Indian ethnic wear market slows down amid fast fashion demand

Due to increasing losses and declining sales, Danish fashion retailer Bestseller is closing its Indian ethnic apparel brand, Indifusion, which it had purchased three years prior. According to retailers and mall owners, the move also represents a wider downturn trend in the ethnic apparel market as a whole since last year. Bestseller stated that because the brand’s sales fell short of their goals and objectives, they made the decision to refocus the brand’s emphasis and make strategic changes.

During the height of the pandemic, Bestseller—best known for its western casual brands like Vero Moda and Jack and Jones—bought Indifusion in a distress sale, but it had no prior expertise running an Indian wear business.

The past 20 years have seen a considerable change away from traditional sarees and towards ethnic and western attire, as well as a move from ready-to-stitch to ready-to-wear clothes and the entry of national players like BIBA, W, AND, and Global Desi. Despite the promotion of westernised clothes in their market by international fashion labels like Zara, H&M, and Uniqlo, ethnic wear remains the largest category in the women’s wear segment in India, accounting for 71 per cent of the market.

According to Wazir Advisors, the women’s ethnic wear industry is expected to reach $22 billion by FY ’26, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 8 per cent between FY ’23 and FY ’26.

Fusion wear in India is continually changing, driven by new and ongoing fashion trends and experiments. Basic kurtis worn over plain jeans, sarees with crop tops, and lehengas paired with shirts are just a few examples. The traditional clothing market has suffered as a result of consumers switching to western and fusion wear and new-age direct-to-consumer firms.