Wills Lifestyle has signed on Manish Malhotra, and wants an entire team of designers. | |
| In precisely a week from now, ITC's retail venture Wills Lifestyle plans to start retailing designer-wear. Moving closer to its sponsored vision, the brand's racks will sport its Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week range of clothes, designed for special occasions. |
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| For this, it has tied up with leading designer Manish Malhotra to create an exlusive collection, which is in addition to the already-announced decision to work with Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna, apart from Monisha Jaising. |
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| According to Atul Chand, vice-president, marketing, ITC Lifestyle Retailing, Malhotra's exclusive line will be showcased at the Wills Lifestyle Grand Finale, and it will subsequently be retailed at the brand's stores. The new designer line's prices will span a range from Rs 2,000 to Rs 15,000. |
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| As part of its ramp-to-rack growth strategy, Wills Lifestyle intends to tie-up with 10 well known fashion designers over the next three years. |
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| It plans to introduce more than 250 individual creations of prêt and diffusion designer-wear every year. Over time, the company expects sales of the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week line to account for as much as 15 per cent of overall sales. |
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| The company is looking at expansion of scale as well. It plans to increase the brand's presence to 100 stores in two years. "There will be 10 more stores this financial year," says Chand. Currently, it has 40 stores across 30 cities in the country, boasting an annual footfall figure of 2.5 million walk-in customers. |
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| For now, observers will be watching the Malhotra line, the theme of which is "sensuality", given the designer's rich use of colour and alluring cuts. |
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| The collection will include a range of elaborately sequined evening dresses in brown and ochre, flouncy and hip-hugging dresses in yellow and orange, and stylish new combinations such as long kurtas and matching pants in grey and white tops over pink free-flowing trousers. |
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| Would this alter the very look of the stores? Not quite. Existing ranges of casual, formal and club clothing will continue to sell. But it will sustain the brand's association with designer-wear as a bond of year-round vitality, rather than just a week-long affair. |
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