 "More fab less India")
Block printed kurtis, chanderi stoles and kantha saris come to mind the moment you say ‘Fabindia’. But enter the store in New Delhi’s Connaught Place, and a different design story unfurls. There, a left turn from the ethnic wear section takes you to a large space teeming with racks of jackets, dresses, skirts, shirts and coats. This is the section devoted to Fabels, Fabindia’s new line of Western wear. Conceptualised by Alistair Blair, who has designed for fashion houses like Christian Dior, Givenchy, Valentino and Chloe, the new line is targeted at people who “feel and think young”. Fashion commentator and brand strategist Sujata Assomull Sippy, assessing the new fare for Business Standard, is already in the Fabels section when I reach, picking out attractive designs. “When I walked into the store, I expected the collection to be more evolved. At first glance, I thought it wasn’t too different from the regular line,” says Sippy, while pulling out a khadi top with gudhri stitches. At second glance, some of the pieces look better styled than the regular line.
According to Fabindia CEO Subrata Dutta, Fabels is a “prestige” line for both men and women and it reflects in the store. The staff is helpful and ready with information about each piece of clothing. “They are truly well-trained. It gives you the sense of having stepped into a premium store,” says Sippy. As of now, the line is available at select Fabindia stores, “but the plan is to create standalone Fabels stores and have the collections available at multi-brand stores as well,” says Dutta.
One of the attendants pulls out an orange balloon top and asks Sippy to try it on. “I think it will work better for a larger woman. It is really flowy,” she says after putting it on. A printed cotton dress in red fares better, and Sippy pronounces it a good fit. But the piece de resistance is the black coat dress with orange peeping out from the inner seams. “This is possibly the hero of the collection. The orange on the inside that becomes visible when one walks really adds to the piece,” says Sippy. As she goes to try on a cotton double-bracketed skirt, the attendant discloses that the design for the coat dress was altered 15 times before it was accepted.
Blair has created a contemporary Western line using techniques that are inherent to Fabindia’s DNA. He has used traditional fabrics like khadi and chanderi and prints like gadh and blocks to create novel cuts and silhouettes. Especially striking is the gadh printed jacket and a unique chanderi jacket that is shaped like a Gujarati choli. The collection has been titled Flow One, and four colours — stone, black, white and orange — dominate the designs. All the accompanying accessories and shoes sport these four hues. “I think the line is a great start. The way Indian fabrics and styles like block printing have been used is wonderful. It is great to see Indian craft go high street,” says Sippy. “Moreover, they have taken into consideration the curves of an Indian woman. The fabric is summer friendly and feels good on the skin.”
However, some of the clothes lack “hanger value”, says Sippy, and one must try on the clothes to gauge the fit. “The collection features a basic set of garments and then the premium set. There needs to be more of an ‘in-between’ range. Moreover, some pieces like the women’s white shirt with chikankari lack designer appeal and had an almost Sarojini Nagar-like feel to them,” she says. Sippy also feels that the dressing rooms must undergo an overhaul to fit the “premium” image that the brand is trying to establish. “And then,” she adds, “the jewellery was just very beady and had a street-like feel to it. So that’s an area that can be worked on.” She ruminates a while and then pronounces the final verdict: “They do need to up their fashion ante. But having said that, it is a great line for the working Indian woman and offers 9-to-9 solutions.”
Fabels will soon be available in four stores in Delhi and in select stores in Mumbai and Bangalore. The designs start at Rs 790 (for a cotton racerback) and can go up to Rs 5,890 (for a pure khadi jacket)
According to Fabindia CEO Subrata Dutta, Fabels is a “prestige” line for both men and women and it reflects in the store. The staff is helpful and ready with information about each piece of clothing. “They are truly well-trained. It gives you the sense of having stepped into a premium store,” says Sippy. As of now, the line is available at select Fabindia stores, “but the plan is to create standalone Fabels stores and have the collections available at multi-brand stores as well,” says Dutta.
One of the attendants pulls out an orange balloon top and asks Sippy to try it on. “I think it will work better for a larger woman. It is really flowy,” she says after putting it on. A printed cotton dress in red fares better, and Sippy pronounces it a good fit. But the piece de resistance is the black coat dress with orange peeping out from the inner seams. “This is possibly the hero of the collection. The orange on the inside that becomes visible when one walks really adds to the piece,” says Sippy. As she goes to try on a cotton double-bracketed skirt, the attendant discloses that the design for the coat dress was altered 15 times before it was accepted.
Blair has created a contemporary Western line using techniques that are inherent to Fabindia’s DNA. He has used traditional fabrics like khadi and chanderi and prints like gadh and blocks to create novel cuts and silhouettes. Especially striking is the gadh printed jacket and a unique chanderi jacket that is shaped like a Gujarati choli. The collection has been titled Flow One, and four colours — stone, black, white and orange — dominate the designs. All the accompanying accessories and shoes sport these four hues. “I think the line is a great start. The way Indian fabrics and styles like block printing have been used is wonderful. It is great to see Indian craft go high street,” says Sippy. “Moreover, they have taken into consideration the curves of an Indian woman. The fabric is summer friendly and feels good on the skin.”
However, some of the clothes lack “hanger value”, says Sippy, and one must try on the clothes to gauge the fit. “The collection features a basic set of garments and then the premium set. There needs to be more of an ‘in-between’ range. Moreover, some pieces like the women’s white shirt with chikankari lack designer appeal and had an almost Sarojini Nagar-like feel to them,” she says. Sippy also feels that the dressing rooms must undergo an overhaul to fit the “premium” image that the brand is trying to establish. “And then,” she adds, “the jewellery was just very beady and had a street-like feel to it. So that’s an area that can be worked on.” She ruminates a while and then pronounces the final verdict: “They do need to up their fashion ante. But having said that, it is a great line for the working Indian woman and offers 9-to-9 solutions.”
Fabels will soon be available in four stores in Delhi and in select stores in Mumbai and Bangalore. The designs start at Rs 790 (for a cotton racerback) and can go up to Rs 5,890 (for a pure khadi jacket)
| Designerspeak: Alistair Blair |
| “When I was contacted for the collection, I had heard of Fabindia but had no idea what I could do for the product. And then I was taken to various workshops where craftsmen were working with khadi and chikankari and I was blown away. I was amazed to touch the khadi fabric, something that I had read about in schoolbooks in chapters related to Gandhi. The existence of these techniques is still a secret to the designers in the West. I brought my own design lineage to Fabindia’s DNA. I created jackets and blouses that were much more fitted. People these days are more conscious of their bodies and want to show it in their wardrobe. India is known for colour. But it was important to introduce colours that were different and not have the same colours in different silhouettes. It was a huge learning curve for me. We have tried to customise the Indian fabric for western designs. For instance, I haven’t put too many seams in a chanderi garment. There is a need to make customers aware about each fabric and its nature. Chanderi, for one, is fragile and beautiful and needs to be handled with care. This project has also taught me patience. In the West, things happen much quicker. But I think the end product is amazing and very little has been done by machine.” |