Luxury pret is the new game in India, hoping to ease out international brands from the space, Amit Aggarwal is the early entrant!
By Asmitaa Aggarwal
There is a rise of luxury pret in fashion—there are many who are indulging in it, is it due to the influx of labels like NewMe, Zudio where you get ready-to-wear being lapped up by GenZ? The growth of this genre of clothing is booming, young people express themselves in unique ways—and everyone is looking at international brands to satiate, why can’t India provide this service?
Three designers have taken bridge to luxury as their leitmotif—Anamika Khanna, S & N as well as Amit Aggarwal. Amit started AM.IT his pret label, many years ago, almost ten, but felt that the market was not ready.
It was crafted with recycled materials, but it did not do that well, so he shifted gears putting it on the backburner. In the next 3-6 months he will open standalone stores, but he still has not thought of a name for this new vertical. “It is everything you take with you to an important moment, from the day to an occasion,” says Amit. But for a maximalist like him, must it be tough?
He denies any challenge as it is suited to customer needs, it is like “shifting gears of a car”, for him, plus, it’s gender neutral, as during fittings for LFW X FDCI “male models wanted the female trousers, and vice versa”.
Couture has more intense material explorations unlike pret, as well as workmanship and most importantly focus on construction. “Luxe RTW is intelligent fabrics, mixing fabrics interestingly, and a continued conversation—Banarasis, again pre owned like we do in our couture line,” says Amit.
He combines them with a new technique, hand woven polymer, and industrial materials, so the trousers have a “waxy feel”. Infinity symbols, like an interlocking with heritage textile looks engaging, but RTW solves a purpose in wardrobes, it’s impulse buying. “Couture is emotional, mostly a gift, pret is useability and wearability. You spend your hard-earned money to get it—pair it up and down,” he confirms.
In India, he believes, it is easy to become a designer, when asked what would he like to change in fashion now—“You can launch a label but how will you sustain it, is the question? For that you require mettle,” he concludes.