Fashion is an evolving subject.

Yesterday's fashion will undoubtedly resurface again as fashion moves its way
through the trend cycles time and time again. Fashion refers to styles of dress (but can also include cuisine,
literature, art, architecture, and general comportment) that are popular in a culture at any given time.

The History

The total range of costumes in India is considerably expanded between the 8 th and the 12th centuries. Interesting and
useful accounts of geographers and chroniclers, especially those of Arab and Chinese origin throw light on the Indian
costumes in vogue at different times in history. In their accounts, Masudi, Idrisi and Ibn Hawqal speak of Indian
cotton with a sense of wonder and awe. With the arrival of the Mughals in the 16 th century, new garments like qaba,
jama, piraban, lilucba, liba, kasaba, and the like began to be used. These kinds of costumes are also found illustrated
in the historical works like the Babar nama, the Tawatlkb-i-kbandan-i-Taimuriya and the Tarikb-i-fi.

Abu'l Fazl provides probably the best documentation that we have of the costumes of India from any single source
prior to the 19th century. He mentions that Akbar had replaced the names of several garments with new and pleasing
terms. Muslin from undivided India was an important commodity of export and a high fashion fabric in Europe and
other parts of the world.

Indian costumes like the silk saris, brightly mirrored cholis, colorful lehangas and the traditional salwar-kameezhave
fascinated many a travelers over the centuries. Although sari is only one of the many traditional garments worn by
women, yet it has become the national dress of Indian women. The tightly fitted, short blouse worn under a sari is
a choli, which evolved as a form of clothing in 10th century AD.

Though the majority of Indian women wear traditional costumes, the men in India can be found in more conventional
western clothing. Shirts and trousers are worn by men from all the regions of India. However, men in villages wear
traditional attires like kurtas, lungis, dhotis and pyjamas.

Indian dressing styles are marked by many variations, both religious and regional and one is likely to witness a
plethora of colors, textures and styles in garments worn by the Indians. Apart from this, the rich tradition of Indian
embroidery has long been made use of by fashion designers from other countries. India prides in works like Zardozi,
Dabka, brocades, Pashmina, Jamawar and bandhni. It seems paradoxical that fashion is considered a young concept
in India since the first fashion show was held only in 1958. Jeannie Naoroji wins the credit for initiating the first wave
of fashion shows in India and for giving a degree of professionalism to such shows.

Since then, there has been growing consciousness among the Indian men and women towards the fashion, styles and
designs of the dresses they wear. Several institutes like National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Indian
Institute of Fashion Technology (IIFT) and other fashion academies have been established where the students are
taught to translate their creativity into dresses and fabric designs. The media has also played an important role in the
fashion boom. Good coverage is provided to the fashion world and several magazines are specifically devoted only to
the fashion scene. The proliferation of fashion-based programmes on the satellite television channels has increased
the consciousness of the average Indian masses about the changing trends in the global fashion.

The Present

In the past one decade the Indian fashion industry has moved from the embryonic stage to a blossoming take-off.
Fashion designers have contributed substantially to the spread of fashion as a driving force, both among Indian
consumers and select segments of Western markets. India can now boast of dozens of leading fashion designers, who
can match any European fashion designer in their concepts, styles and designs. Ritu Beri, Rohit Bal, Ritu Kumar,
Abraham and Thakore, Deepika Govind, Gitanjali Kashyap, Indira Broker, J.J.Valaya, Lina Tipnis, Manoviraj Khosla,
Pavan Aswani, Payal Jain, Ravi Bajaj, Rina Dhaka, Sharon Leong and Chandrajit Adhikari, Shaina NC, Sonali and
Himanshu, Wendell Rodricks, Anna Singh, Ashish Soni, Jatin Kochar, Madhu Jain, Manish Malhotra, Ravi Bajaj,
Salim Asgarally and Tarun Tahlliani top the growing list of reputed fashion designers in India.

Fashion and dress-designing goes in tandem with professional ramp modeling. In India ramp modeling has come of
age with a rapidly growing genre of professional ramp models, both male and female, making a mark in domestic as
well as international arenas. Madhu Sapre, Helen Brodie, Bipasha Basu, Nayanika Chatterjee, Nina Manuel, Annie
Thomas, Anupama Verma, Liza Ray, Malaika Arora, Maria Goretti, Meher Jesia, Namrata Barua, Sheetal Mallar,
Sherie Meher Homji, Sonali Rosario and Ujwala Rawat are among the leading female models of India while Milind
Soman, Andrew Piers, Arjun Rampal, Atul Wokulu, Himanshu Malik, Marc Robinson, Rahul Dev and Rohit Ticu are
among the leading male models.

Now more and more leading fashion designers like Ritu Beri, Rina Dhaka and others are concentrating on Indian
wear and trying to revive India's glorious fabric and design traditions. As the best of designs, motifs, themes and
skilled craftsmen are available in India and Indian fabrics and styles are best suited for the country, such efforts seem
quite logical. As a result we find more and more men and women adopting the  swadeshi clothes and designs.
The Sherwanis, Jodhpuris, Nehru jackets, shawls and Kurta-pyjamas have all sprung back as the "latest designer-
wear" among men. Similar revival is evident in womens costumes. Several Indian designers are also launching ranges
that are easy on the pocket of ordinary masses. The Indian designers are also found to take up social themes like the
cause of environment in their designer wear.

Today the fashion designers from India have created a lasting impression on the world market and boast of clients in
the Middle East, UK and USA. Ravi Bajaj has designed various fashion lines for export houses targeting the US and
European markets. Ritu Beri has an outlet at the prestigious Regent Street in London and in New Jersey in U.S.A.
Indian designers like Gitanjali Kashyap, Rohit Bal and others frequently participate in fashion shows abroad.
Interestingly an Indian shawl and a salwar-kameez ensemble, created by leading Mumbai couturiers Abu Jani and
Sandeep Khosla, fomed part of the exotic wardrobe of French actress Sophie Marceau in the latest James Bond
adventure.

For those who have not known this, after China, India has maintained the position of being the second largest job-
worker for international brands. It is the largest exporter of garments. But, the scene is different today; as the nation
has a closet of fashion designers who are also creating trends across the globes, instead of letting India simply follow
world trends. While the western fashion of jeans and skirts seem to dominate the scene, yet the traditional salwar
kameez, chudidar kameez and sari, continue to be a primary theme in India's fashion. In fact, Indian fashion
designers have created a new category of clothing, which is showcased as the indo-western line or collection of
clothing. In this collection the designer blends the dominant trend of the western world into the Indian dress.

Fashion Industry Trends

Fashion has been in existence and eminence for over 5000 years. And yet, it changes perhaps everyday.
Transformation of fashion trends as a function of social status is an area of much interest and consequence. The
distribution of demand for fashion clothing accessories across different levels of society aids the allocation of
resources and positions of fashion in the market accordingly.

Eco Boom taps Pret a Couture: The current spurt of economic growth in India has no doubt affected the fashion
scene. The rise of the awareness and purchasing power of the middle-class has resulted due to the boom in the service
industry. This can be co-related to the current revolution in retail. Consumers today have money to spend and to
spend it wisely. The chasm between designer and high street is fast disappearing. Thus expectations for quality are on
rise. Demand is now for fashion that returns value for money and yet is novel. This need is being fulfilled by the rapid
expansion in organized retail segment. Thus a strong pulse to acknowledge is Couture meets Prt drive fuelled by the
increasing demand for designer fashion at reasonable costs. Retailers are now experimenting with Prt a couture.

Global village to international brands: The "global" scenario in the economic perspective has altered fashion.
International fashion brands like MANGO, GUESS etc entering the Indian market and selling at premium prices
comparable to those in the west. Hence this is giving a competitive push to the local brands to improvise on product,
pricing, packaging etc. This Global exchange is one of the many driving forces that accentuate the growth of brand
awareness in India.
 
Fair trade beyond FMCG sector: The importance of ethical practices in the industry is stretching from sourcing
to pricing. India as a supplier, manufacturer, and converter to innumerous international fashion brands finds it
inevitable to acquire FLO certification. The restricted international trade in this industry till before 2005 was
unorganized and practices went unnoticed. Now as it grows beyond bounds, it is taking on a organized and most cases
even a corporate structure which prioritizes not only quality but also just and ethical trade practices.

Eco/Fashion Equation: In the functional context, we can highlight the role and relevance of ecological and
regulation inputs. Many Eco conscious countries have introduced legal regulations and prohibitions to safeguard
larger interests of the globe. These regulations are directly/ indirectly forcing the manufacturing houses, export
houses, textile mills etc to adopt and adapt to the new policies. This awareness has spilt steadily into the creative
initiatives even in Indian retail industry. Out of ecological necessity & desire for novelty, creative leaders are exploring
future possibilities of more natural fibers like bamboo, soy, corn, milk, paper, pineapple etc. to complement if not
replace currently used natural fibers in the coming years, on the fashion scene. A novel research project is looking at
ways to recycle plastic bottles for use in the fashion industry in a bid to halt the landfill crisis.  In retail, Bamboo, a
label of garments made of bamboo fibre showcased in Pantaloons this season.

Plurality v/s Diversification in Fashion: Plurality in dressing to conform to different activities and

environments is rapidly emerging. Fashion is working now more as a function of creating multi-functional clothing.
This multi-functionality of people and their wardrobe stems mainly from the increasing Urbanization and evolving
work standards and patterns.

As opposed to this, the occasion and hence the objective for dressing is another parameter to measure change in the
fashion industry. However this speaks more of the patterns of a fashion consumer. The need for a multi sectional
wardrobe with clothing made to fit the varied social, work and other activities that exist at present is evident. In the
same breath we can include the increasing gym culture. Specialized Gym wear/Sportswear has taken their racks in
fashion stores. Sportswear brands like Nike, Reebok are diversifying in a big way into highly specialized engineered
sportswear or rather gym wear.

Food trends and changing anatomy of fashion: Fast food culture, overeating, eating at odd hours has led to a
change in the physical attributes of people in general. Fashion has also managed to target the so called obese/
overweight strata where the demand is remarkable. Thus, plus Size Fashion hence has gained importance. The market
for such brands is growing by the day. All, Revolution, Lakshita are some pioneers in this segment who realized well
in time, the scope of such products.

Technology and creativity: Technology is a major factor in giving sudden twists to fashion trends. For example,
Nano Technology has taken "functional clothing" to a whole new level. Research talks about fashion clothing
developed using fabrics treated with nano particles to prevent colds and flu and never needs washing. Another nano-
fabric destroys harmful gases and protects the wearer from smog and air pollution.

The demands for fabrics have increased sharply. Conventional textiles are not able to meet the production cost. With
better customization of characteristics into the fabric and appropriateness to certain end uses being advantages, non-
wovens have emerged rapidly as the fabrics of the future.

Psyche in fashion: In the Indian context, the Indian culture has been subject to influences from earliest history -
Roman, Greek, Jewish, Christian, Arab, Mughal, French & British. Today, the culture of India is unique and uniquely
modifying. The western influences on top of 3000 years of culture have given birth to this uniqueness. The need for
adventure gets a face in fashion with body art like tattoos of Indian gods and goddesses, body piercing and nail art.
Also clothing with prints of manuscripts, shlokas and deities are in plenty.
 
Sparkling future ahead

The fashion cycle definitely keeps progressing with the time as new fabrics, trends, designs and cultures mix and
match their way to create something unique. According to Assocham, the domestic fashion business is expected to
become a Rs.750 crore industry by 2012 from the current level of Rs.270 crore, given the increased demand for
designer clothes and huge investments being planned by companies. It was projected that the domestic fashion
industry would grow to a level of Rs.500 crore in the next five years but the growth of the sector would be much more,
it said in a paper on 'Indian Fashion Industry'.

The sector accounts for a meager 0.2 per cent of the global designer wear market, which is worth Rs.162, 900 crore
and is growing at 9.5 per cent annually. The paper further asserted that the Indian apparel market, worth Rs.111, 000
crore in March 2007, would touch Rs.1, 30, 000 crore next year, which opens the Pandora of opportunities for the
fashion community.

The efforts have been put in by the government and renowned institutes to establish more fashion institutes across
the country with R&D facilities in each state so that regional expertise is blended with international designs.
According to the industry experts, there is a dire need to groom designers by sponsoring exchange programmes,
providing business incubation to upcoming designers and rewarding efforts through appropriate design awards.

India Fashion Week

Friday, April 3rd, 2009

India fashion week

What has further boosted India’s place on the map of international fashion? In the recent years the
largest domestic cosmetic company of the country introduced the Lakme India Fashion Week, which is
hosted under its own banner. This particular event is a platform for buyers and sellers from across the
world. It is not only a platform for the established designers; but also a first time ramp for launching
new designers. These designers are selected by a panel set up by the company. Apart from
showcasing the latest fashion trends, the company uses this as a stage to promote its products.
In order to keep the consumers interest in the range of cosmetics, with each Lakme India fashion
week the company launches a theme on the basis of which designers have to create their respective
lines. The India fashion week is conducted twice a year, wherein there are two sets of collections - the
summer collection and the winter collection.
The designers are given freedom to use fabrics of their choice, however the color scheming has to be
based on the theme set by the company. The cosmetic company also introduces into the market a
range that is contributed by reputed designers, who have participated in the week.
In the initial two runs of the fashion week there were a lot of glitches. Creases were apparent in
organization and showcasing. A section of the press went on a rampage bringing out the various
nuances. However, by the third event the company had ironed out all the creases, and today, it is a
major event where the who’s who of the celebrity section of society definitely visits a few ramp walks
to see what dominates the scene.
In fact, in the last two to three events film stars have walked the ramp for certain designers,
endorsing their label. This increases the marked value of the labels.
From the international trade perspective, vendors from around the world visit the India fashion week
in order to purchase the latest fabrics, as well as establish contracts with some of the designers in
order to have them showcased in their own city. The event is the only one in India, though from time-
to-time designers host fashion shows to showcase their latest line of clothes.