In-person interaction would remain the mode of choice for luxury wear
Karan & Moin is a renowned luxury menswear brand established in 1989 by siblings Karan and Moin. With a focus on bespoke tailoring and creative design, they strive to deliver the perfect fit to their clients. Their designs embody a unique blend of Mediterranean luxury, Italian sophistication, and Indian tradition. In a chat with Fibre2Fashion, Karan & Moin’s Directors Karan and Moin talk about the luxury menswear in India.
What trends are currently shaping the luxury menswear industry, and how do you see them evolving?
The luxury menswear apparel market is experiencing an unprecedented boom. The industry is projected to grow to a $106 billion market by 2026, which promises to place the Indian fashion market on the world map. With the luxury menswear industry evolving rapidly, several trends are currently shaping the industry, such as:
•Sustainable and ethical fashion: The impact of climate change and the pandemic has made consumers seek conscious living, thereby searching for eco-friendly, sustainable options. Sustainability is finding favour in luxury menswear, with consumers increasingly demanding eco-friendly and ethical products. Brands are responding by incorporating sustainable materials and ethical practices into their collections.
•Personalisation: Consumers increasingly seek personalised experiences, and luxury menswear brands are responding by offering customised products and bespoke services.
•Diversity and inclusivity: There is a growing demand for more diverse and inclusive fashion. Luxury menswear brands are responding by offering a more comprehensive range of styles and sizes to cater to the diversifying customer base.
In India, we expect to see these trends evolve, focusing on sustainability and ethical fashion as consumers become more conscious of their environmental impact. As the industry grows, we can see a greater demand for luxury menswear products, particularly from younger consumers. Additionally, we can expect to see more brands offering online shopping experiences and personalised services to cater to the growing demand for convenience and individualisation. Overall, the luxury menswear industry in India is poised for growth and innovation as it continues to evolve in response to changing consumer demands and market conditions.
What are some of the critical challenges faced by luxury menswear brands in terms of sustainability and ethical practices, and how can they address these issues?
Some of the key challenges faced by luxury menswear brands in terms of sustainability and ethical practices are:
•Materials/ Fabric: The high-end materials and intricate craftsmanship demanded by this industry are resource intensive, which often puts stress on the environment throwing sustainability out of the window.
•Fast Fashion: The inherent need for people to change their wardrobe to keep up with the Joneses or be a trendsetter leads to the need for luxury brands to launch multiple collections in the year, frequent production cycles leading to overproduction and waste on the production side and the consumer both.
•Production Practices: High-end materials and manufacturing techniques used by brands with a global reach do not always employ environmentally friendly methods.
Some of the practices that we employ as a luxury menswear brand to mitigate these challenges are:
•Wardrobe Consulting: We start with understanding the client’s wardrobe and his needs, then we consult them to maximise the use of his existing wardrobe and add styles and outfits that could maximise the use of what is in his closet and still help him make a style statement.
•Champion Slow Fashion: Our design objective is to give our customers outfits that make them look better than their best, but also lend a style that is uniquely theirs while blending with the trends.
•Source Sustainable Materials: Brands can work with suppliers to source sustainable materials and ensure they meet their quality standards.
•Help Customers Make an Educated Decision on Materials: We educate our customers on the materials they are evaluating for their outfits and increasingly encourage them to make the green choice.
•Reduce Production Waste: Being a design label, we do not stock. We produce against orders, thus minimising waste.
•Re-Purpose, Reuse Tailoring Scraps and Waste: Moin being extremely sensitive to the waste tailoring can add to the environment, ensures that cuts are made to minimise waste. All waste is collected to ideate on how best to re-purpose, minimising waste coming out of our manufacturing unit.
With the rise of e-commerce and online shopping, how do you see the role of physical stores and in-person experiences evolving for luxury menswear brands?
The rise of e-commerce and online shopping has undoubtedly transformed the retail industry, but not so much the luxury menswear market. In luxury wear, physical stores and in-person experiences continue to be the choice of engagement, especially for new customers. Irrespective of the benefits e-commerce offers, in-person interaction would be the mode of choice for luxury wear.
A few changes that may pick traction in response to digital convenience are Digital Showrooms with walk-throughs and virtual try-ons to decide on the outfit and fabric, and Consultation on wardrobe and styling but that is likely more in the long-term future rather than immediate.
How do you envision the future of the luxury menswear industry, in terms of emerging technologies, changing consumer behaviours, and global economic shifts?
Luxury menswear is also evolving and responding to the changing consumer behaviours and global economic shifts. One biggest change that we have seen for our industry is the way we communicate, and that is where digital revolution has impacted us the most, in terms of customer interactions or learning about changing trends, new materials on the block etc. Being in luxury menswear segment, the customer journey has not seen much of a change and in-person interactions continue to rule.
How has Karan & Moin evolved over the years since its inception?
We were initially set up as a tailoring unit as that is our intrinsic skill and craft. Fabric came in later. Being designers at heart we wanted to bring in the best of designs across the world to India. We both (Karan and Moin) are keen learners and travelled the world to learn skills localised in the fashion capitals like Milan, Paris and London and implement them locally. We source materials directly from its origin both nationally and internationally to ensure our customers get what we promise.
Could you share some of the unique design elements that define Karan & Moin's style and make it stand out from other luxury menswear labels?
Karan & Moin is defined by its flawless, 30-year heritage of customisation across genres like bespoke, made-to-measure, and floating canvas that ensures your wardrobe does not just fit you, but syncs to your body language, making the style you don yours. Our USP is that we adapt the style to become yours uniquely to complement your stature and make you look better than your best. Our designs have a minimalistic classic, evergreen styling that transcends time.
How do you ensure that each customer receives a personalised experience and attire that truly fits them like a glove?
To create a truly personalised experience, we work closely with each customer to understand their preferences, requirements, and style. We also factor in the customer’s social status, profession, and hobbies to create designs that have a customer’s own signature to them, rather than ours. We take detailed measurements and assess the client’s body shape and posture to craft the garment. An in-person trial is a mandate for us to ensure that our maths is correct before finally stitching the garment to the finish. A final trial is again requested to ensure the correction of any oversight. With such detailing, the final garment has no choice but to fit perfectly.
What kind of fabrics and materials do you primarily use in your designs, and how do you select them?
We use all fabrics based on the customer’s desire and requirements. We prefer to work with 100 per cent natural fabric such as wool, silk and cotton.
Apart from offering bespoke tailoring services, what other products or service do you provide?
We offer a line-up of power dressing, corporate dressing and celebration wear, and wardrobe consulting to ensure customers use their entire wardrobe and look dapper whenever they step out.
What is the brand philosophy when it comes to providing quality products?
Karan & Moin is synonymous with sublime levels of craftsmanship. We believe in nostalgically re-inventing Indian history through the art of cloth by constantly breaking the stereotypical notions of tradition and fashion and breeding a new minimalistic culture of refined progressive design.
What are some of the long-term goals that you have for the brand’s growth and expansion?
Being in an industry primed for exponential growth, we have our hands on deck. While we operate nationally, based out of Delhi, we plan to have a wider footprint across the country with studios in all metros and be the top brand in men’s luxury wear, not only in our existing segment of power dressing but celebration wear as well.
Anything specific that you want to say about the Indian market?
The Indian fashion and garment market is set for exponential growth, inculcating designs and inspirations from across the globe making the new fusion of designing in styling in India extremely exciting. We are looking forward to it and are very excited to ride this wave. We are curious to see what this blend and fusion of West and East is going to bring forward both for designing and styling.
Interviewer: Shilpi Panjabi
Published on: 31/03/2023
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
