The Emergence of Fusion Wear

Category Analysis

The emergence of fusion wear has revolutionized the Indian fashion industry. Fusion wear – a mix of Indian and western wear celebrates the beauty of both the worlds. The emergence of fusion wear has revolutionized the Indian fashion industry to such an extent that top brands today have an element of the same in their collection. We take a quick look at the dynamics of this category in India.

India’s fashion retail market is going through a dynamic phase marked by the transition from unbranded to branded apparel, from physical stores to omnichannel retailing, from utility based apparel purchase to occasion specific apparel purchase. Among various fashion categories, ethnic wear category has emerged as one of the most exciting categories owing to the revival of demand of ethnic wear across age groups, especially, among the youths of both the genders. Though the demand of western wear categories has gained momentum in the recent years, ethnic wear has managed to reposition itself as a preferred attire for specific occasions. Combination of a numerous factors like product innovation, innovative marketing, amalgamation of ethnic wear with western wear, relative under-penetration of brands in this category etc. have contributed to the exciting growth trajectory of ethnic wear.^[1]

The major segments in women’s wear include sarees, salwar kameez, innerwear, winter wear, sleepwear, tops, shirts, trousers, skirts, denim, t-shirts, etc. However, apart from the distinctive segments, another major category is ‘fusion wear’ or the Indo-western wear.

“The segment primarily stands as an amalgamation of ethnic and western style to offer an innovative solution to the changing fashion taste of Indian women.”

This genre basically refers to silhouettes that are inspired by western fashion trends and patterns and yet rely heavily on Indian fashion sensibilities in terms of prints, fabrics and overall styling. Catering mostly to young, fashion conscious, free spirited women between 22 to 32 years, fusion wear is a critical market where brands need to balance the fusion of ethnicity and western influences and yet provide exclusivity to customers in terms of design. While the domestic front looks highly promising, the fusion wear segment is also gaining popularity overseas. The shift from traditional ethnic wear to Indo-western is increasingly becoming the order of the day.^[2]

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Fig 1: Category growth projections (in crores) by a consulting firm, Technopak

Indian ethno-fusion wear market was estimated to be of is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 9 percent to reach 1, 26, 210 crore in 2019. The market is dominated by women’s wear which contribute 83 percent to the total apparel market followed by kids’ and men’s wear with shares of 9 percent and 8 percent respectively.

Opportunity

Ethnic wear was initially a category that was largely restricted to the older age segment. However, with the gaining popularity of fusion wear category, the ethnic styles, patterns, fabrics, etc. are now finding acceptance even among younger consumers, especially women. The young college going girl teams her Indian kurta (made of ethnis fabric and pattern) with either a pair of denims or leggings that represent a fusion of ethnic wear with western wear.

“Even at ceremonial occasions like weddings, festivals, etc., fusion of traditional and western fashion concepts have a huge demand among the confident youth in the 20-45 age bracket.”

This has led to brands focusing on ethnic fusion wear product offerings, in western styles and prints, in order to capture the opportunity. With an interesting interplay of wovens and knits, we can completely redefined ethnic wear for younger consumers.

Competitors Analysis

Major competitors in the ethno-fusion wear category are as follows:

1. Unorganized Retailers: With around 67% market share, unorganized sector is the biggest competitor for any player who is looking to enter this category. The reach and relationship management that this sector provides is unparalleled. In this industry where customization and touch & feel of the product matters the most, big brands are yet to make a significant impact.

1. BIBA Apparel: Biba, which means “pretty girl” in Punjabi, launched by Meena Bindra in 1982, has already made some name in India’s ethnic wear market. They sell a range of products from regular wear clothes with ethnic touch to proper ethnic apparels.

1. Manyavar: It is one of the largest Indian brand in the ethnic wear category for men. It has a number of outlets across all major cities and has a great brand recall due to its marketing communications featuring Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma. The brand is now looking to expand in the women’s wear segment.

1. Fab India: Fabindia is India's largest private platform for product that are made from traditional techniques, skills and hand-based processes. The company has pan India presence and is known for the traditional products including ethnic and fusion apparels, handicraft items, furnishing products, etc.

1. Private Labels by large retailers like Pantaloons, Shoppers Stop, etc.: Recognising the potential and changing consumer preference towards ethnic and fusion wear category, many large retailers like Pantaloons, Shoppers Stop, Westside, etc. are coming up with their own private label brand to fill the gap in the branded ethnic and fusion wear category.  

Consumers Analysis

To understand the consumers’ preference and behavior, we conducted a survey and collected 57 responses from a diverse sample.

In order to make sense of our research, we would first present the demographic observation of our sample.

• Gender: Since our target market is dominated by women’s wear, the sample consisted of women in a significant majority.

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• Age: We decided to have a fair mix of all age groups so that the research provides actual insights of our target population.

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• Income: Since we wish to position our product in the premium ethno-fusion wear category, we made sure we are talking to the correct set of individuals with high disposable family income so that we gather valuable insights.

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• Consumer Preference: Now, we wanted to understand the preference of our target customers for occasions like weddings, festivals, farewells, etc. where social gathering is expected and people get a chance to showcase their personality through their looks and dressing sense. We received an overwhelming trend towards ethnic/traditional wear and fusion wear category.

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• Frequency of purchase: To make sense of annual demand, we inquired about the frequency of purchase of ethnic/fusion wear apparel in a year. By looking at the outcome of the research, we can safely assume that a person purchases these kinds of apparel around 4-5 times on an average.   

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• Fabric Preference: To understand fabric preference of the consumers in the ethnic wear segment, we allowed the sample to respond to our question and choose multiple options of their preference. Following is the snapshot of the result we received.

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• Concept Reception: We aim to redefine the use of traditional banarasi silk fabric by fusing it with modern designs and patterns. This is a new concept for which we need a customers’ reaction to go ahead. We received strong positive reaction to our question of whether the customers would purchase a fusion wear option in banarasi silk fabric.

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• Purchase points: We reconfirmed the industry norm of strong brick and mortar retail dependence through our study where majority opted for retail purchase where they could touch and feel the products before purchasing them.

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Brand Name: The brand name that we have chosen is “Advitiay” which means something that is second to none, emphasizing that it is indeed very good or large.

Vision: We strive to become market leader in the fashion industry which celebrates the fineness of Indian fabrics in innovative ways to deliver a rich consumer experience.