Not just a fig leaf

FASHION: Genesis Colors and J J Valaya's plans to corporatise the "cottage" business of fashion begin to take shape.

You may or may not agree with the viability of having a separate fashion week in India dedicated to spring/summer designs, but there is no doubt that Indian designers are gearing up, well and truly, to expand their businesses and shake off the "ladies tailor" tag "" best left to the tattoo on Manish Arora's arm. But that's another story.

In a significant move to corporatise the business well and proper beyond the demands of the Indian tax code, JJ Valaya has tied up with Genesis Colors, the company that most famously owns the Satya Paul label.

Though the tie-up was announced at last month's fashion week, the details are becoming clearer only now. Under the licensing agreement, Genesis Colors will look after the production, merchandising, marketing and retailing of the Valaya Quantum line, which is essentially a diffusion line poised between pret or ready-to-wear and high-end couture.

However, all the creative rights will be retained by the designer "" unlike in the case of Deepika Gehani, whose label was acquired by Genesis Colors earlier.

The line that is being retailed at stores starting this season will be priced between Rs 5,000 and Rs 50,000, and is aimed at the young high-spender.

"The sensibilities will remain the same as the couture line," says J J Valaya, even though the price difference may mean some toning down.

The clothes are available not just at the various Samsaara shops, owned by Genesis Colors "" using the shop-within-a-shop concept currently gaining currency "" but also other multi-brand outlets, the Valaya flagship stores as well as a couple of standalone stores dedicated to this partnership.

Big money is going into the partnership, too. According to Sanjay Kapoor, managing director, Genesis Colors, the company is aiming for 5-6 standalone salons by the end of 2007, with investments to the tune of Rs 10-12 crore in the project (including production and everything else).

Genesis is already pleased with the experiment. The company plans to either strike similar agreements with other designer labels or acquire as many as 25-30 of them to make this business model work the way it does in the West, where designers just focus on the creative work while business partners look after the rest, from large-scale production to retail.