The market size of ready-to-stitch menswear across India in the year 2018 was approximately Rs 390 billion and was estimated to reach Rs 550 billion in 2023. The transition from tailor-made to ready-made had moved further to custom-fit. This was wear the ready-to-stitch market came in. The growth of this sector was not as high as other segments because of the presence of customers preferring their local tailor. However, with over 3.3 lakhs households in India in the ultra-high net worth category by 2022, it should not come as a surprise to see globally renowned luxury brands enter the sector with offerings that are tailor-made for the Indian consumer…
True bespoke clothing for men in India is an emerging yet groundbreaking concept. We have seen brands label themselves as ‘bespoke’ earlier but not actually provide the service within the standards set internationally in countries like Italy and England over the last century.
Categories & Key Differentiators
The menswear segment can be divided into three
categories:
Ready-to-Wear
Made-to-Measure
Bespoke Menswear
Most fast fashion menswear stores (luxury or otherwise) are ready-to-wear and stock a wide variety of styles for men in various sizes. Consumers select the best possible fit within the readily available sizes and tend to make the purchase. Bespoke clothing is often confused with made to measure clothing. Made-to-measure suits are machine cut using standard-sized base patterns and are adjusted to the customer’s measurements. A bespoke suit is handcrafted, and the pattern is cut from scratch with multiple fittings offered to the customer during the construction process to achieve the perfect fit. The bespoke process also involves a fabric selection stage where the customer picks out the fabric that they wish to adorn in the form of a suit.
New Trends & Consumers
In order to innovate, it is important that brands promoting themselves as bespoke must focus on creating new trends. This is something that growing bespoke menswear labels need to understand. When Sarah and I design, we innovate. We look at the functionality of the garment, its breathability and the statement we are trying to make for that particular collection. In India, trends for bespoke tailoring can vary a lot due to the different types of styles that bespoke tailoring is available for. The new trends have a lot to do with new cuts that have been widely accepted by our contemporary Indian consumers. Our Asymmetrical Bandhgalas and Curved Hem Sherwanis are two design variations that have truly created a niche of their own amongst our audiences.
Another major trend we have observed is that our corporate clients prefer our lighter hues for business suits and are not afraid to experiment by moving away from a classic black, navy or charcoal grey suit. Even when going for a classic color for their fabric, they want some detailing on the jacket to make it stand out from the rest.
We cater largely to men who are truly looking for future forward new-age designs. Clients who visit the store for the very first time are men who are driven by curiosity and awe. We have a very strategic approach to our branding and the fact that we choose to keep it minimal yet bold speaks to the audience we wish to cater to. For example, when we decided to rebrand and add our names to the SS HOMME brand, our objective was to cater to individuals who were looking for a unique menswear designer label that could stitch the Tuxedo for their reception and craft an embroidered sherwani for their pheras. And the feedback amongst grooms since then has been phenomenal to say the least.
Advent of Global Brands
As the Indian consumer has become more informed, the demand for luxury goods in India rises. The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) predicts that the Indian luxury market is set to touch $30 billion by the end of 2019 with a CAGR of 30 percent over the last year. By 2022, a total of 3.3 lakhs households in India are expected to be in the ultra-high net worth category. Therefore, it should not come as a surprise when we see globally renowned luxury brands enter the sector with offerings that are tailor-made for the Indian consumer.
We have observed the rise and fall of several international brands that entered the market with great promises but were not able to adapt to the needs of Indian consumers or their purchasing behaviors. Bespoke in India refers not only to the tailoring of the garment but also to the customization and personalization a brand can offer towards a diverse range of products. From first-hand experience, I can say that in order to be successful in the bespoke sphere in India, it is important to adapt to the marketplace with a focus on the needs of the end-consumer. As the case study below suggest, collaboration between home-grown and international luxury labels can also be a great way to help with positioning in an entirely new market.
New Avenues
Although e-commerce is a promising avenue to explore, bespoke tailoring brands in India must understand that in order to retain customers, the fit provided must be upto the standards that are achieved in a brick and mortar store. Our ecommerce platform is an initiative we decided to invest in only after we realized that our designs had value for international audiences.
A new avenue we are currently interested in exploring further is our bespoke design trunk show concept. Sarah and I were in New York this September to try this out and we were delighted with the response. The international setting also helped us realize that international brands invest a lot in the experiential value of their properties to ensure that UHNI audiences think of purchasing as an experience rather than a chore. We are set to conduct 3 more international trunk shows over the next year.
CASE STUDY:
SS HOMME — SARAH & SANDEEP
INTRODUCTION:
Kiton Group is an Italian fashion house founded in Naples in 1968 and is one of the leading international brands operating in the luxury goods sector renowned for its bespoke service. In 2019, Kiton Group made the decision to launch its ultra-high end fabric arm Carlo Barbera in India.
CHALLENGE:
Kiton’s offerings are only for a select few in India with prices for a bespoke suit averaging at `7 lakhs. Its fabric arm Carlo Barbera however, is a relatively more affordable fabric option amongst luxury audiences and has ground breaking patterns that can add aesthetic value for consumers in the Indian bespoke sector. The challenge for Kiton was to announce the launch of Carlo Barbera in India through a leading Indian bespoke brand that can provide a plethora of fabric options to consumers without compromising on the quality of tailoring.
SOLUTION:
In March 2019, talks were held amongst SS HOMME – Sarah & Sandeep and the management team of Carlo Barbera to promote the fabric in the form of an exclusive collaborative collection. Sarah and I were also really thrilled to be the first menswear designers to produce a range of ultra-luxury Super 140s suiting options for highly affluent individuals in India. We incorporated pattern-on-pattern design to create the ensembles and launched the editorial content generated for the collection exclusively on our digital platforms to generate brand awareness for Carlo Barbera amongst our niche audiences on social media and other digital channels.
BENEFITS:
The collaboration was a major success for both brands leading to the right kind of awareness amongst UHNI consumers for both brands. The collection received a lot of organic attention from the press and was covered in major publications like GQ and Mint. The response on digital platforms was also phenomenal with direct sales queries for the styles from the collection. Since Sarah and I were the first to design a full collection with Carlo Barbera in India, we were also able to get a lot out of it in terms of direct sales and credibility on the national stage.
RESULT:
Within weeks of the collaboration, Carlo Barbera was able to fulfil their quota for the number of retailers in India with whom they wished to exclusively stock the fabric. At SS HOMME, we decided to make this collection a part of our annual production chart and we expect this decision to provide massive growth amongst corporate consumers over the next few years. Kiton group now has a new revenue source in India which has generated just enough demand to give it the right momentum to succeed.
Challenges & Demand Drivers
The challenges in the bespoke menswear category revolve around the consumer and the final product. One major obstacle we face on a day to day basis is the lack of awareness about the bespoke process. The value of the experience adds emotional value to the final product and our promotional budgets are spent on creating experiential events for potential consumers that highlight the true nature of the level of customization that is on offer. Another challenge is the culture of comfortable clothing in workplaces that has led to consumers turning to fast fashion brands for their work wear requirements. Several brands in our category including us have pivoted towards ceremonial styles to cater to men primarily for special occasions. Finally, tailoring units have sprung across India promoting themselves as bespoke but they operate using abysmal standards and create confusion amongst consumers. The bespoke process and festive Indian designs have really come together beautifully to provide an insatiable demand for bespoke tailoring amongst grooms. The wedding sector has really added an entirely new customer base and close to double the production requirements of most the home grown designer brands in our category.
Future Market Dynamics
It is going to be interesting to see what the future holds. It is important to realize that Indian consumers prefer a personal touch when it comes to bespoke clothing. Various brands in the organized sector are experimenting with 3-D imaging technology for taking measurements and we see them failing at retaining customers miserably because Indian consumers are not as comfortable with change. Although we currently do not invest in this technology and rely on the skill-set of our master tailors, we can see the potential in it for future forward customers. When the time comes, we will not be afraid to make this investment if this is something the consumer desires. But even as I say that, I know for a matter a fact that we will devise ways of implementing the knowledge passed on through generations and never compromise on the fit.
