UK 6
US 4
India ???
Size UK: Yes, Size US: Yes, Size Indian: No
These are not statistics meant to fox you. They are supposed to help you make an informed choice on your favourite apparel brands.
Whether you are looking for that Little Black Dress or have your eyes set on the sassy green jumpsuit you spotted online, you are a bit wary as you don't know what size would fit you. You are not alone.
The “elusive” perfect Indian body size is giving many retailers, both domestic and international, a headache. This is especially true of women's western wear, trend watchers and fashionistas note.
They say one of the key reasons why international retailers are choosing to enter India with a local partner is to overcome the body sizing challenges they face here.
When French fashion brand Elle ventured into India in a licensing partnership with Arvind Lifestyle, supply chain management and body sizing were key top-of-mind for the company.
Query Fabrice A. Plaquevent, CEO, Lagardere Active Enterprises, the parent company of Elle magazine and Elle fashion brands, about the body sizing challenge and he points towards Arvind Lifestyle's CEO, J. Suresh.
Arvind Lifestyle, which has brands such as iZod and US Polo among others, says the company has perfected body sizing by its sheer presence in the apparel business.
“There were challenges in body sizing, particularly of women's western wear. But we have overcome those challenges over a period of time,” says Suresh.
He adds, “The women's western wear market in India is taking off well and if we are able to establish a good base, it will prove to be advantageous for the company.”
But not all companies have sized up the market like Arvind Lifestyle has. For apparel manufacturers and retailers, the fitting issue, especially for Indian women, is still where the buck stops.
Last year, apparel brand Blackberrys dropped its women's range to focus on the menswear category. “The women's formal range is a tricky business. Although it contributed about five per cent to our turnover, we discontinued it to concentrate on the male formal and semi-formal range. Also, it was difficult to maintain inventory to cater to the large segment of women,” the company had said at that time.
Prof Deepti Gupta, Department of Textile Technology, IIT Delhi, who has conducted a study on Indian body sizes, points out that traditionally Indians have used only draped garments where ‘one size fitted all'. Therefore, the concept of ‘stitched to fit a body' is alien to us.
Observing that most countries have gone on to modernise and revise their sizing systems based on inputs from fitting surveys, she points out that India does not even have a rudimentary system till date.
“By its sheer nature, body sizing needs a consortia approach where academic institutions, technology providers, Government agencies and retailers need to come together and work out a comprehensive strategy for sharing of responsibility, funds and findings,” Gupta says.
“An anthropometric survey — measuring population — needs to be undertaken to determine sizes,” points out Gupta, adding that manual measuring as well as 2D and 3D imagery needs to be used to get accurate data.
A. Sakthivel, President, Tirupur Exporters' Association, and Chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council, says, “Body sizing is a major problem for domestic apparel brands due to the regional and ethnic divide in India. What fits a South Indian woman might not fit a woman from say the North-East. Also, Indian women are very fussy about fits.” This compounds problems, he adds, pointing out how the industry is now working with various design and fashion institutes to overcome the bottlenecks.
Additionally, with apparel retail growing in the online space, brands are evolving solutions of their own.
Online retailer Zovi.com recently launched its virtual trial room to enable its customers to check out instantly how select Zovi merchandise looked on them. ‘Zovi Eye' will be featured on the Web site, which will help buyers view themselves in their desired apparel via an interactive Web-cam application.
Satish Mani, Founder and CTO, at Zovi.com says, “We have introduced the Zovi Eye and Zovi Try n Buy schemes for our customers. These features will simulate the offline buying experience of checking appearance and fit by using technology and process innovation. The population will be categorised on the basis of region, ethnic group, gender and age group.”
Dipak Agarwal, CEO – Operations and Strategy, DLF Retail Brands says, “Sizing is a challenge for most brands and we are no exception. Since there is no nomenclature for sizing in India, we are trying to perfect it in our own way.”
Also, he points out, sizing changes with the dress. While some garments looks good with tight fits others look nice if they are loosely tailored,” he said. Agarwal said the company is working with a design team to handle body sizing issues.
Industry watchers however say, “Size Indian will have to come. Indians are the biggest shoppers abroad and the domestic retail market is also growing fast. A clear guideline on Indian size will have to become a reality. If the American Society for Testing and Materials can maintain more than 15,000 standards, so can we.”