NRIs: Top clients of Indian fashion designers

‘I’m calling from Los Angeles and I would like to buy the sari you advertised in the latest issue of this magazine,’ said a refined NRI voice in a telephone call to the salon of a leading fashion designer in New Delhi. An equally sophisticated voice responded and the exact colour was decided in a few minutes.

‘You will get the payment and please courier the sari today,’ said the client. Within an hour, someone delivered Rs.85,000 in cash – about $1,900. Now that’s no problem for a decent sari to be worn at her niece’s wedding next week. After all one has to look good.

Indian fashion designers go out of their way to cater to the NRI market – NRIs provide more than half their turnover. Indian films have influenced NRIs to prefer Indian ethnic wear for their Indian wedding ceremony while Western wear is for the formal wedding vows at the registrar’s office. So the bride must have a designer-label ‘lehnga choli’ or an intricately designed, full-length skirt and a blouse, sometimes daringly backless.

This can set you back by a cool $5,000-9,000. So what? Then there are a couple of saris for the reception and other ceremonies plus the tunics for the music parties before the event. Ah, but you must get the designer to create the matching jewellery for all these outfits. ‘A budget of at least $20,000 for the darling bride, if you want to make any impact, my dear!’

The groom cannot be left behind. He must also be dressed like a Maharaja. This means a ’sherwani’ or a long buttoned coat in some silver or gold material and some silk ‘kurtas’ or traditional shirts – all with lavish embroidery. A silk shawl over the long coat adds the royal touch. An elaborate turban set off with pearls tops it off. Of course, a Nehru suit with high collars buttoned at the neck is mandatory for the reception. Add a few more outfits for the pre-nuptial ceremonies, you are done with a reasonable outlay of around $4,000-8,000.

Then the parents and close family must also look good and they, too, must have ethnic designer wear. In some cases, all the brothers of the groom wear the same outfits right down to the ’sultan’ slippers. Ditto for the sisters of the bride.

Of course, the budget keeps ballooning but it’s a fraction of the total outlay on the wedding. When you tally what it costs to host 300-400 guests for cocktails and dinner in Los Angeles or London in a five-star hotel, then this is petty cash. I remember a wedding in London where the doting parents spent a cool 700 pounds ($1,300) for writing the names of invitees on the invitation cards in gold calligraphy.

Back to basics – the wedding wear – the question arises: How do NRIs get these designers for their garments? For a start, those who have the money know the names of the famous designers who matter and visit their sites. Here you can select the design, the fabric, the colour and key in your measurements and pay by credit card.

Since the designers also want NRI clients, they go to where they can contact them and organize Fashion Shows in late summer and autumn in Britain, the US, Canada and the Middle East well before the ‘wedding season’ that is in full swing now. They clinch the major orders as their new clients sometimes fly to India to make the final selections.

Women’s and fashion magazines from India are popular with NRI buyers so the designers advertise lavishly in these with lengthy ‘advertorials’ extolling the virtues of their creations. These make a big impact on the prospective buyers who find the designers just a phone call away. Designers also get NRI attention with their ads in in-flight magazines of airlines and with five-star in-house magazines.

NRIs have vastly different tastes, senior staff of these designers will tell you. American NRI brides do not want to expose shoulders and armpits on blouses and tunics, halters or with spaghetti straps on blouses, ‘tie-backs’ on cholis or emphasize the shape of their breasts with choli cuts. They do not like fabrics like chiffon that is transparent, strapless blouses like bustier or corset or low necks showing cleavage. They want their sleeves longer by at least 4 to 4.5 inches; in brief, very conservative.

British NRI brides are another cup of tea. They dare to bare teasingly and have no qualms about all these ‘prudish’ styles. Hong Kong and East African NRIs have no qualms either. But if you got to flaunt it, work hard at the gym!