Indians willing to try new concepts: Bombay Shirt Company official

New Delhi, Sep 15 (IANS) Social media has brought about a new wave in the Indian lifestyle market with consumers moving away from readymade garments and being willing to try new concepts, says Akshay Narvekar of Bombay Shirt Company (BSC), an online custom-made shirt company.

"Awareness and accessibility will give way to custom-made concepts in India. With the advent of social media in recent times, most Indians have become very fashion and style conscious, and are willing to try new concepts," Narvekar told IANS in an interaction here.

"While custom-made clothes are not a new concept in India, people have now become very aware of the impact that bespoke items such as a well fitted, custom-made shirt can have, which you cannot get from a readymade garment. With BSC, we intend to make the process of getting your own custom-fit shirt easier, and a lot more fun," Narvekar added.

Started in 2012, BSC launched their first Delhi store in Meherchand market in south Delhi earlier this month. The brick and mortar set-up invites clients to choose from their ready-to-order range or make their shirt from scratch to create a one-of-a-kind custom piece.

The store offers a healthy mix of quirky and trendy designs as well as corporate staples for both men and women. Their collection includes a range of 130 fabrics that can be mixed and matched with different shirt elements (collars, cuffs, buttons) as well as design options such as contrast fabrics and piping.

"We are on a mission to reinforce that world class quality and service can originate in Bombay," he added.

BSC has also collaborated with many fashion influencers such as Che Kurrien, Payal Singhal, Purab Kohli, and international model Acquin Pais for special capsule collections as well.

"As a brand, we consistently like to offer our customers something different. Partnering with a creative personality means that there's fresh new take on designs which works for our customers.

"This also means added exposure and publicity for the brand as well as the collaborating partner in terms of newer target audiences, through the charitable initiative for the collaboration and so on," he said.

Along with two stores in Mumbai, the brand has recently launched a store in Bengaluru apart from New Delhi.

"We benchmark our prices against readymade brands while providing superior quality. Our prices start at Rs 1,390, so we cater to a fairly mass market," he said.