DESIGNERS PIN HOPES ON UPCOMING FESTIVE SEASON
High-end segment has been hit badly, mid-range dresses and compulsive buying are trending
Navratri is just a few days away and fashion designers in the state capital are keeping their fingers crossed that it ushers a new beginning for them. Pinning their hopes on the festival and wedding season ahead, the glamour industry is readying itself for the buying season.
Small functions as per permissible limits – now 100 people – have badly impacted designers. “Earlier, people bought dresses for haldi, mehndi, wedding, reception and more functions. Now, post-marriage receptions are rarely happening, and the other functions are confined to home, so just brides, groom and close family buys for wedding days. People used to come to us for high-end trail lehngas and all. Now, their budgets have gone down by 40-50%. Strangely, compared to Lucknow and Kanpur, customers in small cities are giving better business. We hope things improve for us and the people attached with the trade,” says designer Pallavi Madeshia Yadav.
Budgets are surely down but people buy for themselves, says celebrity designer and Lucknowite Manish Tripathi. “Like we witnessed revenge travelling before the second wave, I see people going in for revenge buying. And this time, they are going to pamper themselves. We are running into the second year since the pandemic happened and people have not spent on themselves. Also, fat weddings and functions are not
Upcoming months are very crucial for the industry GUNRIDDH SIAL , Fashion designer
happening, so they are now buying for selfhappiness, but budgets surely are lesser and we had to carve a new range accordingly,” he says. Lucknowite Gunriddh Sial, currently based in Singapore, says, “Millennials prefer more casual yet classy silhouettes and at House of Gulaal I have used shades that are very different, for example, the
pistachio green or the icy blue. They are common festive colours but we’ve done it in a way that fashion conscious people are loving them. As people are environmentally conscious, we used 91% reused fabrics with fresh silhouettes. My festive collection has been inspired by some iconic dresses worn by Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Sarah Jessica Parker and many more.”
Fashion designer Romaa Agarwal feels work from home culture has given rise to relaxed styles which can be worn both for online meetings and staying comfortable indoors. “The pandemic has changed our lives and our pattern of consumption, work and leisure. Rare outings and connection to the outside world has also brought about a shift in how we dress. Long lasting, classic, timeless styles are being bought more. Comfort, functionality and durability are taking over affordability and price. Staying indoors has given a huge boost to lounge wear and active wear. Practicality has become the core of design thinking for today’s consumer.”