Fashion flash

TRENDS 2006/ 2007

Bling is out, construction is in. Finally, big bucks overshadow gimmickry as bulk orders pour in.

While India has been the flavour globally for the last couple of years, 2006 will hopefully be remembered as a watershed year by the Indian fashion industry. For one, this was the year that saw not one but four fashion weeks.

For another, this was also the year when big bucks finally started overshadowing gimmickry. So while there were sundry wardrobe malfunctions on the runway as well as the mandatory parties and front-row celebs in all manner of (not necessarily attractive or fashionable) outfits, accessories and even bodypaint, the attention was clearly focused elsewhere.

As a host of big international buyers made their own debuts, fashion shows thankfully became about the business of fashion more than simply lifestyle.

As big-ticket names like Harrods, Maria Luisa, Boho et al began placing bulk orders, Indian designers scrambled to meet the demand that suddenly far exceeded 20-piece buys.

While some couldn't really cope, others succeeded spectacularly, going on to become international darlings; Manish Arora continued his successful run, Gaurav Gupta was "discovered", J J Valaya, Rajesh Pratap, Rohit Bal and so forth were commissioned to go to new markets like Russia (being touted as potential goldmine for Indian fashion) and others continued their forays into traditional strongholds like the Middle-East.

However, one big challenge this year for all those hoping to make a mark internationally will be to enhance manufacturing capacities.

Within the domestic market too, pret is the direction for the future and many more corporate tie-ups like the one between Satya Paul and Valaya (for the latter's "diffusion" line) will be in the offing this year.

Indian designers looking to go mass (Ritu Kumar, Tarun Tahiliani and the like are already leading the way with more affordable lines launched last year) will also be looking at more accessible retail spaces "" stores within stores and malls "" which all boils down to a healthy democratisation.

Indian fashion is finally set to move away from its high-end/NRI shaadi trappings. The challenge here will, of course, be competing with the avalanche of foreign labels. A Polo shirt or TT? Let the buyer decide.

Designwise, there has been a definite shift in the aesthetic too. Bling and over-the-top embellishment is out, western sensibilities are being catered to, and with these thankfully, the focus is finally on the fabric and its construction, the fall and the silhouette.

A little "Indianness" is fine but no pandering to too much ethnicity "" you lose both the foreign as well as the increasingly cosmopolitan domestic audience.

The fashion markets in the country remain primarily Delhi and Mumbai with some parts of northern India, places like Ludhiana and Chandigarh, also having a big potential. But south India, with a high disposable income, is still uninterested. May be that too will change this year.