"Kya hit-vhit hai, kya super hit hai, nahin kya flop vlop hai, kya super flop hai!" From film to fashion, these whispers are echoed by those people ready to pass judgment on India's fashion industry.
On what basis do we say that the Indian fashion industry is a flop? Maybe, the society types simply have nothing positive to say, or would like to think of it as a flop, for lack of anything better to discuss. Elementary, my dear Watson, but not good enough. Actually, Indian fashion is a success.
The essential peripherals to fashion like designers, models, professional make up artists and choreographers were once seen as meaningless jobs. They are now seen not only as glamourous professions, but even prestigious —with status attached to them, automatically adding to the success of Indian fashion.
This is coupled with a greater acceptance among previously critical generations. Their views, global awareness and exposure created by media, marketing gurus and fashion slaves and actualised by Bollywood idols for many decades now, have all helped to catalyse the steady rise and success of Indian fashion.
Many folk think that although Indian designers have creativity, their products are imitative. It is just the opposite: many foreign designers look to the Indian subcontinent for inspiration, the brewing pot of basic design and convert this into 'imitative' designs.
Let us not lose sight of the lucrative factors that play a major role in the success of this industry. Big profits and high returns on investment comprise an integral part of the success.
Why are large corporations and angel investors, foreign and domestic, looking to put their money on designer brands? After all, fashion isn't your average industry: it provides more than 100% return on investment and costs a fraction of profits.
Most important, each person — the designer's genius, the investors' capital and the customer's value for money —gets her fair share. Being at the heart of Manhattan's fashion world for several years and seeing its success first hand has made me sure that fashion is a global phenomenon and is here to stay — be it Paris, London or Milan — overseas or India. Fashion is definitely no flop.
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