Fusion looks — the classics with a twist — are the top trend this season. Sarees, lehengas, bandhgalas, sherwanis and kurtas have been around forever, and yet there’s something that’s made them all the rage again this year. We take a look at what’s hot and what’s not at Myntra, Tata Cliq, Raymond and Westside

Maryam Farooqui

The 2020 festive season has begun and, as with many other things this year, it will be a festive season like never before. Fashion retailers, who had to struggle during the lockdown and were dependent on sales through online shopping platforms, are counting on a resurgence in demand.

“Fusion looks such as pairing lehenga skirts and crop tops/blazers will be a key trend. Fashion preferences of some of our more experimental shoppers includes ruffle sarees, shararas and asymmetrical kurtas for men,” Ayyappan Rajagopal, Head of Business at Myntra, told Moneycontrol.

Rajagopal added that there will be a “large focus on above-the-waist looks due to the virtual nature of social events and celebrations.”

The online shopping platform is offering nine lakh style options and will be adding more selections in the ethnic category.

Indo-fusionwear to the fore

Kishore Mardikar, Chief Marketing Officer, Tata CLiQ, said that there has been a sharp inclination towards Indo-fusionwear on the company’s platform this year. The online shopping platform from the Tata Group is seeing customers browsing more products thanks to the festive period. “Product views have jumped by an even higher proportion than traffic in the pre-Covid period,” said Mardikar.

During Myntra’s ‘Big Fashion Festival, which started on October 16, the ethnicwear category dominated, with over 100 percent growth on the first day of the event as compared to last year.

The highest selling product in the first hour of the festival was Libas Lime Green and Blue printed kurta with Palazzos. Last year, on Myntra, the most bought item during the festive season was the Vishudh Women Black Golden Printed Straight Kurta.

The fashion festival this year saw as many as two lakh new customers coming on to the platform.

This is why Rajagopal believes Myntra will surpass last year’s numbers. “We are looking to scale our festive season to 2x of last year,” he said. Myntra is expecting 2x growth in customer acquisitions during the festive season.

Even Mardikar is confident that business will grow during the festive period, pointing out that the units per order have increased by 25-30 percent and the average order value is also higher compared to pre-lockdown.

Ethnic cuts to feel complete

Raymond, along with bandhgalas and sherwanis, is also offering shirts with ethnic cuts in its ethnic collection. “We are banking on our ethnic collection this year and along with online platforms we are bringing ethnic collection to some of our retail stores,” said Ganesh Kumar, COO, Lifestyle business, Raymond, told Moneycontrol.

The company also has a collection ready for gifting purposes during the festive period.

The brick-and-mortar retailer has increased its online presence and is banking on the festive period. The company had a difficult time during the first two quarters of the fiscal year.

“The third quarter has usually been our biggest quarter. Close to one-third of our business happens on the back of the festive and wedding season. This year the significance of this quarter is more because of a constricted first quarter and slow recovery in the second quarter. Q3 will be setting the tone on how the fashion business will be in the market,” Kumar told Moneycontrol.

Apart from online shopping platforms, Raymond this year has increased its online presence by activating its own site, called buyraymond.com, which has all that Raymond has to offer its customers.

Some of the Raymond stores are also giving customers a virtual tour through video calling to let customers shop from home.

Kumar says Raymond is seeing a recovery in business both online and offline. “Post June, when the lockdown started easing, we have seen confidence improving and we operated about 1,500 retail stores. Now, the festive period will help in building shopper confidence. This confidence will set the tone for the fourth quarter,” said Kumar.

He expects a stronger recovery in the second half of the year as compared to the first half and expects 70 percent of the pre-Covid business to come back by the end of festive period.

“We expect Q3 to be better and we expect 70 to 80 percent of pre-COVID business. Adhik Maas has given us three extra weeks. Plus, along with the festive period there are also weddings, which were delayed because of the coronavirus-led lockdown. While some of our Raymond shops are seeing 50-60 percent of the previous year’s business, 25 percent of our stores are at more than 75 percent of last year's business,” said Kumar.

Westside, which was also betting on its online business, is expecting online sales to be higher than offline during the festive period.

“At the peak of the festival season, a lot more people will be coming in. So, people are going to browse for clothes online but may come to buy them at the store,” said Umashan Naidoo, Head of Customer, Westside.

First Published on Oct 22, 2020 05:05 pm

How fashion retailers are planning to ride this festive season’s key trends

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