US is the next fashion frontier for Indian designers

An evergrowing expat Indian population in the US has given a boost to Indian fashion designers who are now looking at spreading their wings there. After winning the European and Middle East markets, US is the new frontier for a growing number of designers as they explore ethnic fashion business there. In the past few years, an increasing number of young designers signed up for trade shows, even as they looked for agents to strike deals with stores. At the New York Fashion Week in September, designers such as Archana Kochhar and Vaishali S showed their lines for the first time.

Tracing the past

The earliest exposure that American audiences had to Indian fashion was via the racks of Anthropologie, a chain of stores known for its carefully curated hipster-bohemian aesthetic. Anthropologie sources fashion, accessories and home goods from designers the world over and in 2009, it started offering Western fashion by Indian designers such as Manish Arora, Rina Dhaka and Ashish Soni. Started by Sunil Sethi, President, Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), this initiative showcases high-end home and fashion stores from India. The biggest win for the brand was to showcase Indian fashion at par with other global well-renowned brands in boutique stores. This itself is testimony to the fact that Indian couture is well accepted in international markets. The credit for this success goes to the hard working R&D team behind this initiative. According to Sethi the team assisted designers on American sizes and fits and sometimes suggested changes without affecting the design to make pieces more sellable. Strict quality control, ethically and socially compliant working conditions and timely delivery were other requirements. No concessions were given for delays due to Indian festivals.

Indian designers making their mark

This exposure gave Indian designers a foothold in the US market and started a lasting relationship. Today, there are nearly a dozen well-known Indian labels, including Hemant & Nandita, Norblack Norwhite, Pankaj & Nidhi and Varun Bahl, selling on Anthropologie.com. These pieces, though completely Western in silhouette and fit, give a hint of their provenance by artfully placed embroidery or threadwork. Higher up the fashion chain, New Delhi-based designer Aneeth Arora’s péro label is everywhere from Barneys New York to ABC Carpet & Home—it currently sells out of a substantial 43 stores in the US. Her seemingly effortless, but painstakingly crafted, dresses, kaftans and separates appeal to customers aiming for a global nomad vibe. The pieces seem exotic, but you can’t easily pinpoint their origin. There are no blaring cultural markers screaming Made in India.

Maithili Ahluwalia, Founder, Bungalow 8, started selling clothing line,The Bungalow, in New York because customers from overseas kept saying they missed a store like hers. Rina Singh, designer, Eka, started selling in the US six years ago, and it is now one of her strongest markets. For them, she is not easily duplicable. She makes fabric from scratch in India, giving her a distinct identity than a Scandinavian designer buying mass-produced fabric.

For Aneeth Arora, designer, péro, Autumn/Winter 2012 collection was the first one done in the US. It featured ‘ajrakh’ prints; the feedback was that it’s too ethnic for the American market. The company didn’t get many orders that season. A few seasons later, the company found a showroom in the US that matched their sensibility. Unlike a trade show, which lasts three days, in a showroom, the collection is on display for a couple of months. Showrooms have sales targets to meet, so they push brands to perform better, which is helpful.