Calvin Klein lands in
India By Siddharth Srivastava
NEW DELHI - Calvin Klein hit the headlines in
the US way back in 1979 with the launch of his designer
jeans - rather the commercial for his jeans featuring
the 15-year old heartthrob of the time, Brook Shields -
with the catch line: "You know what comes between me and
my Calvins? Nothing." The jeans sold 200,000 pairs in
the first week.
Well, it may be 25 years too
late, but Klein, the marketing genius, the person, the
designer known to provoke, the brand name considered one
of the most valuable alongside Pepsi, Coca-Cola, IBM and
Nike, has finally arrived in India. Klein, the man, is
on a mission. "I've come to make connections. Be it
fashion, fragrances or accessories, India is a market
that needs to be explored. With over a billion beautiful
people, the possibilities here are enormous," he says.
Named by a top US magazine as one of the 25 most
influential people in America, Calvin the Conqueror - as
Women's Wear Daily dubbed him once - says he is looking
at retail and distribution as possibilities and was
also, in the process, discovering the most extraordinary
craftsmanship in India. Although the Calvin Klein brand
ranging from jeans to coats, underwear to fragrances and
home decor to watches is now part of the Phillips-Van
Heusen Corporation, Klein continues to be creatively
associated with his brand and advises on global
expansion plans. Indeed, as head of the eponymous
designer company that generates global revenues of more
than US$2 billion a year, the presence of the man who
lends his name to the Fortune 500 company and dictates
the way the well-dressed world turns out, is a
significant occurrence.
It shows India has
progressed beyond being a land of cyber-coolies (call
center executives, as they have come to be called) and a
low-income, low-cost destination to a vibrant economy
where the best and the most expensive designs created by
top fashion labels can find a market. India's $200
billion retail market is still small compared to rivals
such as China, Malaysia and Thailand, but according to
estimates by McKinsey, the market size is expected to
grow to $500 billion in the next five to six years.
The coming of Klein comes in the wake of another
top American fashion designer, Tommy Hilfiger, who has
also set up shop in India. The creator of one of the
most recognizable fashion labels was in India earlier
this year to launch his exclusive stores in the urban
centers of Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai and Bangalore,
bringing the biggest fashion brand to this part of the
world.
"The Indian economy is soaring. I think
the Indian people love brands. We have a partnership
with Arvind and Murjani [as per current Indian laws, an
Indian partner is a statutory requirement] and it
doesn't get better than that. We are also powerful as a
brand to move into a country and do well. We back it up
with great stores, wonderful advertising, products and
newness at the same time as in the rest of the world.
There isn't another American designer on this soil. It
is because maybe they don't understand it, maybe they
don't know or maybe they don't care. I understand it. I
care about it and I am excited about it,'' Hilfiger said
in an interview on his coming to India, of course before
Klein decided to move in too.
But apart from the
business side, there has been another aspect to the
Klein visit - the creative part. The czar of fashion has
been quietly soaking up local sights, sounds and snips,
traveling incognito with a few Indian friends. He has
visited the local emporia and the crafts museum in the
capital, absorbing various traditional Indian techniques
and threads with cloth (ikat, tanchoi, chikenkari,
baluchari) as well as the use of bright colors - the
raspberry reds, the fuschia pinks and the sun-dried
yellows. Clearly, Klein does not want his foray into
India to be a one-way process and he wants to take back
some of the Indian creations to expand his horizon. "The
way you guys put colors together is amazing," Klein told
reporters at the crafts museum, "the feel, texture, warp
and weft - it's exquisite."
Klein's interest is
a further reflection of the fact that Indian influence
is beginning to be felt at fashion hot spots around the
world. American designers who have sporadically been
inspired by Indian motifs in the past are embracing the
eastern look - saris (traditional Indian dress
worn by women), bandgala (high-neck jacket for
formal occasions), choli (embroidered blouse),
lehenga (Indian wrap-around), kurti (loose
cotton tops) and more.
According to Rohit Bal,
one of India's leading fashion designers, the West is
looking at Indian fashion more seriously. "Some critics
say there is too much hype about Indian fashion. Every
time I show my clothes in the West, the positive
feedback is that 'it's beautiful, it's like being reborn
as a princess'. But the negative feedback is 'oh my god,
I cannot carry off such clothing'. What we are
witnessing is a conversion of this negative feedback
into a positive one."
Another tricky question,
though, is whether Klein will water down his signature
ads for the more conservative Indian audience. "It is
not a question of watering down, but we will definitely
be careful about cultural sensitivities," says Klein.
"At the same time, I feel there are a whole lot of
Indians who do not think too differently from Americans.
That should make the task easier."
Siddharth Srivastava is a New
Delhi-based journalist.
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