At the ongoing Amazon India Fashion Week, apart from the sassy catwalks, is the crunching of numbers for sale deals. Designers tell Devi Singh that majority of international business comes from the Middle East
Besides oodles of oomph and glamour thrown in, fashion weeks are mostly trade events where designers conglomerate for serious business, cut to chase making some serious profit. Designers not only think of basking in the glory for their art and creation but a major portion of contemplation goes into the consolidation of business and fashion.
Your show might not be packed but if you succeed in booking the most number of orders and cracking lucrative deals with the buyers, you are most likely to pack a powerful punch.
India Fashion Week is primarily seen as a substantial annual commercial platform which has had a major influence on the fashion fraternity.
With Amazon stepping as the new main sponsor this year, Amazon India is slated to launch ‘Crafted in India’ to expand its online designer wear. This comes as a part of strategy adopted by online retailers to increase the demand for niche products that don't have a huge market. It's meant to bolster the sale by customizing to the individual needs. "They have around 19000 pin codes where they can deliver goods which is a huge opportunity for us as well,” said Caesar Gour, head of marketing, Rohit Bal Designs.
Increase in sales due to boon in e-commerce is proving to be an asset for the fashion retailers. As designer Samant Chauhan puts it, “This season we converted our price bucket to suit the online market. It's a different market all together. You have an access to a certain set of people even in two tier cities like Ahmedabad, Ranchi, et al. Earlier we had apprehensions about going online, we used to think people would imitate our designs but now we realize the importance of online shopping. If you have to be in the market you have to sell online."
For Indian designers majority of international business comes from the Middle East. "We do a lot of red carpet gowns and women in the Middle East love dressing up and it's a big market for us. Our brand has a strong foothold there," says designer Nainika of Gauri-Nainika duo.
"The major chunk of buyers is from the Middle East. That's where the money is. Their economy is stronger than Europe so they can spend more. Even the high end brands like Gucci, Prada generate 60 per cent of their sales from the Middle East. Even the well established brands in Europe are struggling because of their staggering economy,” adds Samant Chauhan.
"The buyers we are attracting are only international. We have buyers coming in from France, England, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia,” said Raseel Gujral of Casa Paradox.
"In domestic market all the leading stores like Aza, Ensemble place the orders with us. Internationally we have a good amount of NRI clientele as well as retailers and boutique stores who order through our online portal. This year we have potential buyers from Australia and a few from UK. We have export houses which have great turnover catering to Europe and US," said Gaur.
In India, the major business comes from the wedding segment for most of the designers. "We already have bulk orders for the coming season. But we also are coming with 50 stores of our prêt line, 'Balance' for which the price range starts from Rs3,000 to Rs20M000," adds Gaur.
Tie-ups or brand collaborations are another trend which is proving to be profitable for the designers. "It's a great way to expand your product and make your creativity go to a different platform also when you collaborate with a big company they have the infrastructure and the resources which a lot of designers don't and hence it's beneficial for the designers," says Nainika.
"The India Fashion Week goes in accordance with international calendar. The calendar starts from the US, london, Paris and moves to India. So people can time their visits accordingly. For UAE we make garments which gel with their culture like Kaftans and Jellabiyas. Japanese buyers look for more organic material," says Gaur.
Few of the biggest exports when it comes to the Indian designers are Manish Arora, Rahul Mishra, and Rana Gill who has been exporting to 'Anthropolgie' which is her biggest buyer in the US.