One of Bollywood’s biggest designers and stylists, Manish Malhotra, is set for his international debut to open his first overseas store. This will more than double his chain right after the funding injection from Reliance Brands Limited, which acquired a 40% stake in Malhotra’s MM Styles Limited for an undisclosed sum. Reliance is looking forward to generating a “strong technology backbone for MM’s brand to make it a Global Couture Powerhouse.” The designer is about to launch his new product lines as well, including jackets, bags, shoes and shirts, to attract western customers.
Malhotra is the second Indian to step onto the global platform after bridal designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee, whose ambition was fuelled by Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited (ABFRL).
Designer Suniti Chauhan opines, “It is true that in India, designers are most likely to produce clothes and jewellery whereas global brands are more flexible in coming up with a variety of product lines.”
Her thought-provoking statement takes us back to the days when we saw only men’s wear from the renowned global brand Armani, which is now dazzling the fashion market with a wide range of their products. “Indian designers must explore the global fashion market before they bring new product lines, to prevent the massive loss,” added the young designer.
Sabyasachi and Malhotra’s foray into the international arena can become a precedent for partnerships with corporates that can motivate other designers from the Indian fashion industry as well, to break the boundaries of regions or country-specific consumer preferences and navigate their journey towards overseas platforms.
Photo by: Moumita Chakraborty
With globalization, the Indian fashion market is rapidly growing with international events like numerous fashion weeks, fashion shows conducted by corporate organizations and designers in many cities of India, to present a wide range of clothing.
Kolkata-based model Nick Rampal is upbeat about Malhotra’s overseas flagship. “It’s always great to spot creative people representing our country nationwide. Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Irfaan Khan – broke the borders earlier and made us proud, and now designers like Sabyasachi and Manish, are all set to present our culture on an international platform, which is highly motivating for the newbies in this industry.”
Being the oldest industry in India, the domestic textile industry is estimated at around 110 billion dollars and is expected to reach 228 billion dollars by 2022. This industry also directly or indirectly employs over 47 to 62 million people. There are almost 7,500 qualified designers with their own businesses and almost 5,000 are studying design. However, India still needs qualified and productive designers on board.
Image credit: NCR News
According to the Brands Countries, IPX by IFDAQ, which analyses the fashion and luxury industry, France is on top with more than 2,300 index points. While Italy is on second (2,205 points), and the U.S. on third (1,866 points) position. To achieve the sixth-largest position in the overseas fashion market, India is expected to be worth Rs. 2.44 trillion, according to the fourth annual State of Fashion report by The Business of Fashion and McKinsey & Company.
‘It was no wonder that India always presents the most appealing opportunities, specifically for the price competitive player,’ the report mentioned. India’s favorable government policies and fast-growing demand have already ensured that many international players gravitated towards the Indian fashion market.
In a move to encourage and motivate investors, the Government of India remodeled the FDI policy to allow 100% foreign investment in the online retailing of products.
Indian fashion designer Debarun Mukherjee says, “Manish’s overseas journey is an eye-opener for the corporates to come up with funding for the growth of the fashion industry. Funding, networking, PR – play pivotal roles in navigating the success of the fashion industry.” Commenting on Malhotra’s success fuelled by Reliance’s investment, the LFW designer said, “Corporates like Reliance and Aditya Birla group must come up with funding for the development of the fashion industry as the large part of this industry lies upon the corporate investment.”
Photo by: Moumita Chakraborty
“We’re not going into mass production, we are going to carry the luxuriousness of the brand,” Malhotra had mentioned in a recent interview. “The idea is to take our Indian craft and make it global, so it’s globally understood and globally accessible and wanted,” he said.
Needless to say, this global flagship of Manish Malhotra will help the fashion industry to rise from its setback due to the Covid pandemic, enrich the Indian collections on overseas platforms, and his new product lines, in a phenomenal way.
Meanwhile, corporates can muster the courage to help in presenting India’s rawness aesthetically on a global level.
Edited By: Shonali Deshpande