Hyderabad fashion scene gets a leg up
Hyderabad now finds itself on the national fashion radar with top designers setting up shop here.
What do Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore have that Hyderabad doesn’t; at least till now? Flagship stores by top notch designers. Every time one of the City’s fashionistas wanted to pick up an exclusive piece by a well-known designer they would invariably fly to one of the other metros or make do with what was on offer at one of the multi-designer stores in the City.
Not that these stores weren’t great, but they just weren’t like visiting a flagship store now, were they? But then with Rocky S opening his store here in partnership, Tarun Tahiliani being the latest to join the bandwagon and Sabyasachi soon setting up his standalone store here as well, Hyderabadi fashion has just gone several steps up.
What’s even better is that unlike earlier, designer stores (multi-designer and exclusive ones) make sure that they stock up the latest designs.
“As a store owner, I ensure I have the latest collection. We go to the fashion weeks and make sure we’ve got the designers’ latest collections for our clients at the store,” says Smita Shroff, owner, Elahe, who is soon going to set up Sabyasachi’s store.
So what is it that is bringing top-notch fashion designers to the City?
“Why not? The City has always had a culture of great luxury and people’s taste for luxury has been kind of ingrained. Besides, we’ve always liked to be at the forefront of things. So Hyderabad seemed like a great choice.
“We’ve had some clients from here at our Mumbai store. This is a great time for the City to grow as a fashion market and it’s always nice to join the fray early on. It gives you a chance to learn and create a niche market for yourself. Besides, our clothes here are well-appreciated. They are after all about their superior finishing,” says Tarun Tahiliani, who recently inaugurated his store in Banjara Hills.
Done up in shades of cream, the store boasts of some of Tarun’s best designs apart from Nawabi inspired jewellery and watches. “Tarun’s association with the City has been a long one. He’s had plenty of Hyderabadi brides and he even had an exposition here last year, which did very well.
Most importantly, Hyderabad has the kind of lifestyle to support a store like this,” says Tina Tahiliani, who looks after the business aspect of her brother’s stores.
That Hyderabadi women are very refined and have very elegant tastes when it comes to fashion is something most people in the fashion industry firmly believe in.
“There are a lot of women here who have great taste when it comes to fashion, but don’t just fly out every time they want to pick up designer wear. Our store will be perfect for them. Our store is also for the young Hyderabadi girls who are so particular about their drapes and colours. I’m sure my store is going to do really well here,” explains Tarun.
But will this influx of standalone designer stores spell trouble for the multi-designer stores in the City? “I don’t think so. There is space for everybody in the market. For instance, a multi-designer store offers clients variety while on the other hand a standalone store can have plenty of bridal designs unlike a multi-designer one. So one won’t eat into the other’s business, because there’s plenty of scope for both kinds of stores,” believes Smita.
Giving credence to this seems to be Kimaya, one of most well known multi-designer stores from Mumbai, which is soon going to open a store in the City. “We have a lot of Hyderabadi clientele, especially from the Reddy community. So we did our studies and realised that the market here looks very promising for us. Setting up a store here is just our way of getting closer to our Hyderabadi clients. Besides, Hyderabadi women are a perfect balance of understated and bling, which is great when it comes to fashion,” says Pradeep Hirani, chairman, Kimaya Fashion Pvt Ltd, who will be inaugurating the store in the first week of September.
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