Tag along

Designers have devised a new way to impress the buyers — their garments now have MRP tags, writes Kirti Mehta.

It’s all about setting the record straight. Money talk dominated the fashion weeks. Recession might not have hit us hard, but designers relying on foreign buyers, are certainly feeling the pinch. And hence they’re making amends. Even if that means putting a price tag on the garments and lookbooks at their stalls.

HT Image

Designer Nitin Bal Chauhan, who had priced his garments in the lookbook in euros, dollars and rupees, said, “I wanted to be more professional and follow the international standards. Foreign buyers don’t have time to waste on currency conversions. So for their convenience, I have kept price tags in euros, dollars and rupees.”

Anita Dongre’s pret line is wearable and the prices, pocket-friendly (Rs 4,500 for a cotton dress). She, too, has tagged her garments. “It’s better to mark the prices; it makes the process more professional and transparent,” she said.

Designer Neeta Bharghav explained her criterion behind tagging the creations. “We can’t afford to lose buyers. So, if there’s no attendant at my stall when buyers come along, they can at least get to know about the price range. If it suits them, they can always come back,” she said.

Designer Namrata Joshipura, however, gave an altogether different reason for putting an MRP on the ensembles. “I retail stores of my own and from many other multi-designer stores. So, to have a standard price across all stores, we have to put MRPs on every designer piece. That way the customer can’t say that he bought a dress for half the price from Mumbai.”

While this certainly is an intelligent move, there are some who went a step further this time around. They’ve coded their garments instead of putting MRPs. Paras of Geisha designs, is one of them. “We have coded the garments so that it’s easier to comprehend the price and other details,” he stated.

To tide over the global economic meltdown and do better business, he’s even made the prices competitive. “The collection starts from Rs 3,000 and goes uptil Rs 16,000 this year. And that makes it very affordable,” he said.