Tina Tahiliani, banker-turned-fashion retailer, tells Neha Bhatt why designers get stuck with “ethnic” wear, and why foreign brands can’t outsell Indian ones.
Would you say there is a fair variety of Western wear from Indian designers?
Unfortunately our designers get stuck with too much of Indian wear; their ratio of Indian to Western wear is about 65:35. But what can one do? They have to think about sales.
Their stores do not have a client flow to support out-and-out Western wear; neither do they have a production base to milk that industry. With the Indian designer wedding so huge one gets sucked into marriage wear. That’s where a lot of money comes in quickly. But we try to cut out too much of it.
With large disposable incomes in India do you think the bent will be more towards big foreign brands such as Dior, Chanel, Gucci?
Not necessarily. People may be able to go out and buy Gucci but then they realise that they can buy three things at an Indian store for the price of one in Gucci.
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What are your recommendations for this season?
Dresses and long gowns are back. Colours that are hot are brown, purple and blue. The sari-skirt drape is hot.
There is a strong revival of craft —for example, Asmita Marwa’s collection with kalamkari work and the Raja Ravi Verma paintings that she has brought into her sari designs.
Would you also like to design your own clothes like your brother Tarun?
No, designing is not my forte. It is editing and buying that give me a greater high. When I left investment banking, I wanted to try something completely new, and since I was handling Tarun’s stores for a while, I slipped into this profession and into Ensemble stores. But who knows, maybe in a few years’ time I will be on to something else.
Since you are in touch with several designers, how do you keep it objective?
It’s tricky. There are times when I have to display certain things that I may not like but have to for personal reasons. But not always.