MALINI Goes mass
Collaborating with shoe behemoth BATA India, MALIN NI RAMANI is all set to dressd up women across the coun ntry
It doesn’t come as a surprise to learn that footwear giant Bata India has collaborated with one of India’s most highly regarded designers, Malini Ramani, to launch a collection—a range of reasonably priced footwear that brings her design aesthetic to the brand. After all, consumers and businesses are sailing unchartered waters, and retail behaviour has changed more in the past five years than in the previous 20.
Ramani feels there is a prospect to drive business with strategic alliances and partnerships. Her bold design sensibility—at once vivacious and joyful—has a huge fan following among women in this country, while Bata India is a muchrespected brand with millions of loyal customers, and a wide distribution that spans the length and breadth of India. This creative partnership will bring to the marketplace chic designs at a very affordable price of 1,999. “I am super excited that the designs I envisioned will reach a wide audience thanks to Bata. This is a creative partnership, and I am sure that women all over the country will love the collection,” she says, adding: “I have grown up with Bata shoes. So has just about everyone I know! It is a household name, and everyone in the country identifies with it. It strikes a chord and holds fond memories for most people.
The partnership was not premeditated though. It just happened! A year back—on this very date (of this interview)—i met Thomas Bata at a party in Phuket, and we exchanged cards. I came back to India and wrote to him about the possibility of a collaboration, and shortly after, the idea began taking shape!”
“There is no more stimulating a time to create things than now! At the onset of my career, I was making collections for a small segment of the population.today, there is no question that the most significant consumer is the woman.there has never been a time when Indian women were more in control of their needs and beliefs than today. That makes my work as a designer more challenging, but at the same time more exciting because I am designing for a woman who knows what she wants,” is her belief.
Itsureseemsfashion’sconsummateachiever is running on high gear. The handcrafted Kolhapuri footwear from Maharashtra has unexpectedly inspired this collection of wedges. How did this happen? Known for comfort and sturdiness, Kolhapuri wedges gel with Malini’s mantra of ‘style with comfort’. “The wedges are available in bright colours,andembellishedwithembroidered mirrorwork, though my favourite look is thenude leatherwedgewith gold trimming. It is super chic! All the wedges have comfortablecorkheelsthatmakethemperfect for travel, for the beach, and even for the workplace,” grins the pretty designer.