Nothing modest about this fashion’s potential

Pairing the faintly Victorian word ‘modest’ with ‘fashion’ in the international arena would have been considered absolutely impossible not too long ago, given the connotation of ‘boring’, ‘frumpy’ and ‘shapeless’ that are invariably associated with it.

Arguably, Indian designers have been expounding on the “modest fashion” genre in their wedding and festival creations long before the west woke up to it with the so called ‘Ramadan’ collections in the last four years.

Interestingly, the steadily rising demand for longer, more covered up garments has also coincided with the usual change in the fashion cycle that has presaged the return of high necklines, low hemlines, looser silhouettes and longer sleeves after a decade of more risqué and abbreviated garments.

Now worth $240 billion and slated to rise to $360 billion by 2021, modest fashion is clearly a phenomenon that demands attention here in India as well. Apart from the knock-on effect of this international trend on Indian high-street fashion, the opportunity this offers Indian designers looking to make that international leap is obvious. Not only can they rely on a strong local demand, western markets will also be receptive to Indian creativity in this genre as leading “modest wear” brands in the west today have Asian — though not Indian — roots already.