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Indian men are now looking for ne
wtrends and designs in clothes. The Indian clothes and western
styles, the formal shirts and casual kurtas are all moving into to
world of high fashion.
Fashion is no
longer the sole bastion of the fairer sex in India. From times
immemorial men have been making a fashion statement that has made an
impact on the sartorial scenario of the country. As a nation Indians
are noted to wear garments that are unstitched, for example the
lungi, dhoti, sari etc. But with the advent of modernization certain
change in the dressing habits of men have undergone innovation.
Within a span of just twenty years the readymade garment industry has
grown thousand fold and the famed Mangala Market in Calcutta which
operates every Tuesday has an estimated turnover of Rs. 7-8 crores
per day. Readymade garments from a major industry of which nearly 30
per cent is exported and the balance 70 per cent is for the
indigenous market. The export figures are estimaed to touch Rs. 4000
crores in 1991 but unfortunately the figures for the local market are
not available due to the disorganized nature of the business. But a
rough estimate points to Rs. 12,000 crores with a fifty-fifty breakup
in men’s and women’s wear.
New brand names
enter the fray every season along with men’s wear boutiques
springing up in eveyr nook and corner. Nemes like Ensemble,
Glitterati, Intermezzo Linea, Anja San, Mutiny are geared to the
affluent up-market buyer whose perference is for the exclusive
high-priced garment. Narindra Kumar, a graduate of the National
Institute of Fashion Technology and now designer with Ensemble, the
classy fashion house in Bombay which opened its fashionable doors
in 1987 setting a trend for haute couture men’s and women’s
wear in India comments, “There is a remarkable growth in men’s
wear and this can be attributed to foreign influence, the Indian film
scene and the spurt in trained designers and fashion houses. Even
the man on the street is aware of fashion today and although women’s
wear sells more, men are more aware of fashion.” No doubt the
Indian male is still considered conservative by western standards and
requires a gentle nudge to be a bit adventurous. Men’s wear in
India can be divided into two distinct groups- Indian and Western.
The former has made rapid progress in the business on the formal side
while the latter is further sub-divided into formal suits and casual
wear.
Indian Wear: With
the revival of a renewed interest in the grandeur of the bygone eras
and a search for one’s roots the attention is focused on high
fashion Indian wear. Resplendent with the splendour and style of
the ancient Maharajas and Mughal emperors, India’s rich
sartorial heritage has not only moved to centre stage but has at
times even swept the west off its fashionable feet by its sheer
majesty. The Sherwani, the Prince or Jodhpuri Coat, the Budni or
Nehru Jacket as well as the Kurta Churidar have all returned to the
forefront of fashion. At the height of the British Raj formal wear
was totally western in concept It was the done thing for Indian
princes to wear the most elaborate of suits. With the coming of
Independence it was the return to classic Indian wear in handspun
fabrics. Today western wear competes fiercely with Indian wear as
the country’s ancient culture and fashion has gained momentum.
The Sherwani is the most traditional of Indian garments. It extra
long length of 110 centimetres and its structured body makes it a
streamlined garment. The collar band is 3-4 centimetres. The colours
are muted to dark and fabrics could range from broacade to terrywool.
The Sherwani is normally teamed with Churidars or Aligarh pants
which are a combination of Churidars and trousers. Another version
of the Sherwani is double breasted or with an asymmeterical opening.
Two inseam pockets and gaint side slits of 25-35 centimetres are a
must in the garment.
For casual
lounging the Indian male’s first perference is the
Kurta/Churidar combination in light weight cotton, mills, pure silk
or polyesters. The Kurta or shirt is either collarless or with a
plain band. The body of the garment could either have the 2-piece of
6-piece cut. Modern versions could be with a draped effect too. The
Churidar or Indian pant is cut on the cross and has ane xtra length
so that when worn it will crease at the ankles. The Kurta and
Churidar both are in muted colours with delicate tonal embroidery
around the neck and placket of the Kurta.
The Bundi or
Bundgala is the traditional long the Indian version or a western
waistcoat that adds instant style to an otherwise informal Kurta
Churidar. Fabrics perferred are raw silks, cotton, linen, silk,
terrycotton, terry wool or brocade and for the sultry Indian weather
the Bundi is the answer to formal wear.
The Prince or
Jodhpuri coat is the Indian alternative to the lounge suit or texed.
Its length is similar to suit jacket at 78 centimetres and its
standup collar is its focal point. Worn with matching narrow
trousers the impact can be quite stately. Its Fabric choice is akin
to that of the western suit. Men’s shops like Intermezzo Linea
catre to the sole requirements of the Indian male. “Today the
Indian male’s colour perferences have changed since 1988 when
Intermezzo Linea opened” observes Nancy Chopra its Marketing
Manager. “Colour like purple, pink, mint green are in great
demand and along with the Indian woman, her male counterpart would
also like exclusive clothes.” The fastest selling western
garments are the shirt, trouser and suit to a certain extent. The
shirt market attracts the most manufacturers who vie for a large
chunk of the estimated Rs. 200 crore business. There are nearly 5000
shirts manufacturers with branded or unbranded garments. The
readymade shirt story started in the 50s with Liberty, the first
branded shirt in the business and has never stopped growing. Soon
the influx started in quick succession with Double Bull, followed
closely by Charagh din, Cliff, Van Heusen, Globetrotter, stentcil,
Louis Phillip, Rod Laver, Fus, Ambassador, Snowhite, Karl Lewis
besides in-store brands like Benzer, Sheetal, Instyle, Roopam and
designer lables like Suneet Verma, Ravi Bajaj, Arjun Khanna, Rohit
Khosla, Anu Ma, Rohit Bal, Krishna Mehta ahilian, an unending list
that is expanded every season. Shirt styling is sober whether for
formal or causal wear with a partial stance to the baggy silhouette
and natural and blended fabrics.
The trouser which
was the obvisous follow on the readymade shirts has its own exclusive
manufacturers like Zapata and Pantaloon. Every major shirt
manufacturer prefer to team trousers with the garment to give a more
coordinated look. The western suit and texedo are also a part of the
men’s wear scene and though they are available off the peg with
manufacturers like Park Avenue and boutiques, the Indian male prefers
to more often than not custom tailor them. Most department stores
have a separate men’s wear section that caters to the
discriminating dresser.
The growth in the
Indian men’s wear market has also lured International brands
like Benetton, Wrangler, Pape to try their hand at capturing a part
of the business. Hardcore mills like Bombay Dyeing launched Vivaldi
shirts while Raymonds have been successful with their Park Avenue
men’s range or readymade garments. The latest to enter is the
VXL group of mills comprising Digjam, OCM and Jiyajee with their line
of Hagger men’s wear.
Kumar of Ensemble
adds, “Although women’s wear sells more one cannot ignore
the potential of men’s wear.” This has prompted many
designers like Rohit Khosla and Tarun Tahiliani, both basically
women’s wear designers to enter the masculine designing section.
Well-known traditional ladies wear labels like Amaaya and Pallavi
Jaikishan noted for their heavily encrusted formal wear have not
ignored the male preferences either. At the biannual National
Garment Fair held by the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India
every year there has been a tremendous increase in men’s wear
manufacturers over the years. The earlier fairs had a mere handful
of men’s wear participants but since the later part of the 80s
there has been an equal breakup in men’s and women’s wear
participants. At the 20th National Garment Fair held in
Bombay in February, 91 there were 105 men’s wear manufacturers
out of a total of 140 thus confirming the rise in the popularity of
men’s wear.
The price
structure for men’s wear is not the deciding factor for
purchase. There is a brisk sale of garments off the pavements for as
low as Rs. 50/- per shirt as well as more upmarket prices like Rs.
11,000/- for an overcoat at a classy fashion house.
“Today’s
Indian man wants an exclusively styled garment as he is more
demanding,” confirms Nancy Chopra. Men’s wear has
definitely come of age of the Indian subcontinent with a more
multifaceted image that seems to blend with the changing pattern that
is both eastern and western a nature.
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