Couture gets corporate push as designers get capital, support for vision

In 2018, Raghavendra Rathore remembered a critical lesson he’d learnt at the New York City-based Parsons School of Design: When you reach a plateau, you must find capital to keep going. So he turned to Reliance, which came on board as an investor with a minority stake.

Convinced that this was the future, he encouraged other designers to go down this route as well. But back then, few seemed interested and instead, kept struggling to survive.

Rathore knew whether you are a mass market or a bespoke brand, when you have the confidence of a corporate entity backing you, you will grow and evolve. Though the lessons have since been learnt on both sides, when Rathore started, there were no yardsticks or templates. So he went high and low to find someone who would put their money in his brand. There was no one, except private investors in high design, where the average price of an outfit is Rs 1 lakh and above. Private equity (PE) did, in fact, take a brand like Anita Dongre to great heights.

Deepika Padukone in Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla

Rathore kind of paved the way for this, along with Darshan Mehta, president of Reliance Brands Ltd (RBL), who helped create a blueprint for the corporatisation of fashion in India. “The benefits are multifold,” says Rathore. “You are also audited, so you are accounted for. You are saving, so there is no pilferage. Plus, with access to capital, it becomes easy to support your vision,” adds the designer who started as a womenswear brand and 15 years ago ventured into bespoke menswear with authentic bandhgalas and achkans.

Covid has been a game changer for the fashion industry and the ripples of its after-effects can be seen with many designers struggling to stay afloat. This is where corporate India has come to the rescue, following the international format of Kering, LVMH and the Richemont group. In India, two of the biggest players to have emerged are Reliance and the Aditya Birla Group.

A Ritu Kumar creation

The hope is that like the West, Indian designers too will have a 360-degree approach to fashion, and many believe strategic corporatisation of fashion is the way to go. Though joint ventures (JV), partnerships and PE have been a norm in global fashion, in India, fashion corporations have been a tad late in arriving. But they are now picking up the pace.

Reliance, which recently picked up a 51 per cent stake in Abu-Sandeep, had earlier announced a 60:40 JV with Rahul Mishra to launch a ready-to-wear brand. It has also picked up a 40 per cent stake in Bollywood’s favourite, Manish Malhotra. The expansion has been phenomenal. Earlier, it invested in Anamika Khanna’s AK-OK, Abraham and Thakore, and Ritu Kumar (a majority 52 per cent stake in Ritika Pvt Ltd, Kumar’s fashion and home labels).

Kumar, the doyen of Indian fashion, who has handed over the reins of the business to her tech-savvy son Amrish, says, “It was the only way we could grow and expand. With this collaboration, we have opened stores in smaller cities like Jodhpur and Raipur. One design house can’t do what a corporation can — they bring in expertise, professionalism, money and run our business like a corporation.”

But does that mean losing control over the company and not having a say in big decisions? Kumar refutes this: “We haven’t relinquished creative and artistic control. That is our forte. The infrastructure is provided by them.”

Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL), meanwhile, took 51 per cent stake in Sabyasachi Mukherjee; a 33 per cent stake in Tarun Tahiliani luxury demi-couture; and a 51 per cent stake in Shantnu and Nikhil, and Masaba.

The Jodhpur classic bandhgala by Raghavendra Rathore

Tahiliani launched a contemporary men’s ethnic wear brand, which aims to build a Rs 500-crore business in the next five years, with more than 250 stores across the country.

Shantnu and Nikhil explain there is a big difference between corporate investments and strategic partnerships. “Our partnership with ABFRL is purely strategic in nature. Our contemporary design values backed with their supply-chain knowhow makes this marriage a winsome for both.”

The duo launched the new bridge-to-luxury brand, S&N by Shantnu and Nikhil, and currently have six flagship doors in Delhi National Capital Region, beside Bengaluru and Mumbai. In the next four months or so, another five stores will be added to the brand kitty. “In addition to brick-and-mortar stores, S&N by Shantanu & Nikhil also has a very robust D2C vertical, and e-commerce is something we started during Covid times. All of this has only been possible because of this merger with ABFRL,” says Shantanu.

Just like S&N, ABFRL has been adding many vivacious brands to offer the customer a varied choice. Commenting on the partnership with Masaba, Ashish Dikshit, managing director, ABFRL, says, “As a new generation of young and digitally native consumers explore their needs within fashion and lifestyle, they actively seek brands that are colourful, vivid and digital. Masaba is a young, effervescent brand with a refreshing and innovative take on every lifestyle category.”

Legends in their own right, Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla had been in talks with RBL for a year, which resulted in the latter acquiring a 51 per cent stake. There have, however, been instances when associations have gone sour, such as when Schulen Fernandes decided to step down after allegedly having differences with Purple Style Labs (that had acquired the Wendell Rodricks label). According to unconfirmed reports, many designers do feel the interference increasing by corporations and sometimes the “control” gets overwhelming.

Sandeep Khosla feels otherwise. “We remain in creative control as designers-in-chief. The purpose of this tie-up is to enhance our brand identity and reach, not dilute it in any way.” He adds, “Growth is the goal and that, of course, includes our sales and turnover. It isn’t interference or pressure; rather it is a shared commitment and ambition.” There is only looking upwards from here, he adds, with the introduction of new products in lifestyle segments. “We will also enter new geographies with this tie-up, both within India and abroad,” he says.