CALCUTTA, India, April 29 (UPI) -- Indian fashion's enfant terrible Rohit Bal is on a high as the popularity of his designer clothes continues to spread.
Mumbai-based textile major Raymond Mills Ltd., one of the country's oldest and largest clothes makers is set to pick up a strategic stake in the Rohit Bal's designer brand as part of its plan to expand in the designer-clothes business.
Raymond has also bought out almost all of Bal's pret-a-porter (ready to wear) winter designs, for Raymond's new luxury boutique called "Be." Besides, Bal has also bagged deals to retail his clothes at a few other prominent boutiques in the country, and, he is planning to open his own stores in a few major cities in India.
"This is madness. People are buying clothes without any apologies," said Bal recently while searching for a shop location in India's largest fashion conscious city, Mumbai.
Known for his extravagance with yards of cloth as well as for his bridal ensemble priced at $1,000 and above (about a half year's earnings for an average Indian), Bal has succumbed to the challenge of designing ready-to-wear clothes priced between $12 and $50. "I've done shirts in local handloom cloth for $5 and am working on bringing down price points further," he added.
A Rohit Bal shirt for $5? "This madness is just a tip of the iceberg and many Titanics will succumb to it," he said. And, many already have. In India, one can get other designer clothes at prices $15 to $25, for which one would have had to pay as much as 10 times more even about 18 months back.
A year ago, as recession, competition and only a few months of the buying season began defining the couture segment, the discussion in the fashion world had turned weighty. The garment fraternity wondered where its future income would come from. Shunned for long, pret-a-porter was the answer. Today it's the buzzword in the fashion industry with big names crossing over.
"Indian designers are slowly trying to shed their page three image and getting into the corporate act," said JJ Valaya, yet another designer clothes guru, rated as one of top five. "The idea of fashion is now to move out from the frivolous image in which it has got entangled. If you are not into pret, you cannot survive."
Since times started getting tough for designers, and, the realization dawned that out of $15 billion a year clothes market, designer clothes account for a mere $100 million, Indian designers have started getting creative beyond the ramp and are looking at various other options to expand their business. Haute couture isn't hot any more, instead now, the story is about ready-to-wear, e-commerce, corporatization, venture capital and more.
For instance, what has also changed the way the pret game is being played is the entry of large companies into the market. While departmental stores dealt with smaller designers, Raymond's has reined in the chaos and disorganized designers into smelling the money.
"Initially we spent a lot of time convincing the designers to join us, " said Gautam Singhania, chairman of Raymond. "Now that they know we are serious about having 15 stores across the country by March next year and have already helped them earn good money, designers are bending backwards to join us."
And, e-commerce may not be a reality in India yet, but for designer Ritu Kumar and her son, Amrish, it fits neatly into their scheme of things. "There are a lot of direct customer sales through our Web site. Our site has been online for quite some time now and we do about 100 to 150 transactions a month," revealed Amrish Kumar, director, Ritika Ltd.
The average price of clothes sold through the Web site hovers at around $100 and according to Kumar, Ritka Ltd. sold a wedding dress worth $1,500 through the Web site some time back. "The buyers are mostly non resident Indians residing in the United States."
"Venture capitalists have also started looking at funding designers," says leading fashion designer Raghavendra Rathore, although he evades the question of whether he has approached any, or, if VCs have started funding already.
But "Be" officials gave a glimpse of the corporatization model that is followed: it just buys the designs from designers, and handles production, supply and distribution itself.
Though pret may be the next logical step, it is still fraught with difficulties, say designers. According to Rathore, "Pret requires flexible manufacturing. Do we have vendors who can provide that kind of volume and quality?"
There are many creative challenges in pret as well. "Customers in general have predetermined price points with respect to a particular category," said Be officials. "For fashion designers, it will be a fairly significant creative challenge to make clothes that fit those predetermined price points."
However, fashion experts admit that the urban Indians' wardrobes are growing to accommodate the pret labels of top designers, including global names, even if they are a touch pricey compared to the homegrown ones. Clients sold on exclusivity too have begun showing their preferences, they add.
But Rathore sums up the situation aptly. "Designers won't need page three to express themselves any more. But the real test for fashion designers will begin now. And, how long will this party last, only time will tell."
