Bangalore, September 26, 2022: As Navratri is just around the corner, the nation will witness a wide array of colours and celebrations. Although each Indian state celebrates the occasion differently and wears diverse festive attire, all the states are united by the shopping frenzy of their people. As a result, the beginning of India’s holiday season coincides with the start of the shopping season. Insights by a data intelligence company recently highlighted that consumers tend to shop more during the festive season as compared to the rest of the year. It also revealed that consumers plan to shop more this festive season in comparison to last year, one of the reasons being the desire to make up for the time lost during the several lockdowns during the last two years which left customers with little occasion to shop for or dress up.
ReshaMandi – India’s largest farm-to-fashion digital ecosystem for natural fibres – opines that the main emotion among the populace is a desire for calm and stability mixed with a sense of excitement and celebration as markets continue to open and economies recover. On the other hand, as India enters the festival season, there is a renewed optimism and vibrancy in the air, which directly correlates to feel-good and opulent attire.
The company recently introduced a trend forecast report, a first for the industry, which focuses on the Indian fashion business and provides critical insights into the trends expected to prevail this festive and winter. With an initial focus on the ethnic clothing, saree and home décor categories, it also analyses purchasing trends to foretell the colours, forms, accents and fabrics that are most likely to be in style. Since consumers are becoming value-conscious about their purchases and more fastidious about their preferences, the industry has had to strike a balance between presenting fresh concepts and providing secure, long-term solutions while still catering to consumers’ specific tastes.
As per the forecast, the dominant trends for the festive and winter seasons this year are as follows:
- Biophilic hues and themes have gained prominence, with the newly discovered spirituality and connection to nature.
- According to the forecast, the season will be characterised by opulent and positive tones that provide a sense of hope and luxury for trying circumstances. In this sense, 10 primary hues are anticipated for the upcoming festivals and shopping seasons. Overall, the most popular colours would include classic blue, crystal teal, green jacket, love potion, rubocondo, orchid, jaffa orange, calendula, bright chartreuse, and star white.
- Sarees are an essential component of Indian festival clothing. This year, traditional sarees such as those woven in the Kanjeevaram, Banarasi, Tant, Pochampally, and Kota styles are likely to be more in demand.
- In terms of details, small border/borderless, micro motifs, digital traditions, updated zari, scalloped/lace edges, translucency are expected to be more popular.
- The popular motifs are dots, stripes and checks, painterly florals, fine vines, cluster florals, birds & animals, mix & match.
- The fabrics that are anticipated to rule the holiday season are soft silk, cotton/ cotton silk, organza/tissue, chiffon/georgette, and banarasi silk.
Traditionally, festive attire comes with embellishments such as sequins, glitter and sparkles – which may suit a specific occasion, but do not necessarily qualify as being eco-friendly.
The good news is that Indians are now aware of how fast fashion continually affects the environment over the years. Thus, India now has a substantial market for sustainable fashion. This means that strengthening the supply side will benefit businesses, who are gradually shifting their focus towards sustainability. Despite competition from synthetic fibres, the eco-friendly inclination is demonstrated by the growing preference for natural fibres. The domestic market benefits from the constant change in Indian society as a result of evolving fashion trends.
ReshaMandi is steadily building the framework for eco-friendly apparel, fabrics and home furnishing to establish a new world of textiles and transform the industry by offering consumers and businesses sustainable solutions that are accessible, available and affordable.
Beginning with a focus on silk, ReshaMandi has subsequently broadened its bouquet to include other natural fibres such as cotton, jute, coir and banana. Recently, it entered the direct-to-consumer (D2C) market with its e-commerce portal ReshaWeaves, which sells gorgeous sarees from all around India to end users. Today, the organisation oversees the entire ecosystem for all natural fibres, serving a wide range of customers, including farmers, reelers, weavers, retailers, mills, manufacturers, exporters, corporates, designers and the final consumers.
