Deepali Srivastava gets the inside story on the lingerie invasion in India and discovers that the freedom movement has finally reached Indian innerwear
Back in the old days, the brassiere was an article of underclothing, underpants were worn under, and not over, pants and body suits were coyly referred to as honeymoon wear. Not only fashion, but considerations of support and fitting played little role in shaping the underwear. The best lingerie that the Indian woman could aspire for was Groversons in Delhi and Peter Pan in Mumbai. But that was before Baywatch and MTV proved an important point: less is often more.
In more recent times, sizzling new brands of lingerie are making their debut at the top end of the Indian market. And the variety and styles available could send your grandmother, weaned on those optimistically named Liberty bodices, reaching for her smelling salts. Light, medium and firm control bras depending on the chest size, bras with detachable straps, those with underwiring, push-up bras that show off cleavage and padded bras that dont, teenage bras, nursing bras and sports bras have all made their appearance in India. So have camisoles, corsets, or tummy controllers as they are often called, and G-strings.
Confirms Simi Watts, product manager, Underlines, a chain of exclusive outlets selling international brands of lingerie, Women are becoming a lot more experimental about their innerwear. We get a lot of male customers too, usually shopping for their girlfriends or wives, but they are almost always confused about the size and shape.
These marketers are serious about emancipating bras and panties from their purely functional usage. Internationally-renowned Vanity Fair, manufactured by the $5 billion US giant V F Corp and marketed in India by Bangalore-based Very Fine Apparels Limited, claims to be crafted from desire. And in 1995, the Star TV viewer saw the boudoir activity of the Foresters (of the The Bold and the Beautiful fame) appropriately punctuated by Vanity Fair ads.
Today Vanity Fair, which sports price tags between Rs 700 to 1,200 for bras and Rs 300 to Rs 600 for panties, seems to have sunk without a lace in India. But the brand-conscious shopper continues to buy Vanity Fair and Maidenform in America. The reason is transparent: the price tag on an article of foreign-made underclothing appreciates considerably in India thanks to the import duty of around 50 per cent. Add to this overheads such as exclusive showrooms and retailers margins and an item priced at $15 in the USA could set you back by well over Rs 500 in India. And we havent even got a peek yet at products that are easily available abroad, such as Gossards famed Wonderbra, nicknamed the anorexics boon.
Incidentally, the price of a bra is not a function of the intricacy of lace, embroidery and cut-work. It depends on the quality of fabric and the complexity of the style. Garment manufacturers vouch that sewing together the 30-odd components that make a bra is far more complicated than say, manufacturing a shirt. For the Indian climate, the most preferred fabrics for underwear are lycra and microfibre, a combination of cotton and viscose which absorbs and evaporates sweat.
Of course, that doesnt prevent customers from demanding the more sheer nylon variety, even if they pay for it with interest later. Often cited at society weddings is the case of the young lady who had the more interesting bits of her trousseau hand-crafted from silk by a Paris tailor. Unfortunately, she chose to honeymoon in the Caribbean, in summer...
At Underlines, which stocks European brands such as Felina, Triumph, Mey, Ski and Katrine, bras are priced between Rs 350 and Rs 1,500 while panties fall in the range of Rs 250 to Rs 1,200. Says Raghav Gadodia, director, LNG International which has set up Underlines, Our brands might appear overpriced but since ancillaries for underclothing are missing in India, we have to import the finished product. Underlines, with its trial rooms (remember discovering that youd picked up a nursing bra by mistake which did absolutely nothing for your flat-chested figure?) and trained sales staff might just turn out to be the undie-achiever the industry desperately needs.
Till then, it seems to be a no-win situation for the Indian customer. Either she continues to contend with elastic that becomes shapeless after a single wash, hooks that leave marks on the shoulders and lace which unravels at the least little flirtation. Or she gives in to self-indulgence and pays a hefty premium quite out of line with international prices for quality. Unless, of course, she decides to head for the grey markets.
Brands such as St Michaels and Vena are difficult, but certainly not impossible, to find. But, in the absence of trial facilities and given that the undergarment is not changeable or refundable, it is advisable to know your bra size before making a purchase here. (The cup size is determined by the difference between the under-bust size and the over-bust size.) Local Taiwanese and Thai brands which also make their way into these markets are interest arousing for reasons other than their affordable prices.
Till recently, there was a yawning gap in the middle segment of the lingerie market, bridged by nothing but a bare navel. American brand, Lovable marketed by Maxwell Apparel, is addressing this need.
And Seema Anands resolve to penetrate the womens innerwear market in India was sparked off by a purely personal need. Back home after a long stay in the UK, Anand was appalled at the bits and pieces of fabric that were passed off as underclothing in India. A custom-tailored brassiere procured from Delhis Chandni Chowk stirred the entrepreneur in her. Three years later, Apple, her brand of lingerie, priced in the range of Rs 100 and Rs 500, finds itself very close to the hearts of several women in the city. Not to mention other places.
It remains to be seen how quickly camisoles and garter belts will catch on. These figure-flattering garments are only slightly more comfortable than the laced waists of Gone With the Wind, but they still have an enormous USP. Theyre instant tummy-tuckers without recourse to the scalpel, but their greater appeal lies in the fact that theyre much more fun as bedroom wear than the high-necked camel-coloured sacks sold as nightwear in downmarket India.
More fun for your partner, at any rate. Ask any woman whos had to postpone giving in to passion in favour of a struggle with inaccessible ribbons and hooks. But the question isnt whether women want to breathe easier its whether they want their partners to breathe more heavily.