Rent, loan, borrow
How fashion websites are making high-end designer wear affordable
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2014-10-28 23:51 GMT
Hyderabad: ‘Tis the season to borrow, or rent or even loan. And as the market for designer clothing grows at an incredible pace (expected to reach Rs 11,000 crore by 2020, according to ASSOCHAM), stores are offering all sorts of schemes to attract the discerning. For example, there are now EMIs, plans that allow you to loan your designer wear and earn money and you can even borrow a dress that costs lakhs, for a few hours and not end up paying the full retail cost.
And we’re not talking magazine brochures here. The line-up includes some of the biggest brands on the planet, imagine getting your hands around an Alexander McQueen jacket (available at roc-knshop.com), costing nearly half-a-lakh for an EMI starting at Rs 5,000, with a customised payment scheme, spread across a period of your choice. If you fancy a clutch, how about one from Charlotte Olympia, on sale for Rs 1,11,111, but with an EMI scheme starting at Rs 9,924.
Currently, there are over half-a-dozen websites offering easy payment schemes and with the festival rush, orders are pouring in as there are thousands who can’t part with a lakh overnight.
“We have clients from all over, Hyderabad, Ludhiana, Bengaluru and Mumbai. The EMI model works because there’s now a market which is fashion forward, fashion conscious. These are not your mall variety of shopper. For example, if a guy wants to spend on his girl and he can’t really shell out a lakh on a Louis Vuitton, an EMI helps. You no longer need wallet for luxury,” says Pashneet Kaur of rocknshop.com.
CEO Priya Sachdev adds: “India can now access luxury fashion with a simple click of a button. Today through the EMI payment option, luxury shopping will finally be affordable and one can shop what they desire today, enjoy it today and pay tomorrow.” .
You could even rent!
“It’s a fact that everybody wants to look their best on the wedding day. But spending Rs 1 or 2 lakhs just for a few hour is very impractical,” claims designer Aanchal Singh. "I approached one of the designer rental websites and got a stunning lehenga for my sister for her wedding. If we were to buy that, it would have cost us about '2.5 lakhs. But this arrangement cost me just '35,000.”
This is where websites such as borrowitbindaas.com come into play. All you need to do is shell out at least a 100 dollars for maybe a Masaba saree, avoid spilling chutney on it and then return the dress in bags that have been provided. The store is however particular on one point, "We'll take care of the dry cleaning. No cleaning yourself."
Jessica Gupta, founder director, Secret Wardrobe reveals that they are now stocking some of the high end designers that include JADE, Sabyasachi, Masaba Gupta, Rahul Mishra, Wendell Rodricks, Ranna Gill etc.”
“One can get a lehenga choli by JADE originally priced at Rs 60,000 for Rs 6,500 and a shaded Sabyasachi sari which is originally priced at Rs 45,000 can be rented for Rs 6,000. Another unique service that we provide is a revenue share scheme where you can rent out your outfits through our service. And each time it gets rented out, you get 40% of the rent. One can visit our website www.secretwardrobe.in which contains details about prices, sizes and garment description. They can also fill an enquiry form and make an online bank transfer or visit our boutique by appointment to try the outfit and finalise their booking."
So, is this the future?
Numbers are increasingly claiming that luxury wear will move away from brick-and-mortar stores and with banking too moving towards the Web, it would seem that for Gen Y some of the biggest brands on the planet, are just a payment scheme away.