P 'Couture equals bridalwear'(;this perception is just the start ofman~cl s~ptomatic issue that ails the)lqjl, fashion sector!! ' 0,,j '~ uly 26-August 8, 200 aris Couture Week, arguably the world's most prestigious fashion event, has just got over The headlines haven't been kind, pointing out that the Week has been dying a slow death over the past two decades, as clients move away from the ensembles showcased at the event An epitome of customised luxury in its heyday in the decade following World War, the event has increasingly become a place for corporate showcasing of logoencrusted products as falling revenues have forced many a couturier to focus on the less prestigious, but far more financially lucrative, pret-ii-porter This is precisely the time that ndian fashion has chosen to highlight its version of couture by starting not one, but two couture weeks, making Mumbai and now Delhi only the third and fourth cities in the world to have couture weeks after Paris and New York Almost concurrent to the recent couture week in Delhi was the Tarun Tahiliani Bridal Couture Exposition What makes the ndian 'fash frat' so confident, especially as most openly admit that they are not as good as their western counterparts in pret and have anyway missed that bus as brands such as Mango, Tommy Hilfiger, FCUK, Promod,
Showcasing Tahiliani's collection ndian couture is exploiting the avantgarde dassidsm of the past Benetton and, of late, Zara look to capture a major share of the ndian market? ndian fashion, that oxyqloron of a term, is having as busy a time as it ever has While leading ndian designers stake their claim sporadically to global red carpets and irregular clients, new designers are jostling for space on the runways, even as the number of weeks has increased manifold over the past two years till, as some point out, it makes little sense Critics have dubbed last fortnight's Couture Week organised by the Fashion Design Council of ndia (FDC) in Delhi as more of a 'bridal' week, given the preponderance of wedding and related occasion wear therein "The purpose of the weeks is not crystal clear," says Puneet Nanda, design head, Satya Paul label, part of Genesis Colours "We are not, as a fraternity, booking orders six months in advance" ndian signature Defining ndian couture is not the easiest of jobs either "Couture consists of masterpieces created out of the best quality fabrics, intricate embroidery and detailing, which is time-consuming is done to perfection and the ndian touch is omnipresent," explains Pradeep Hirani of Kimaya, a couture retail chain, refuting allegations that it is limited to wedding costumes "ndian couture today is exploiting the avant garde classicism of the past and infusing a contemporary twist to it, thus displaying a spectacular fashion panorama, which not only echoes the intrinsic charms of the land, but is also a pleasure to beholders" Designer Anju Modi points to historical wealth of couture in ndia zari, zardozi, chikankari and many others made specially, for erstwhile royals Fellow designer Ritu Kumar explains that ndia has always had a tradition of made-to-order, and events such as couture weeks will help it get more formalised She admits that while couture is struggling in the West, as ndians live larger than life and want to celebrate it, couture has a brighter future here Designer Valaya, known for his opulence of presentation, says that ndian couture has carved a distinct identity for itself and should be recognised as such, stressing on its bespoke nature "Couture is not that much of a business proposition as it is about the romance of it Each ensemble is a masterpiece, which sets the trend for the less elaborate collections to the season" Valaya, however, says it is increasingly becoming a loosely used word like luxury "Everybody does great jackets," he points out, "but only those eight or nine selected names count as couturiers ndians who aspire to be couturiers should be able to work within the 'ndian signature'," he stresses Modi agrees, saying that ndians are still colonised in their ii lilll! ii! -
'~ :! r mindsets"our couture could be instead to the enormous talent that global only if we stick to our core these designers possess design aesthetics" Prices apparently do not matter but a starting point of a Volume woes Worthy words, but even those optilakh is what most agree on Designer aya Rathore, one of the mistic about the future of ndian fashinstallation designers - among the ion admit that, despite its deep roots seven of the 9 participating designers, in diverse local textile, fabric and who was not on the ramp, but had an embroidery traditions, it is failing to installation in the Delhi Couture Week live up to its potential and make its mark on the global fashion - stresses that the most important facet of a couture collection arena beyond the Middle should be its selectiveness East While no data is available, experts estimate the "The garments should be a ndian fashion limited edition," she says, top end of this sector fails to live up to pointing out that the the designers' labels - to its potential or demand for couture will be collectively worth just always be there Sunil Sethi, make a mark Rs300-500 crore president, FDC, points out ndian couture reprethat an unbelievable 57 designsents the top end of the fashers applied for the Pearls Couture ion scale, and also perhaps week "Even globally, there are just a exemplifies its frailties "There is no handful of couture houses," he says estimate of the sector's size," (see box) He stresses that it would be a admits Sethi, who points out mistake to measure ndian couture that few designers are willing to with Parisian yardsticks, as ndian cou- share their sales figures FDC'S ture and fashion are still in their plan to commission a study infancy "Many started as mom-andto understand the sector in pop stores," he says, pointing out ndia, which has been in cold storage for over half a decade now, even as internecine rivalry and multiplying weeks have ensured that "FDChas become a joke," says Modi, decrying the insecurity associated with many of her colleagues KPMGdid a study on the sec- tor in 2003, N E S SN D A ]uy26-august8,200 Parisian roots rance for long set the trends in fashion with Europe's ascendancy, on the rest of the world from the mercantile era The norms established in Parisian salons came to be regarded haute couture, French for high dressmaking Today, haute couture is defined by the 4-yearold Chambre Syndicale De La Couture, who annually releases a list of labels who are entitled to use the haute couture label to describe their work The Paris Couture Week, held separately for Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, showcases these select labels, and has been under stress in recent years due to the shrinking of clients From 06 listed couture houses in 946, the number had fallen to 8 by 2000 For 20 0, there were listed official members - F and, along with FDC and predicted the sector's net worth in a decade would be about Rsl,OOOcrore Nearing the deadline, not even the most optimistic cite that figure The ndian designer markh is a measly 03 per cent of the total branded apparel market, says Hirani, who estimates an annual growth of 5 per cent with East Asia, the UAE and Europe have large consumption of ndian designer wear That couture is crucial is uncontested "Couture is experimental, and allows a designer to design free of the usual considerations," says Rathore Fellow designer Raakesh Agarvwal says, a couture collection is more of a personal collection Couture establishes the designer's brand, which can then be used to develop pret lines, which provide the volumes 92 and profits A distinct brand can then attract capital, helping the brand grow further, a model widely followed globally Therefore, there is also a certain amount of despair at the competing weeks that are currently on What is also uncontested is the desire for ndians to don ethnic wear for occasions be it a wedding, a birthday or even a party - a demand met almost wholly by ndian designers at the moment, but even here brands such as Armani and Canali have begun to make forays into the menswear market Valaya equates weddings to life blood of the sector ndians need to
N E S SN D A ]uly26-august8,200 Adeline Andre, Anne Valerie Hash, Chanel, Christian Dior, Christian Lacroix, Sirop, Franck Sorbier, Dominique Givenchy, ean Paul Gaultier, Maurizio Galante and Stephane Rolland Armani and Valentino are guest members t is not often that an ndian designer is selected as the finale designer for a European fashion show Unprecedented would describe the honour more accurately as veteran designer Ritu Kumar was chosen as the finale designer at the Valladolid de Moda Fashion Week, held from 28-30 une Kumar also participated in the first ndia-spain Fashion Professionals Meeting in Madrid, a forum to discuss a common commercial cooperation, industrial, cultural and educational strategy between the two countries in fashion "They gave me a standing ovation at the end of my show," she says "For them, it was very exotic to get designer apparel from ndia, something so far away from their mindscape" She also expressed hope that ndia would participate at the next Madrid nternational fair, whose organisers, Salon nternacional De M<?daDe Madrid (SMM)were present at Valladolid She however is not so confident about ndian designers immediately finding a market in the West "The markets are still bleeding, and it would be di~icult for ndian designers," she says Fifty per cent of Kumar's sales last year came from international sales Kumar showcased 0 ndian garments as part of the Ritu Kumar Couture Collection She described the honour conferred on her as a welcome sign of ndia's increasing role in global ~ashion The show received a standing ovation, said Kumar, who showcased gowns worn by former beauty queens Dia Mirza, Yukta Mookhey, Lara Dutta and Priyanka Chopra at international modelling assignments Spain's most venerated designer Elyo Berhanyer was also honoured at the same event The event also saw representation from officials of the National nstitute of Fashion Technology and Fashion Design Council of ndia One of ndia's leading designers and a founder member of the FOC, Kumar is widely credited for the interest in the revival of traditional forms of embroidery and textile arts Ritu Kumar has about stores and points of sale across leading ndian cities as well as three in the US While she started her own brand about four decades ago, in 2002, her son Amrish joined her to launch a sub-brand, Ritu Kumar LABEL marry more; multiple times perhaps look inwards into the domestic marand attend weddings of as many peo- ket Sethi even says the main market is ple as they can For that could be domestic, not international a service to the couturiers However, designers such "Weddings are the main Valaya point out their artery as 70-80 per cent of The sector still international clients the sales are related to "Eleven first families of needs to grow them in ndia" Designer the Middle East are my Pallavi aikishen puts it at beyond ts mmuscule clients," he says He an even higher estimate level in its modem launched the Alika jacket at the recent Week, which "As much as 90 per cent of avatar my couture sales are from introduced a silhouette that weddings," she says will not change over the yearsncreasingly, espedally after the and something, he hopes, will recent economic downturn in the become iconic over time His list of West, designers have been forced to top ndian couturiers who, he esti- 93 mates, sell about 75 per cent ndian couture include Tamn Tahiliani, Rohit Bal, Abu-Sandeep and Sabyasachi, besides himself The designer, who is opening a 0,000 sq ft store at Delhi's MG Road later this season, is confident that the market for couture in ndia is as large as the ready-to-wear market, and says the super luxury business in ndia is thriving and operates at a rarefied level Designer Gaurav Gupta points to his clients such as Priya and Cham Sachde\!: of the TSG group, who are ready to sport experimental gowns His solution to growing ndian couture: send a designer to the Paris Couture Week Colour of bottomlines This sector still needs to grow beyond its minuscule level in its modern avatar Even with the obvious given that design is an extremely individual activity, the ndian fashion sector's lack of organisation is beginning '' ii ' i i,~ ~, ilii, ii,, ilill
Coutur~ consists of master pieces created out of the best quality fabrics, embroidery intricate and detailing (Left) aikishen: 'weddings form 90 per cent of my couture sales' ii, f " N E S SN -'C'dn&!Wt,,:t:~;::r:!rli uly26-august 8,200 to affect its growth at this fairly the sponsorship at couture weeks nascent stage "Fashion weeks have While the ones in Mumbai were sponbecome less and les,s important even sored by HDL(Housing Development in ndia," says Dilip Kapur of & nfrastructure Ltd), a listed real estate development company, the Hidesign, who points out the almost complete absence of accessories, the one in Delhi is sponsored by Pearls, a company dealing in real estate, staple of runways and healthy hospitality, media and edubottomlines for most global cation "We felt that associbrands, at events such as ating with this industry fashion weeks ndia is to yet will certainly give us The few attempted tieto grant even brand recognition as well ups with corporate houses, industry status as our support for the best such as Manish Arora and style statement, which is to fashion Reebok, or Narendra the ethics of all the busikumar and Banswara Synnesses we are in,/ says yoti tex, have not been seen as sucnarain, director and spokespercessful, while Raymond's venture with designers, Be: did not quite son, Pearls The HDL spokesperson work out Some designers have had explained his company's role attempted creating an entire lifestyle almost identically Even the regular weeks are sponbrand it la their western counterparts, sored by Wills, Lakme and Van but those haven't worked here either / Sethi says production tie-ups are on Heusen, all of whom have certain demands,/ says a designer the cards, but admits that on condition of designers are often unwillanonymity Those in the ing to let go of control fraternity bemoan such over their labels Agarvwal tie-ups as they dilute the points out that abroad core, they feel "ndia's there are tie-ups with corweeks are sponsored,/ porate houses for even says Nanda, explaining couture collections, somethat, if the shows are not thing still to happen supported, then the here " would love a designer has to think tie-up," he says about what he or she is "A certain amount of presenting - a norm in corporatisation has to global fashion Though happen,/ says Devangshu no figure is confirmed, it Dutta, chief executive, is estimated that a threethird Eyesight, a consultyear title sponsorship deal ing firm focussing on could cost about Rs2S retail and consumer segcrore Associate sponsorments He points out that, unlike in the West Agarvwal: morepersonal ships are estimated to cost about Rs20-S0 lakh where even high end marso much priority did the French kets have significant volume, and is therefore possible for a designer to give to fashion that couturier Rose carve out a niche, but the ndian mar- Bertin served as minister for fashion in the late 8th century Even the ket is small "Design is our strength, but we need to augment it with infra- more plebian-oriented Napoleon continued this office ndia is to yec to structure, which if the government does not provide, will come from the grant even an industry status to fashprivate sector/ He sees some move- ion Global evidence has amply ment, but says it could be much faster shown that labels such as Dior or and needs co-ordination, which is Pierre Cardin became global names after shifting to pret Given that many missing Nanda feels the government has to recognise the sector as an leading ndian designers do not even industry and laments the fact few are consider this option, the stress in couture is perhaps the only way ahead taking the lead in this regard SUMAN TARAFDAR What has also been in question is 94 l 0 A -'::lii,;,;