October 2019 Edition Apparel October 2019 issue | Page 22

MARKET WATCH
ITC reportedly will soon shut down its
premium brand Wills Lifestyle. This step is
in line with the company’s wider strategy to
restructure and remodel the loss-making
lifestyle-retailing vertical. Earlier this year, the
company had re-launched Wills Lifestyle
as WLS.
Wills Lifestyle has been hit by competition
from value fashion retailers and e-commerce
companies offering aggressive discounts.
The rollout of the Goods and Services Tax
(GST) has also affected ITC’s lifestyle business
adversely. Presently, Wills Lifestyle runs 350
outlets across multiple channels, including
e-commerce. But its stores are gradually
shutting down due to high real-estate prices
and increasing operational costs.
Wills Lifestyle to
shut shop
Made-to-measure: A Fitting
Style Upgrade for India’s
Formal-Wear Segment
Made-to-measure fashion, once a prerogative of
well-heeled style connoisseurs, is fast becoming a
growing trend among professional men around the
world. Propelled by exclusive details, individualised
fashion preferences, and a desire to stand out
in the crowd, made-to-measure fashion has
today been impelled to the street level, making it
accessible to everyone developing their
personal brand.
Sandeep Gonsalves, Director and Co-
founder, SS Homme, says, “Made-to-measure is
experiencing consistent growth internationally and
there has not been a reason to conclude that it may
decline anytime soon. We see individuals who are
opting out of wearing suits to work but then again,
millennials are more likely to spend on experiences
due to which the volume of purchasing during the
festive season is higher,” he says.
While the trend is catching up in India as well,
the novelty quotient might not be as high as it is in
the Western world, considering India’s illustrated
heritage of bespoke fashion.
Excerpted from IMAGES Business of Fashion
Corneliani Revamps Style with a New Collection
Corneliani’s new Winter 2019 collection, titled ‘Style & Freedom’, presents sophisticated, quintessentially masculine,
and luxurious styles through a contemporary filter to create the perfect balance of beauty, comfort, and practicality.
Prem Dewan, Retail Head, OSL Luxury Collections, the force behind the brand, says, “Enriched with new designs, the
new leisure-gym range offers cashmere sweatshirts, silk-wool hoodies, bombers, and high-end triacetate tracksuits
accentuated with crests and developed in an elegant colour palette of grey, blue, and green.” The brand has also
introduced leather sneakers and bags as a part of this collection.
Made with superior materials, the range creates supple lines on the garment. “Jackets just skim over the body, with
light shoulders bringing out the essential harmony of proportions,” adds Dewan. The range uses hand-finishes and
cutting-edge techniques to soften the structure of the garment. The colour range includes black, asphalt grey, graphite,
and ivory, as well as deep midnight and royal blues. “The brilliance of each shade brightens solid prints, offering new
interpretations with distinctive tone-on-tone, shiny/matte or subtly raised geometric effects,” Dewan opines.
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I APPAREL I
October 2019