B'lore apparel designer joins outsourcing race

German fashion brand selects Munch to provide designing solutions

Indian apparel designing expertise has surely arrived now. A German firm, Orsay, an international fashion brand for women, has chosen the Munch Design Workshop, a designing outsourcing company based in Bangalore, to provide designing solutions to the company.

Promoted by the Phulchand Group of companies, Munch will provide ideas and design lines to Orsay, a Mulliez Group Company founded in Willstatt, Baden, Germany, in 1975.

Orsay has signed a tripartite agreement with Munch and Francis Wacziarg Agencies (FW), a buying agent based out of Bangalore that manufactures and exports finished home appliances, leather goods, and textiles and garments.

Depending on the designing need of Orsay, Munch would propose ideas and design lines and work with FW to convert it into finished commercial product, the officials of the three companies announced at a joint press meet here on Tuesday.

Speaking on the occasion, Jean-Pierre Pharaon, director, Orsay said this was for the first time Orsay has looked outside Europe for its designing needs. "We are convinced we have a lot to gain by having our designing done in Asia and keeping this in view, we have started our collaboration with Munch."

He said that Indians had a lot of cultural affinity with Europeans for long and it was high time European companies took help from Indian garment designers who set world standards in the ever-changing fashion industry.

Karunesh Vohra, CEO of Munch Design Workshop said that the company's agreement with Orsay had started a new era for the apparel design outsourcing (ADO) industry which was in a nascent stage and had a lot of potential.

"This is a completely new segment in the apparel industry which recognises the ability of Indian designers," Vohra, who is also the principal designer of the company, pointed out.

Orsay's decision to collaborate with an Indian design firm came as a boost to the entire ADO industry in India, which was already making a niche for itself in the fashion market around the world.

Although China was the largest producer of textiles and apparel, the expertise of Indian designers gave the country an edge in the export market over China. "Although, earlier India was primarily seen as a cost-effective manufacturing base, the biggest opportunities now exist in our ability to give better style, cuts, patterns and designs."

This was the reason why the world started looking at India as a potential destination for ADO and many of the retailers and leading fashion brands in the US and UK were heavily depending on Indian designers to cater to their requirements, Vohra added.

Munch recently forayed into the retail space by launching Moh, an exclusive label of clothing and accessories. Currently being retailed at Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai and Goa, the label provides a window to the innovation and design capabilities of the company, said a Munch press release. The retail presence for the label would eventually expand to the international market.

Munch has worked for leading brands like Orsay, Tom Tailor, Levi's Workers, John Players, Dockers, Benetton, Invista, Lifestyle Wesside, SF Jeans and Philip Van Heusen.