India Inc looks to ramp up catwalk, bring it to a mall next door

The idea is to ramp up Indian fashion — currently at an annual turnover of just over Rs 500 crore — via “strategic alliances” with designers, or even to buy out their labels, especially since retail is the new gold, courtesy the hyper invasion of the mall culture.

This is the primary reason the Fashion Design Council of India was set up in 1999, the organising body of the India Fashion Week, to aim for a corporate hand that will help designers move from their homegrown, private incorporated or even garage companies to the mass market.

“Without adequate finance, the fashion industry will not be able to realise its potential. Financial infusion will lead to growth of the fashion industry resulting in the establishment of luxury brands,” says FDCI’s executive director Sumeet Nair.

What this means is, depending on the agreement, the mother company is the majority partner of the designer’s label. It provides factories, shops, money for advertising and even a CEO to run the show. It means mass production of clothes, set-ups to manufacture accessories and perfumes (the main driver of the fashion industry internationally).

“We do have retail plans but it’s premature to reveal them now,” says a spokesperson for Reliance. “I’m in the process of finalising between four parties — two Indian and two international. But we have all signed non-disclosure agreements,” says Bal.

LVMH, the biggest fashion conglomerate in the world — it owns Chloe, Pucci, Celine, Marc Jacobs, Fendi and Donna Karan — is scoping out designers for alliances. “We are still trying to build our own brands here but eventually we will be tying up with Indian designers,” says Tikka Shatrujit Singh, adviser to the chairman of LVMH. “We haven’t set a timeline yet.”