Tailormade for profits

Designer clothes at not-so-designer prices.

MUMBAI:

Designers are increasingly cutting down the prices of their collections to accommodate the needs of the not so rich and are also managing to make profits.

"I do two lines — one is expensive Indian wear because I have to do that as well, but 80 per cent of what I make is pret. I enjoy making those garments because I would rather have many people wearing what I make than just 10 people," Delhi-based designer Pallavi Mohan said.

Her brand Not So Serious is available at many stores in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai and the price starts at INRs3,000, far lower than the usual designer tag.

Pallavi says the trend might have just started in India, but international designers like Roberto Cavalli are already doing it.

“It is high time that we did this because internationally even Cavalli is doing so — he is making Roberto Cavalli, Cavalli and Jeanwear. Everyone does that. Everyone makes an affordable line too. So we had to do it at some time.”

Haute couture is a designer’s first priority, but more and more designers are emphasising on affordable pret lines.

Ace designer Priyadarshini Rao has gone a step further and launched a new label Mineral, offering clothes at prices between INRs895 and INRs1,895.

“I have attempted to put together a line or rather a brand that is stylish yet affordable. I’ve been doing pret for many years but the kind of pret I’ve usually done is luxury pret. With Mineral we are reaching out to the masses,” said the Mumbai-based designer.

Priyadarshini’s collection was showcased at the just concluded Lakme Fashion Week (LFW).

There was a time when designers were happy with their elite clientele, but now they want to reach out to the masses because catering to just the niche market does not help them earn the kind of money they need to survive.

Kolkata-based designer Debarun says fashion is not just about style but also business.

“The whole point is that everyone wants to do business and that I think is slowly getting into the minds of the designers. Our generation of designers are realising that to survive we have to cater to the masses,” Debarun said.

“I can’t survive by selling only designer clothes. I can be very blunt about it. If I have to survive and earn money, I have to look for alternatives. Overhead costs, running costs and investments are huge — so you can’t survive by selling just one ‘ghaghra’ a month.”

“ I have two spectrums of the collection — one is a commercial range and the other which I showcased at the ramp (at LFW). So the commercial range varies from about INRs5,500 to INRs7,000 and the ramp one starts around INRs9,000 and goes up to INRs16,000,” he said.

Upcoming designer Manas Dash, who is based in Bhubaneswar, said: “It’s fantastic that people are dictating trends. In a country like India, how many people can buy couture on a regular basis. So selling and making more pret is a good idea.”

Why pret?

According to Zahir Rahimtoola of fashion retail store Labels: “Given today’s lifestyle, time is both of essence and constraint. Moreover, with the high cost of living and constant stress in every sphere of existence, pret clothing has become a staple for the upwardly mobile urban person as it provides hassle-free, choice clothing”
Price points of designers who stock at Labels:

Psyche - Umar Sayeed  Rs18,500

HSY- RTW   Rs12,000

Zara Shahjahan  Rs9,786

Sania Maskatiya  Rs7,500

Maheen Karim  Rs 4,400

Sanam Chaudhri  Rs4,300

Mahin-Erum Rs4,000

Elan - Khadijah Shah   Rs5,000

Slate - Faiza Samee   Rs3,980

Labels (in-house)  Rs2,000

Tia - Kamiar Rokni   Rs1,700

Feeha Jamshed   Rs1,700

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18^th, 2011.