By the looks of it, the fashion fraternity is resuming back to normalcy as many renowned designers opened the doors to their flagship stores once again. With lockdown beginning to ease up, we are sure many designers and high-end fashion labels will follow the suit.
Ace designers like Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Manish Malhotra, Shantanu & Nikhil, Masaba Gupta and many others have got their business up-and-running in different states of the country.
Leading the tribe, Manish re-opened his flagship stores in Delhi and Hyderabad by the end of May. When asked about the response during the times of pandemic, he told a leading magazine, “My Delhi store in Ambawatta was the first one to reopen on that strip. The response has been encouraging.” While others have opened up their stores for a limited, periodic visit, Sabya has opted for virtual communication with his clients via telephones and video consultations.
“We feel it is far too early to open our stores to the public. Instead, we are providing solutions through video conferencing and contactless deliveries. Understanding that operating this way will not allow us to meet demand, and short term revenues will suffer, we believe this is the best and most sustainable way forward for our business, our employees and our customers,” he said.
Accepting the new-normal is the way ahead and there are no two ways about that fact. Although this new normal comes with a set of extra precautions. Temperature screening, sanitization, and social distancing are some of the norms that one must abide by for a healthy life as well as trade.
Designer Amit Aggarwal, who recently opened his Delhi flagship store has informed the staff about the same. “We had the entire store sanitized twice in the last week and once on Saturday before we opened on Monday. The door is sanitized after every walk-in.”
When asked about their shopper audience, the designers mentioned that they are the ones with already placed orders or with ceremonies in the near future. “A lot of our current shoppers are those who had already placed orders. And then there are those looking to buy outfits for their upcoming weddings, having already lost the last few months for their trousseau shopping,” added Shantanu Mehra from the famous Shantanu & Nikhil.
Talking about the way forward from this crisis situation, Manish said that now is the time to slow down and reflect back on actions. “As designers, we need to understand that now is the time to slow down, rethink and be responsible,” he said. Sabya stated that it is not seasons but years and decades that measure success. “Running a successful business is like caring for a living being whose growth requires constant nurturing through the good times and the bad. I’ve understood that success cannot be measured in seasons, but rather in years—or even decades. This long-term perspective has always informed my decision-making, even when faced with turbulent and uncertain times.” Amit, agreeing with these two has also asked its team to slow down the production pace as well.
(Source- Vogue India)
