(FOR SUNDAY) India exciting market for foreign brands: London-based designer

London-based designer Henry Holland, a young and bright face of the international fashion world whose creations have been flaunted by the likes of Katy Perry and Cara Delevingne, has collaborated with an India-based brand. He believes the country has immense potential for global brands.

The 30-year-old has assoiated Koovs.com - an Indo-Britain online fashion company based out of New Delhi, to create an exclusive collection for Indian consumers - both men and women.

Holland found it to be "great opportunity" to partner with an online space.

"This is such a different market for me. India is a very exciting market and it's growing and changing rapidly. I think the work Koovs is doing is very exciting and something that I think will be very successful," he told IANS from his head-office in London in an email interaction.

Holland is open to extending his association with Indian consumers.

"I think there's huge potential of luxury market in India. India loves to wear colour and print, which fits well with our aesthetic," he said.

Best known as the creative talent behind the House of Holland label, the designer is known for his youthful, fun and irreverent designs that epitomise London style. Mixing bold colours, patterns and a dash of rebelliousness, his collections exude an arresting playfulness.

For Koovs, he has created wardrobe pieces inspired by his signature style. The collection is called called Henry Holland for Koovs and is exclusively available on the e-commerce site for a starting price tag of Rs.1,695.

Holland, whose designs have been worn by a bevy of globally known names like Peaches Geldof and Alexa Chung, also made his debut visit to the country in March for a week. He was mesmerised with the rich culture and warmth.

"I knew very little before I went to India. From what I saw when I was there, it permeated much of Indian culture. It was my first time in India and I wish I'd had longer to explore.

"I thought it was a fascinating country, amazingly rich with culture and like nowhere else I've been before," said Holland, a fan of young Indian designer Masaba Gupta's creativity.

"The people are amazingly friendly and warm and welcoming. The food is delicious and I would like to take that home with me," added the designer, one of whose creation has also been flaunted by Bollywood's young talent Alia Bhatt.

Known for his interesting use of colours, Holland was especially captivated by the word 'rani pink' while he was in India.

"One of my favourite colours to use is 'rani pink'. It is also one of my favourite terms I learnt whilst I was in India," he told IANS.

After graduating from the London College of Printing with a bachelor degree in journalism, Holland was catapulted into limelight in the fashion arena in 2006 with a range of 'fashion groupies' slogan tees featuring catchphrases such as "Uhu Gareth Pugh" and "Get your freak on giles deacon".

In February 2008, his House of Holland held its first solo show at the London Fashion Week to critical acclaim.

The brand now boasts an impressive roster of international premium stockists including Browns Focus, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Colette, Opening Ceremony and Barneys.

(Nivedita can be contacted at nivedita.s@ians.in)