Indian Men’s Wear- Culmination

Witnessing the rapid growth in the Indian men’s wear market, many international brands have set up shops on Indian Territory. Major among them are; Benetton, Wrangler, Pape, Lee etc. they all are vying to have a share of lucrative Indian men’s wear market which is slated to rise even higher in coming times. Few old guns also opened their retail men’s wear segments. Reputed Raymonds launched Park Avenue men’s range or readymade garments whereas hardcore mills empire Bombay Dyeing launched Vivaldi shirts. Joining the bandwagon is the VXL group of mills comprising Digjam, OCM and Jiyajee with their line of Hagger men’s wear.

However, with all the growth in Indian men’s wear, women’s wear still sells more. And that’s quite obvious considering women’s’ taste for fashion. But potential of men’s wear has been noticed by big names in fashion and clothes industry. As a proof of this fact even specialist women’s wear designers like Rohit Khosla and Tarun Tahiliani, have entered into male clothes design segment.

The price structure for men’s wear is no more the deciding factor in purchasing process. One can find a local t-shirt off the pavements getting sold for as low as Rs. 50/- and at the same time, up market prices in range of more than 10,000-15000 for an overcoat at a classy fashion house.

Indian men have changed. Men’s wear has definitely come of age with blending pattern of both Indian and western clothes.

Indian Men’s Wear- Formal Wear

Indian readymade shirt brands were initiated by Liberty in 1950s. Following its success, several other brands stepped in. major ones were; Double Bull, Charagh din, Cliff, Van Heusen, Louis Phillip, Rod Laver, Fus, Globetrotter, stentcil, Ambassador, Snowhite, Karl Lewis etc. Major in-house brands in shirts are; Benzer, Instyle, Sheetal, Roopam etc. famous designer labels are Arjun Khanna, Rohit Khosla, Suneet Verma, Ravi Bajaj, Anu Ma, Rohit Bal, Krishna Mehta ahilian amongst the others.

Indian men generally prefer color like purple, pink, mint green etc as can be seen in the huge sales of shirts with above mentioned colors. Exclusive clothes are no longer in the sole domain of Indian women. Among western garments Indian mn prefer more of the shirt, trouser and suit to a certain extent. Indian shirt market has most number of manufacturers who are vying for a large chunk of the estimated Rs. 200 crore markets. According to rough estimates, there are almost 5000 shirts manufacturers in both branded and unbranded garments.

Trouser, the most preferred follow on of readymade shirts has also many branded and unbranded manufacturers. Famous names include, Zapata and Pantaloon among others. This is a common strategy and understandably so, that every major shirt manufacturer prefers to combine trousers with the garments in order to give it a more coordinated and matched look. Men’s wear also includes western suits and tuxedos. These are mostly available with branded names like Park Avenue or fashion boutiques. Though, most of the Indian men prefer them made at custom tailors. As a testimony to the rising Indian men’s wear, many departmental stores and malls have started to have separate men’s wear section that caters exclusively to the selective dresser.

Indian Men’s Wear- Ethnic Wear

India’s ancient culture combined with retro fashion has gained huge momentum and its competing intensely with western wears. Most traditional of Indian garments is Sherwani. Considered as a streamlines garment it has extra long length; 110 centimeters to be precise. It is also quite a structured ethnic wear. Sherwanis are combined with Churidars and trousers. Its fabrics could be either terry wool or brocade. It also has another version with asymmetrical opening or double breasted.

Most used casual wear for Indian men is Kurta-Churidar combination in light weight cotton, mills, pure silk or polyesters. These Kurtas are often collarless or with a plain band. Modern versions of kurtas often use draped effect as well. These kurtas are either have the 2-piece or 6-piece cut. The Bundi or Bundgala is another traditional Indian wear. It’s almost an Indianised version of western waistcoat and used with Kurta Churidar. Bundi gives a style statement to the informal Kurta-Churidar combination. Fabrics used in it are; raw silks, cotton, linen, silk, terry cotton, terry wool or brocade.

The Prince or Jodhpuri coat is Indian version of lounge suit. Its length is almost similar to suit jacket at 78 centimetres. It is used in combination with narrow matching trousers and gives a royal feel about the wear. Fabric is similar to that of western suit. These ethnic dresses have always been in vogue courtesy their ever lasting appeal and style statement factor.

Indian Men’s Wear- Coming To The Fore

The spurt in Indian men’s wear can be attributed to number of facts including, evergreen Indian movie world, foreign influence, phenomenal growth in number of designers and fashion houses. Indian men are blissfully aware of the world fashion. Interestingly, on an average Indian male is perceived to be slightly conservative compared to his western counterparts and a push is still considered essential for him to get more fashionable.

Technically or rather fashionable speaking, Indian Men’s wear in India is segregated into two distinct groups of Indian and Western. Indian men’s wear can be seen in corporate world on form of formal suits and dresses whereas western dress has two further parts of formal suits and casual wear.

India boasts of a proud clothing culture since ancient days. Whether its ethnic dresses or royal attires, one can find the splendor and grandeur reflecting from a source of Indian clothing. Its time of retro fashion and following the trend, India’s rich sartorial heritage manifesting in style of the ancient Maharajas and Mughal kings has started to acquire the center stage. Indian dresses like Sherwani, Budni or Nehru Jacket, Prince or Jodhpuri Coat and Kurta Churidar etc have taken center stage not only in India but in western world as well. Things changed in post-independence era. Before independence, most of the formal wears were designed according to western norms. Handspun fabrics became the new norm after independence.

Indian Men’s Wear

Indian men are now getting more and more fashion conscious. One can find Indian men in all sorts of clothes ranging from Indian clothes, western styles, the formal shirts and casual kurtas, sherwanis, fashionable suits. Fashion and latest designs are new buzzwords in Indian men’s’ lifestyles.

Indian fashion is no more about fairer sex. Since ancient times, Indian men have kept up their own unique fashion sense. The only change is with advent of new economy and receding global boundaries, Indian men have started getting more options and they are no longer shy of flaunting the latest trends and designs. Indian males are known to use unstitched garments like lungi, dhoti, and sari etc. But thanks to modernization, dressing habits of men have also become more modern. Changing dressing sense of men can be best understood from the fact that, in a span of 2-3 decades, the readymade garment industry in India has grown hundred fold. Readymade garments have turned out into a major industry of which 70 percent is consumed internally and rest 30 percent is exported.

As a proof of rising fashion awareness amongst Indian men, several world class brands have set shops in India. The name include likes of Ensemble, Glitterati, Intermezzo Linea, Anja San, Mutiny etc. these brands are specially for affluent class male population who will settle for nothing less than exclusive high-priced garment. Apart from the above listed names several others men’s wear boutiques can be seen setting shops in every nook and corner of urban India.