The first fully on-ground edition of the FDCI x Lakmé Fashion Week concluded as a massive success on all frontiers! Be it the latest trends being delivered at par with international fashion capitals, or material innovations, or infusing a younger breath of air into iconic brands, or the emergence of newer talent or supply chain solutions.
India is solidifying its place in the world’s fashion map by displaying unique designs and path-breaking material explorations in sync with the demands of the evolving consumer of today.
A fashion week is not only a place to witness glamour and the latest trends, but also an important business hub for both designers and buyers in the fashion space.
Overseas business results in a big share of revenue for Indian designers; and this year was no different – but advantageous to say the least with both FDCI and LFW joining their forces to enable a common ground for designers and buyers to interact.
Apparel Resources (AR), in an exclusive interview with India-based Aza, Dubai-based Vesimi and Paris-based Prinia Collection, brings to you the insider report on the top fashion and retail business trends worldwide along with the top designers on the global radar. Read on to discover!
Devangi Nishar Parekh
Director, Aza Fashions
Aza currently operates six stores: three in Mumbai and three in New Delhi. Its online business contributes to around 40 per cent of total revenue, with 70 per cent of that coming from outside India – the MBO ships to more than 75 countries across the world. Apparel Resources gets into a candid discussion with Devangi Nishar Parekh to understand the company’s key product categories, consumer’s changing demands during pandemic and the company’s future plans for expansion.
AR: What product categories are seeing an uptick and which ones have been slow to move this season?
DNP: Wedding-related apparel, accessories and jewellery are doing exceptionally well. Whether it’s the bride and groom, their families, or their guests – everyone wants to go all out for upcoming weddings because they haven’t celebrated in a while.
Fusion styles, which took a backseat to classic silhouettes throughout the pandemic, have once again seen a rise. An increase in destination weddings has also resulted in an uptick in sales of fashion jewellery pieces that are fuss-free to travel with. Nothing is really ‘slow’ at the moment (thank God for that!), except maybe styles with very long lead times, because as aforementioned, customers don’t want to wait.
AR: What shows/designers/collections stood out for you during the FDCI x Lakme fashion week and why?
DNP: Shantanu & Nikhil’s Nomad collection was really cool – I loved how they highlighted ‘effortless’ and ‘genderless’ as their theme. It was a creative, expressive and inclusive show.
In terms of my personal style, I really liked Rahul Mishra’s collection – all his creations are so artistic and beautiful, and his craftsmanship is immaculate.
AR: What are the top fashion trends set to dominate in the near future?
DNP: 1. The sexy blouse: Barely-there blouses with strappy backs, plunging necklines and cut outs are very in. The more embellished, the better – think bikini tops with sequins, mirror-work and shine.
- Genderless clothing: Whether it was men in gowns and lehengas at Siddhartha Tytler and Shantanu & Nikhil or women in power pantsuits (e.g., Shruti Haasan for Adidas Originals X Antar-Agni; Two Point Two), gender fluidity is here for good. The key takeaway: you do you wear what makes you feel good.
- Denim in a new avatar: A lot of designers incorporated denim in their creations (e.g., Varun Bahl’s denim lehenga and couture ruffle top with ripped jeans, Eshaa Amiin’s vibrant prints on denim).
- OTT is still in: Sequins and feathers (Falguni & Shane Peacock, Manish Malhotra), iridescent surface ornamentation (Rimzim Dadu, Pankaj & Nidhi).
- Print on Print: From Diffuse by Manish Malhotra and Siddhartha Bansal to Eshaa Amiin and Two Point Two, print-on-print/bold, mismatched prints was definitely a consistent theme throughout the shows.
AR: Who are some of the designers/labels at FDCI X LFW you have placed orders with for the coming season?
DNP: We have already launched quite a few collections straight off the runway at our stores as well as online, including Punit Balana, Aisha Rao, Siddhartha Bansal, Eshaa Amiin, Nirmooha, Shruti Sancheti and Varun Chakkilam. We have many more lined up over the next few weeks.
AR: How has post-Covid recovery been for Aza?
DNP: The silver lining of the pandemic was that it drove digital adoption significantly faster than would have otherwise, leading to consistent growth for our online vertical.
This growth definitely helped supplant the loss due to multiple lockdowns and restrictions imposed on physical stores. Post-Covid, we’re observing a frenetic rush to get married – couples who waited years for their nuptials are understandably in a hurry to celebrate.
Part of that stems from the fear of another wave. The good news is that Diwali 2021 was the best yet, and post-Omicron there is once again a huge bounce-back, with customers shopping more now than ever before! In fact, no one is ready to wait for made-to-order garments. Everyone wants everything yesterday!
AR: How has Aza expanded in the past year?
DNP: Over the past year, we’ve dedicated our efforts to scale up Aza’s e-commerce business, which has seen a 100 per cent growth in sales.
We also concentrated efforts on finding young talented designers who have a lot of potential for growth, and introduced more than 200 new labels across stores and online.
We’ve launched an affordable luxury arm called Aza Style Bazaar as well as an athleisure segment and a huge contemporary section online to appeal to the Gen-Z audience.
Of course, we continue to offer all the latest collections by the country’s A-list labels. We do have new stores in the pipeline, but it’s too premature to announce – you’ll hear from us soon!
AR: What continues to appear as a challenge owing to COVID-19 and how are you overcoming it?
DNP: I think the biggest challenge stems from uncertainty.
As a result of not knowing or being able to predict demand, a lot of designers and brands are facing issues with production. At first, they had to scale down production significantly to avoid being stuck with excess inventory. Then, around Diwali, there was a huge surge in demand, which led to a frantic attempt to produce enough.
Unexpectedly, Omicron hit again, once again forcing everyone to scale down operations. It’s been a tumultuous ride to say the least, and I think it’s been difficult for brands to understand what to do. Given that there have been so many off months due to lockdowns, cashing in while demand is high and there are a lot of events is the key.
Customers no longer want to wait for their outfit to be made – they need it here and now, which means we have to be adequately stocked at all times. One of the steps we took during the lockdown which has helped us has been to introduce a wide variety of new designers at varying price points – this has helped us to ensure that we are consistently stocked at all times, and are able to cater to our customers varying requirements. We’ve also invested in inventory that we believe will sell quickly.
AR: AI and the Metaverse are the next frontier for fashion. Does Aza have any plans to foray into the said space?
DNP: This is definitely a fascinating space, and we’re still exploring it at the moment. As of now, machine learning is what is most relevant to us in terms of personalising our e-commerce platform and ensuring our customers see relevant listings, search results and recommendations.
Augmented reality will play an important role in virtual try-ons going forward.
In terms of the Metaverse, it’s at a very nascent stage and most fashion brands are still struggling to create a meaningful presence/unlock full potential beyond NFTs and marketing tools. Given that it’s an emerging frontier, I’m sure plenty of new developments and exciting opportunities will unfold in the space, especially to drive customer engagement. Virtual commerce is definitely something we are interested in.
AR: Aza has been launching many collaborative events in the recent past. Please shed light on what all Aza is doing to bolster engagement.
DNP: Driving engagement is all about connecting with the new-age consumer, who genuinely cares about world issues, the environment, meaningful relationships and inclusivity.
Gone are the days where a brand could pull off a hard sales pitch – it comes across as too pushy, which no one identifies with or likes.
We’ve made it a point to collaborate with real people and brands we love, who love us back, including content creators at every scale, real brides and other brands in the luxury space, including make-up, jewellery and skincare brands.
We have the Aza Magazine where we highlight all the latest trends in fashion, for which we collaborate with self-made celebrities we believe are true to themselves and are driving meaningful change, including Dia Mirza, Sanya Malhotra and Sayani Gupta amongst many others.
AR: How have the consumer psyche and buying habits changed post-Covid?
DNP: Overall, there is a feeling of carpe diem (seize the day), because we don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. We’re observing that customers want to celebrate their special occasions with people they love as soon as possible, given that something unexpected can happen at any time.
Now that there’s a return to a multitude of wedding events and festivities, people want to celebrate in style, and they want to express themselves through their clothing. A lot of ‘rules’ like ‘don’t wear black’ or ‘be conservative’ or ‘you can’t wear that to your own wedding’ have been thrown out of the window. It’s all about letting your unique personality shine through what you wear, and putting together looks that make you feel happy and connected to your true self.
AR: How have the purchasing and buying behaviour of consumers evolved and what should one keep in mind while addressing the new consumer?
DNP: Following a data-driven approach is more important now than ever before, especially to plan inventory, project sales growth, and track the ever-changing consumer patterns.
The whole concept of seasons has shifted completely – there is no specific wedding season anymore, for example.
Technology should be the backbone of every business now, and businesses that don’t adopt technology face the risk of extinction. In terms of the new consumer, the most important thing to keep in mind is to listen and be responsive to your customer across every platform (especially social media), to engage in meaningful conversations, and to adapt quickly to change.
Atinirmal G. Pagarani,
Vesimi, Dubai
Apparel Resources gets into a conversation with Atinirmal G. Pagarani, to understand their strategies for expansion, the approach to handle consumer’s renewed psyche post-Covid and the ongoing fashion trends that are also set to reign in the near future.
AGP: Post our relocation from Jumeirah to Business Bay in the 3rd quarter of 2019, the only thing which expanded was our client base. All our competitors shut down. Thank God we are killing it with the one store and there hasn’t been a need for another one.
But we are expanding our current store by taking over the neighbouring space and adding in another 1,800 sq.ft. to our current shopfloor.
AR: What product categories are seeing an uptick and which ones have been slow to move this season?
AGP: Intimate wedding, milestone events (anniversaries, birthdays, baby/bridal showers) and similar are the occasions everyone has been shopping for. So any product category which fits well in these themes, sells very easily.
Festivewear is always the main cash cow. Resortwear sales could get better.
AR: What shows/designers/collections stood out for you during the FDCI x Lakme fashion week and why?
AGP: I really liked the work put forth by Siddartha Bansal, Kaveri, S & N by Shantanu Nikhil, Charu Parashar, Nikita Mhaisalkar, Masaba & Pallavi Jaipur this season.
We roll on a consignment model like always and most of our regular designers know what sells best. So we receive capsule collections which convert quickly.
We are happy to be selective rather than signing up with designers that won’t convert well in the Middle East.
AR: What are the top fashion trends set to dominate in the near future?
AGP: Concept sarees and saree gowns for sure! These are versatile pieces that can instantly glam one up.
Deeper tones are getting accepted easily now, for example, black isn’t looked down upon anymore at a wedding.
Lighter lehengas (weight-wise) with fine embroidery are going to sell more easily. Style is going to win over embroidery.
AR: How has post-Covid recovery been for Vesimi?
AGP: During Covid, we actually did super well thanks to the UAE Government who handled the entire pandemic situation really well.
Customers could not travel to India so they were not left with any option but to shop with us. By the grace of God, our client base really picked up well because lots of Indian and Pakistani origin people moved their base to Dubai and these families started shopping with us resulting in an increase in sales for Vesimi.
Post-Covid, it’s been even better and scaling by the day. Last few years have seen a beautiful fashionable surge.
AR: What continues to appear as a challenge owing to COVID-19 and how are you overcoming it?
AGP: Covid has only helped us in Dubai sales-wise, so I can’t complain on that front. So no real challenges except that customers will start travelling again to India more often and could land up shopping directly from designers rather than through a multi-brand like Vesimi in Dubai.
AR: Vesimi has launched many collaborative events in the recent past. Please shed light on what all Vesimi is doing to bolster engagement.
AGP: A collaboration always fuels the fire of win-win. Designers love doing events in Dubai and we are standing strong alongside them to make this happen so that their footprint in the Middle East region strengthens.
We recently did a brilliant pop-up with Masaba wherein she launched her Resort ’22 first in Dubai before anywhere else in the world. We then did an event with Isharya. Similarly, we have a few interesting collaborations lined up for 2022. Everyone will know in due course – a little surprise is always fun!
AR: How have the purchasing and buying behaviour of consumers evolved and what should one keep in mind while addressing the new consumer?
AGP: The consumer psyche has definitely evolved, mainly with the repeat value of the outfit and not really just the price.
Consumers surely do not want to spend as much on one single outfit but that’s not because of their buying power as much as the repeat value.
Social media is great entertainment for many, but comes along with collateral damages when it is about an outfit being worn more than once. During and also post-Covid, weddings have become intimate so surely the demand for heavier styles isn’t as much as earlier but nevertheless the buying power still remains strong.
David Pirnia
Director, Pirnia Collection
Apparel Resources discusses with David Pirnia, to understand the dominant customer demand after pandemic break, the significant fashion trend prevalent globally and so on.
Located in Paris, Pirnia Collections showroom is a pop-up during Paris Fashion Week that services both brands and buyers with its own scenography adapted to represent the feel of the brands, the trends of the season, as well as its exceptional vision.
A strong, unique and totally new concept which recreates intimacy by merging the concept of a trade show and showroom together in the heart of Paris during Paris Fashion Week.
Every season Pirnia Collections stocks anywhere between 30 and 35 different designers from across the world including Brazil, Canada, USA, Spain, Italy, India, etc. Their main clients vary from independent boutiques, to multi-brand stores to department stores such as Harvey Nochols in Doha, Kuwait and also Riyadh; Avanti, 51 East, Glamour, etc.
With a combined 24 year experience of studying, living and breathing fashion, Founder David Pirnia, offers his designers strategic planning in favour of introducing and developing the brands for their desired market, and all activities relating to sales development in order to maximise their potential. David and his team attend international fashion weeks and fashion fairs to spot breakthrough designers across the world and if their work matches their markets and clients, they take them to showcase at Paris.
AR: What is the current demand like? Do you see a theme that is trending throughout the globe?
DP: Because we deal with an extensive list of clients from different countries, demands are different. Our Turkish buyer who buys for Saks Fifth Avenue and Harvey Nicholas there, looks for more sexier pieces in terms of design with details varying from shorter lengths to see through and translucent fabrics – which is also a major trend for the upcoming Fall/Winter 2022 season.
Our Qatari clients like to cover things up and prefer wider cuts but they will be more interested in embellishments, detailed pieces and higher prices.
That being said, we always try to help our designers in making their designs more commercial and more sellable to our clientele at a better price range.
AR: What shows/designers/collections stood out for you during the FDCI x Lakme fashion week and why?
DP: Our existing designers Alpana Neeraj and Pankaj and Nidhi were as usual, a great delight, but in addition to them we also liked Manish Malhotra’s latest Diffuse line and Shantanu & Nikhil’s collection. I think we are going to move forward with them and place some orders for Pirnia Collections.
AR: Please elaborate on the price points of Indian designers.
DP: From what I have seen, the price points are quite high, almost unrealistically high, so we need to work with them to make the pieces affordable for our clientele by maybe reducing the consumption of some the fabrics being used in a particular design, or the count of embellishments being used, in order to bring the price down.
From the last time we came, the Indian market has shaped remarkably. Indian designers are doing their thing and have secured their place on the global map – they are going strong.
