 14:56
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