STYLE
Plus-size fashion
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It is one of the few retail clothing stores in the world to cater to oversized men and women, and a first for India, says NEETA LAL.
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NEETA LAL
The"big picture" in mind -- Chandan Widhani (left) and Gurvinder Singh.
FASHION designers like their (human) clotheshorses thin. Even anorexic. However, Delhi-based Chandan Widhani plumps for the well-rounded. Preferably obese. Is he being absurd? No, the entrepreneur just likes to think big, literally, as his brand Just My Size (JMS) launched a year ago, is one of the few retail stores in the world to cater to oversized men and women. By introducing the mint-fresh concept of plus-size clothing in India, Widhani, and his partner Gurvinder Singh, hope to cash in on the hitherto ignored segment of big people on the lookout for fashionable, prêt western wear.
"Plus-size fashion is very popular abroad," says the 36-year-old entrepreneur, an erstwhile garment exporter. "`The Big and Tall Stores' there address the oversized. But in India this concept has been overlooked by our fashion industry despite the fact that one in every four people in the world today, according to research, is obese. So we hope to fill in this important lacuna."
Widhani well might be on the right track, considering his three exhibitions in Punjab (Chandigarh and Ludhiana) which he chose because of the local populace's robust build, and which was held this autumn. They were a complete sellout. Even his five-month-old retail store in New Delhi's tony Greater Kailash market, for instance, (literally bursting at the seams with its just-launched winter collection) has notched up a sale of over 5,000 garments since inception. In addition, last week, the savvy businessman also cut the ribbon at a spanking new store in Gurgaon's spiffy Metropolitan Mall in Haryana. Hence, despite being only a year in the business, the co-owners of JMS are already dreaming of a pan-Indian presence and fleshing out plans to open at least eight outlets across north India over the next two years.
Widhani attributes the brand's success primarily to the non-availability of niche clothing in India. "While large people still have choices in ethnic Indian wear," says Singh, "smart/casual western clothing — and that too, for above size eight — is a huge problem." These people, according to the entrepreneur, have to still run around picking up bolts of fabric to get clothes stitched from the neighbourhood darzi. "Also, in India there's no concept of an ideal body," he elaborates. "In women especially, shapes vary vastly — narrow at the waist but broad at the hips and thighs. If the shoulders are narrow, then their biceps are bulging. But the point is that even these people want to dress fashionably."
K.R. DEEPAK
Catering to an ignored segment.
Hence, the `JMS' design team at its factory in south Delhi is constantly having to churn out crafty design inputs to take kilos off a frame. For instance, diagonal stripes for them are a complete no-no. Instead, the designers have infused an ingenious "bias" cut into their women's collections that creates the illusion of slimness. Another slimming technique they employ is the use of the "raglan" cut, especially to camouflage bulky biceps in women. Then there's other design trivia like sticking to small prints, checks and tiny motifs. There's clever use of fabrics too. Like linen and lycra, for instance, are used abundantly which not only aid in achieving a slimmer look but are also malleable, expanding and contracting according to waistlines.
There's even `XXXXL'
The brand's current repertoire includes stylishly designed Tees, capris, trousers and jeans for women in the range of Rs. 500 to Rs. 1,400 while the men can take their pick from the expandable waist trousers and striped shirts ranging between Rs. 600 to Rs. 1,700. Broadly, the clothes are segmented into casual cottons and semi-corporate or office wear. The sizes are available in `XL', `XXL' and `XXXL' sizes though the largest size `JMS' currently caters to goes a tad beyond — it's `XXXXL' and belongs to a Delhi-based Australian diplomat who wears a 64-inch waist and weighs 180 kg!
As a brand-building exercise, the entrepreneurs do a lot of customisation too. Inevitable, one could argue, in a retail market that's at a nadir. "There's complete saturation in the retail market today," says Widhani. "There has been a mushrooming of malls and both foreign and Indian brands. So unless you provide that wee bit extra service, you can't survive." Hence, intangibles like sending staff, repeatedly if need be, for alterations and customisation to the client, seeking feedback on collections, their future requirements, are all inextricably interwoven into the JMS post-sales service. To analyse his customer profile better, Widhani is also shoring up an online database — aimed at customer retention management — which would include basic information like the client's transaction history, their preferred choice of clothing and an online feedback card.
Widhani's vision for the future includes having a strong nationwide presence as a specialty store for plus-sized people. And once he has that unambiguous edge, he says he'd like to diversify into accessories too. Shoes for the oversized, belts, wallets, scarves, socks, ties, the works. Remember, he's the man with the "big" picture.
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