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Shoppers Stop has mega tie-up with Rathore
India's princely designer Raghavendra Rathore has notched up one of the biggest tie-ups at the fifth India fashion week under way in the capital.
India's princely designer Raghavendra Rathore has notched up one of the biggest tie-ups at the fifth India fashion week under way in the capital.
His association with mall major Shoppers Stop will see the designer launch a range of co-branded merchandise across the chain's 14 stores around the country.
The move is the first in Indian fashion's new thrust area - corporatisation.
As the nascent Rs. 2 billion Indian fashion industry blossoms, it would have to join hands with big mass retailers to provide it finance and infrastructure to expand.
"It is an excellent opportunity," Rathore, who is based in the desert town of Jodhpur, told IANS. "It gives the space and the freedom to grow and expand in unexplored areas."
So, no longer would fashion remain the exclusive domain of a few. It would rather percolate to the many.
The concept is that Rathore would design the clothes, which would then be copied for the mass market by Shoppers Stop, so the low end user gets a hint of the Rathore luxury and develop the aspirations at perhaps one-tenth of the price.
"The idea is to be able to create an aspirational brand keeping in mind the price sensitivity," said Govind Shrikhande, director (buying and merchandising) of Shoppers Stop.
"We believe that tie-ups like these will not only enable us to cater to our loyal customers but will grow our audiences."
Shoppers Stop aims to raise their number of stores to 30 and the collection, priced between Rs.500-Rs.1,500, would find place in all of them.
"Can you imagine the amount of freedom and spread such a deal means?" said Rathore. "I can sit in Jodhpur and sketch and my work shall find a huge market."
After pushing relentlessly for prêt to help boost India's Rs. 2 billion fashion industry, a minuscule in the country's Rs.650 billion textile market, the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) says that such corporate tie-ups are the next big paradigm shift.
"Corporate tie-ups are a must," said FDCI executive director Vinod Kaul. "That is the step forward."
But the trick here to take design mass market and yet not lose the high-end appeal of top couturiers. A top line designer like Rathore, one of India's most renowned fashion names, risks eroding his exclusive appeal if he participates too intensely in the mass market.
That's why the label with Shoppers Stop would have a different name and not carry the Rathore insignia of high-end luxury.
"I shall participate in all the promotional activities but it won't carry the Rathore name. This will protect by brand and yet allow me to take my designs into the mass market," explained Rathore.
