The Hindu Business Line : Just the right fit

The `off-the-rack' culture and prêt a porter trend might seem like a good choice for many. But when it comes to the right fit, perhaps nothing beats your good old darzi.

"I like mine tight... "

"I prefer a loose fit... "

"The collars are far too large ... "

"Their sizes suit me perfectly... "

These are voices of consumer preference when it comes to ideal clothing. Whether purchased from the boutique next door, the swanky designer label shop or the tailor in the garage ... consumers are more discerning when it comes to attire and the right fit.

And it is this competition to make the consumer happy that keeps the apparel industry ticking. As the demand for ready-to-wear clothing increases and more and more labels — big, small and local — reach out to bask in this estimated Rs 70,000-crore worth market, is there still space for the small-time tailor? Or are the labels managing to elbow out this traditional player?

"When it comes to the good-old salwar kurtas that I wear to office, I prefer to depend on my neighbourhood darzi as it is only he who is used to the cut I want. He is also ready to place the border and embroidery according to my design," says Sadhna Behl, a bank officer. However, it's not the same when it comes to her husband's or kids' clothing. "He prefers to go in for readymades. Shirts come in a variety of colours, fabrics, checks and stripes — the choice for men's clothes is enormous and having them tailored is cumbersome." For the kids, too, she goes in for ready-to-wear. "But I avoid the expensive labels as the children outgrow their dresses within a few months," she adds.

However, where western clothes are concerned, women too have taken to the off-the-rack culture.

And, therefore, fashion designers are increasingly looking to move beyond the Rs 170-crore designer wear market and enter the prêt line segment where prices are more reasonable and clothes more wearable.

In fact, in the last year or so several companies have been active in initiating their own prêt lines where prices range from about Rs 800 to Rs 5,000. "I walked into the Be store the other day and walked out with an outfit. I wouldn't have done that a few years ago, as designer labels would cost the earth. But now one can indulge once in a while," says chartered accountant Alka Khanna. However, she has not forgotten her darzi. "My tailoring shop is a small, colony boutique owned by a lady who sells her own label. But she also stitches for you the design you want. In fact, the time I need the tailor more than any fancy label is during a family wedding. That's the time you want the right fitting blouses for your sarees, ghagaras for the young girls, shervanis for the men and boys — you can't do without the tailor, he's the one who comes home, takes individual size, listens to all the details, delivers at the doorstep and is able to give you a customised product," she says.

"During weddings the tailor is still as important," agrees R.S. Roy, Managing Editor of Images, the trade magazine on the apparel and retail industry. But he points out that well-known, traditional tailors such as the Kutchins and Vaish Brothers are also moving away from tailoring and establishing labels for their loyal customer base. "In the US, customised tailoring is making a come back and even large retailers are offering such an option. In India, the trend is reverse. When men buy their readymade garments — that has become the norm today — they encourage their wives to also pick up an item or two. Along with FabIndia, now there are Biba and W, both specialising in women's ethnic wear, says Roy.

In fact, Images-Cvoter market research on what consumers want in their wardrobe revealed some interesting facts on consumer behaviour when it came to the branded segment. Presented at the Fashion Forum in Mumbai this year and representing 6,500 up market consumers in 16 cities, it obviously provided the industry with enough food for thought vis-à-vis shirt prints, suit styles, jeans preferences, trouser cuts, neck lines etc. However, they cater to a small market in terms of numbers, but not where annual incomes are concerned.

For the tailor it is a totally different ball game. "Each client has his or her own quirks that one must follow to the last stitch... and it's only the tailored fit that gets it right," says Philips, who has been in the tailoring business for the past 35 years. He points out that tailoring may have reduced in the premium segment, but the middle and lower-middle classes still get their clothes stitched. "Working class men do not go in for ready-to-wear or labels. They depend on us. Where children are concerned, even in this segment, ready-mades are the norm, that's because they depend on export rejects and the factory seconds market," he explains.

It is also the odd-sized customer who frequents the tailor. "The ready-to-wear segment does not cater to some of us who are shorter than the average, stockier than usual or oversized in some places," says Dr R. Chawla, who prefers to buy the fabric and have his shirts and trousers custom tailored.

But this odd-size market too is slowly being addressed by the ready-to-wear retailers. Recently "breaking the size barrier" was Revolution's fifth outlet in Gurgaon, a store with western wear for women in larger and regular sizes. Though it already has four stores in Mumbai and Delhi, the idea is still catching on. "Everybody wants to look good regardless what size you measure," says Nisha Somaia, Director, Revolution, as she explains the concept, " Being a larger size myself, I realised how much we are ignored in the western wear segment in this market. Working in sync with European style forecasts and predictions, the sizing starts from size 2 through to size 4. All of seven sizes that cover a waist size 28 inch up to as much as 44 inch."

So as the labels move up front and take over the premium market, the good-old tailors are moving to capture the middle class markets. "We are here to stay as long as the country's population keeps increasing, though we may not be catering to the `with-it' class," says Philips.

Picture by Bijoy Ghosh

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