FEATURE
brands are taking to Western wear, and their
clientele seems to be appreciative of the same.
The reason behind introducing Western wear
in the wardrobes of Indian women is not difficult
to gauge. McKinsey & Company, in partnership
with The Business of Fashion, talks of 10 trends
for 2019 in its The State of Fashion 2019 report.
One trend from the report says, “... India is on
the rise—its growing middle class, powerful
manufacturing sector, and increasingly savvy tech
have made it an essential destination for
fashion companies.”
Dresses, in particular, seen today are evocative
of clothing from the ’70s—think button-down
dresses, flared dresses, A-line dresses, halter
necks, etc. Compared to dresses by international
brands, these are slightly more modest, and
evoke a feeling which nods to typical Indian
summer clothing. Again, the length of the dress
ranges from short, knee-length to floor-length—
stylish with an innate charm. The dresses also
embrace variations in terms of sleeves.
What makes Western wear—when crafted
from Indian fabrics—more advantageous is that
the outcome is a free-flowing garment, which
is gentle on the skin. And what with more and
more people travelling abroad, and the increasing
WOMEN ARE ASSERTING
THEMSELVES THROUGH
FASHION STATEMENTS,
CHARACTERISED
NOWADAYS BY INDO-
WESTERN WEAR.
amount of disposable income, women are
asserting themselves through fashion statements,
characterised nowadays by Indo-western wear.
Several of these women hold a torch for Indian
handloom and textiles, and happily embrace
Western wear carrying the country’s heritage
weaves—it is stylish, yet within their acceptable
domain of wear. They need not step out of their
genre or comfort zone in wearing these clothes.
Case in point: Way back in 2014, Fabindia had
made a conscious decision to introduce Western
wear to woo the youth. The move paid off, as
their range of Western wear using Indian fabrics
garnered many die-hard followers.
This goes to show how India is an emerging
destination for fashion innovation. Add to it
statistics, which point out that the women’s
APPAREL
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June 2019
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