The FDCI is all set to launch the third annual edition of the Van Heusen India Mens Week. The three day Fashion Week (2nd - 4th Sep) will be held at the The Grand Hotel in Delhi as before. The opening show honours have been given to Mumbai designer Arjun Khanna.

An FDCI Press Release attributed this to Arjun Khanna: “I am very excited to showcase at VHIMW. I have been recognized and appreciated for my work in men’s fashion and it couldn’t get any better than opening the VHIMW 2011. It is a proud moment indeed. My collection is all about action-men, not Batman or Superman but Arjun Khanna’s imagination about action! I am looking forward to showcasing in Delhi where I have always received warmth and a great response”

The most prestigious slot - the last one - called the Grand Finale has been reserved for a Karan Johar + Varun Bahl collection. The joint label underlies the Indian Fashion’s increasing attempts at remaining in the public eye through association with Bollywood films and personalities.

While men’s couture has grown in importance in India, it is still not commercially significant to attract buyers for the VHIMW. Nevertheless, the FDCI’s attempt at promoting this segment is laudable.

LVMH makes a major investment in Genesis Luxury

The France based luxury powerhouse, LVMH is trying to make major inroads into Indian couture and luxury. Unlike China where it has scored big, Indian industry and markets are still sluggish. Flush with investible funds, the Singapore based investment subsidiary, L Capital has found an opportunity in making a major investment in Genesis Luxury. In the first tranche, LVMH has acquired 25.5% and is now in talks for an additional 14.5%. It is estimated that LVMH would be investing between Rs 60-100cr in this venture. The funds are likely to be used by Genesis for new labels and retail expansion. Ravi Thakaran is the L Capital Asia head based out of Singapore while Genesis Luxury is headed by ex-banker, Sanjay Kapoor. The latter was set up in 2008 and has garnered the following international labels: Canali, Paul Smith, Just Cavali and Jimmy Choo amongst others.

Kimaya obtains windfall funding of Rs 60cr

Multi-brand Indian couture retailer, Kimaya has obtained a significant Rs 60cr funding from the Franklin Templeton Private Equity. For this, Kimaya had to divest 20% of their equity. The company said the funds would be deployed for expansion both in the domestic and overseas market, besides launching a new prêt line targeting the upper middle class. Also planned is an e-commerce site. Currently Kimaya has 16 stores in Mumbai, Delhi, Dubai. It has developed franchisees in Dubai, London and New York, Abu Dhabi and South Africa.

Mr Harshendu Bindal, President, Franklin Templeton, said, “The strong economic growth over the last decade and the rise in disposable incomes has led to increased demand for luxury goods amongst affluent Indians. Despite the growth, penetration of luxury goods remains low and Kimaya, with an established presence in the Indian designer wear space, is well-positioned to benefit from the growing demand for these products.”

Manav Gangwani has opened a new boutique at the Emporio Mall, New Delhi.The boutiwue has a grotto-like theme and an installation encrusted with butterflies in Swarovski. The furniture at the store is from Mumbai’s The Charcoal Project, run by Sussanne Roshan. Manav’s new collection comprises a wide range of innovative saris and blouses, artfully draped anarkalis, novel suits, scintillating gowns and gorgeous lehengas.

Manav Gangwani, known for chic opulence and grandeur, began his career with Carma, New Delhi, in 1999 and since then he has made a mark in the high end luxury market. At the recent Delhi Couture Week, his couture line was full of bling and Swarovski embellishments. Titled The Timeless Affaire, the collection had a fairy tale look. There were lots of drapes, ruffles and heavy embroidery used in the collection, which was a mix of gowns, saris, suits and fish-cut lehengas.

Montblanc considering taking control of Indian operations

Montblanc, one of the first luxury brands sold in India through organized retail format is evaluating steps to wrest control of its Indian operations from its Indian distributor Dilip Doshi-promoted Entrack International. Montblanc is expected to take over the operations of the 17 stores that Entrack runs in India and enter this time through a majority owned subsidiary. As per reports, Dilip Doshi is likely to get $25mil-$50mil to cede control. Doshi, however, is expected to continue his relationship with Montblanc either through a minority stake or as an advisor. It is expected that the deal will be in place by Diwali.

Tata retailer Trent shelves plans to open Arcadia Group Topshop in India

Reportedly, Tata Group’s retail arm Trent has shelved plans to open Arcadia Group owned Topshop outlets in the country. Instead the focus will be on Inditex-owned brand Zara. The company had entered into a franchisee agreement with Arcadia Group three years ago and was planning to open at least 15 stores for Arcadia's Topman and Topshop brands. Trent is also likely to end its franchisee arrangement with Benetton Group's Sisley brand as it could not expand stores as rapidly as it expected. A senor executive from Tata Group said, “We want to make each format profitable. Currently, we are focusing on building the Zara store network. Once we do that, we will open Topman and Topshop. We are not pulling out from that arrangement.” Trent is also in talks with Inditex to bring the Massimo Dutti brand to India.

In the 18th century, plantation workers wore it, in the 19th century gold miners wore it, in 1930 and about, cowboys and sailors wore it- the journey of Denims and jeans has been long and arduous from the rural outback of America to global marts and fashion runways. Aptly described as the ‘holy grail’ of fashion and a great social leveler, this timeless apparel has defied all norms to retain its bohemian, hippy, chic and most coveted status. Although the Bavarian immigrant Leobi Strauss founded the ‘Levi Strauss and Co’ and fathered the branded jeans with the Levi’s leather label as far back as 1853, the popularity of jeans came about only a century later.

The closed Indian markets of the seventies did not see any denim brands emerging in the country despite the fact that Arvind Mills was exporting indigo dyed blue denim to most global jeans manufacturers and Mohan Murjani was selling to the Americans ‘Gloria Vanderbilt for Murjani’ jeans from Hong Kong. In the eighties a few brands like Avis, Wings, Flying Machine, UFO etc made their appearance to a huge welcome. Arvind Mills’ world class denim cloth in the stores had the buyer opting for custom made jeans by local tailors. Utilizing its expertise and access to denim, the Arvind group introduced the ‘Ruf & Tuf’ jeans ready-to-stitch kits in 1995 and two years later came ‘Newport’ from the same manufacturer. They also had in their stable ‘Flying Machine’ and ‘Ruggers’. By now they were the third largest denim makers in the world and had state-of-the-art factories manufacturing for Lee Apparel Co, Levi Strauss & Co., Marks & Spencer PLC, J.C. Penny Co. and Gap Inc. and working with Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger Benetton, Esprit, Hugo Boss etc, making them a fit claimant to the title of the father of Indian denimwear.

The action in the Indian denim industry is huge today with all major global brands jostling for space with the local brands. A Technopak study had revealed that the Indian denim market today is worth Rs 5000cr and growing at the rate of 35-40%. With upward of 70 million Indian buyers of denim jeans to cater to, the brands are now reaching out to clearly demarcated super premium, premium, mid level and economy segments, besides cashing in on the huge women’s wear and kids wear categories. So Wrangler India has ‘Wrangler Girl’ for the young women and ‘Wrangler Aura’ for the middle aged women. A slim-fit jeans for women, ‘Roxanne’, is directed at the college set. Pepe has two lines for women, ‘Dream’ a body clinging soft feel jeans made of ring fabric on lightweight sober beige and ‘Stretch’ low rise jeans made of Japanese fabric with 4% lycra. Weldon denim wear from UK has Weldom Forte for women. Liz Clairborne is in the super premium segment for women. Siyaram has Zango, two-in-one denim. Denims for kids in the age group of 10-15 years age segment did not really exist in the branded apparel category since the jeanswear brands’ core target are the older 16-25 year olds. ‘Ruggers for Kids’ is one such brand from Arvind. But all that is changing rapidly and this is only the tip of the iceberg.

In the mid-nineties jeans like Newport with their ‘good jeans for less’ tag line were a big hit and the market in the economy segment quickly got crowded with numerous regional and local brands. However the soaring economy has changed much in the apparel sector. A new Super Premium Category is available today with designer brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, Esprit, AN Jeans, Rocky S Jeans, Rathore Jeans, the last three by our own home grown designers. Reliance Brands is to retail brands like Miss Sixty, Energie, Killah and Murphy & Nye in India. Evisu and Diesel are also in the que for the Indian pie. Levi Strauss is introducing Levi Rivet in this category with the opening of 12 dedicated stores in 5 tier I cities. Launched in 2003, Anil Nanda’s AN stores have opened up successfully in many cities and his hand crafted AN Jeans are doing extremely well. The mega international brands, arrived or arriving, on the Indian shores are Gucci, Calvin Klein, La Perla, Jimmy Choo, Fcuk, Gloria Vanderbilt, Mango, Nine West, Promod, Crocodile, Daks, Saville Row, Trussardi, Guess, Hugo Boss, Austin Reed, Ermenegildo Zegna, Benetton, Esprit, M&S, NEXT, Debenhams, Pal Zileri, Gas and s.Oliver. Their denim wear lines will be grabbed at first launch. Pantaloon Retail has launched Replay in India, which is present in more than 50 countries and has 90% sale in Europe. The Birla group’s Madura Garments is bringing the luxury retail store ‘Collective’, which will house more super-premium denim brands like ‘7 For All Mankind’ and ‘True Religion’, being launched for the first time in India.

In the Premium segment are Lee, Lee Cooper, Jealous, Hoffmen, Killer, Charlie, Levi Strauss, Pepe, Wrangler and such. Lee Cooper and other Arvind Mills brands have launched a new range using Tencel, the luxurious, silk like wonder fabric made of natural fibers. Arvind is the sole supplier of this denim. The steeds in the VF Corpstable are here in a JV with Arvind Mills and galloping to successful year end figures. The middle segment is crowded with a zillion local brands which appear and disappear with regularity. Levi Strauss has also got its Signature line to target this segment of the market. The latest news in the papers is the entry of Trigger Apparels, part of KG Denims, with the opening of 200 stores nationwide. However, the brands in this category have taken a hit from the slow down in the economy, as also have the brands in the Premium segment. The Super Premium Segment is the one which has been doing well consistently despite the downturn.

Another huge market available in India, which has not been seriously looked at as yet, is the rural and semi rural market. While the requirements of this market may vary from the demands of the urban and semi urban retail segments, the yet untapped huge retail potential could well turn into a new destination for all category players. The need of the hour is to research and develop this sector. Some of the organizations already working on rural retail are DSCL (Hariyali), ITC Ltd (Sagar) and Godrej (Adhaar).

Even as denim has reinvented itself with each generation, from rugged ‘wear and tear’ garment of yore to current ‘tear and wear’ fashion statement, its versatility and adaptability across genders, age groups, economic segments and racial divides is a saga worth telling in many words. The air is electric in anticipation as to what new denim story might unfold next season.

A number of designers participating at the recently held Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai have indicated that they are seeing a growing demand from small towns such as Surat, Nagpur, Goa, Pune and Ahmedabad.

JJ Valaya: “There is a demand for designerwear in small cities because India is getting richer, people are getting more aspirational, they hear about labels and they know about fashion. I think it is a matter of time that designers go all out and reach out to small cities.”

Payal Singhal: “We get e-mails from clients from cities like Surat asking us aout our collections. They buy online and they know the trends.”

Parvesh-Jai: “In places like Raipur, Meerut and Ahmedabad we sell a lot of saris and lenghas.”

The finest patterns of terracotta panels can be found in Bengal towns of Murshidabad, Birbhaum, Jessore, Hooghly and Digha. The theme is generally folk and the patterns are fairly highlighted with traditional skill and explicit artwork.

The clay used is generally a blend of two to three clays found in river beds, pits and ditches. More often than not the fuel used is one of the local resources available in the form of twigs, dry leaves or firewood. The kilns where the clay pots are baked are operated at temperatures between 700 - 800 degrees celcius.

The womenfolk in the khumbkar families are the potters who work on the wheels making the round necks and the upper halves of the pots. They also make solid clay toys and dolls which are cast in burnt clay moulds. Large figurines of gods and goddesses are also made in clay and generate a lot of income for these families.

Terracotta, which is found mainly in rural parts of West Bengal, has found inroads into mainstream lifestyle with many household using the suraii, a clay pitcher used to keep water cool. Most rural households use terracotta feeding bins for cattle, tea mugs, clay pots for cooking rice, plates, tumblers, yoghurt pots. Most of the items though are of the use and throw variety.

To remain in the mainstream in the public eye, Indian fashion has to remain mainstream and meaningful. Some of the very real fears have been that it will become too Westernised, chick or too eclectic. It is often relegated in the public eye to kitty parties and celebrities. Perhaps its strongest bond is with Bollywood, where it plays second fiddle.

In an effort to remain relevant, some of the promoters have associated with women’s issues including breast cancer or the girl child. Fashion is also seen as the way for the emancipation of women and this has resulted to a small extent in a rightist backlash.

Many of the designers feel more at home with themes from across the world rather than burning issues back at home. Has Indian fashion taken any strong stand on the exploitation of the ‘karigar’? Take the Anna Hazare and the anti-corruption movement - many social groups have come together, but have Indian fashion designers done the same? With the Gandhi cap making a resurgence, will Indian designers re-engineer their sensitivities?

There are many new, young designers who are espousing Indian sensitivities. They are like a breath of fresh-air! However we still have to catch a glimpse of the ‘rebel. For the rest the popular perspective is still of the party, page three circuit? Clearly there is a lot that remains to be done in Indian fashion! The future of Indian fashion may depend on this.