Airports – the newest runways ?!

Coco Chanel said “Dress shabbily and they remember the dress, dress impeccably and they remember the women”. 

This is possibly the very basic new-age need - to remain impeccably dressed at all times and for all occasions!

So then are ‘airport looks’ a new-age need or just another peer pressure tactic?

It is amusing to witness celebrities on their latest airport looks which are so carefully crafted to look cool, comfortable and accidentally thrown together. This actually seems like the best part of this trend – it can be put together with a mix & match of just about anything from your wardrobe. Probably why the brands are refraining from promoting such a poor sales generator that benefits them in no way whatsoever.

However all snide remarks aside, there is also a sense of realistic utility involved. While traveling there is a need for comfort, especially in a long haul.

Comfort can be in a pair of slacks with an easy, relaxed tee and a simple long shrug with sandals. It can also be in your laid out linen straight legs with a soft turtle neck and sneakers. A convenient dump-it-all tote or duffel is almost a must. And not to forget the simple add-ons of sunglasses to hide away those jet-lagged eyes, a hat to conceal the unkempt hair and a trench or a jacket to cover all things crushed.

So while it seems that it is the celebs that gain the most out of this fad, it still might be worth indulging into just for the simple reason of looking fashionable and being comfortable. 

After all, Chanel did also say “The best dress in the whole world is the one that looks good on you” – seems like she was clued in!

Co-authored by Pooja Rao and Vipul Mathur.

Pooja is a Lead buyer with Abof.com. And a fashionista herself. She has acute sense of identifying the upcoming trends and consumer behavior leading to the same.

SKULT SUCCESS INSIGHT

Indian apparel brand scenario is observing a DEFINITIVE TREND LIKE NEVER BEFORE...Celebrity lead Brand launches.

Lead by bollywood and sport celebrities. Deepika Padukone's all about you, Virat Kohli's Wrogn, Salman Khan's Being Human, Yuvraj Singh's UVcan, Kriti Sanon's Ms Taken, Sachin's True Blue... and many more.

In the already cluttered and high decibel apparel brand markets, these launches are likely to be tested for their uniqueness, relevance, value and distribution capabilities.

SKULT, by Shahid Kapoor in its first year of operations has gained the awards and reputation of being one of the best ecom brand. ( Indain E retail award for 2017). This is VERY UNUSUAL. Encouragingly in ecom world this brand has been able to sell without discounts, with very high velocity, and significantly favorable conversion rates.
What's the reason of success & is it sustainable ?

In my view this unusual success is because of the following reason :

1. Celebrity alignment and support:

Shahid Kapoor lives by the values of this brand in his daily life. He is deeply engaged in creating the consistency of apparel and brand imagery with his own. This makes brand authentic. He has very evolved design and aesthetic sense. Which in my view is innate and creates very high standards for design delivery. Authenticity of this brand makes the communication very powerful and consistent.
The quote of Craig D lounsbrough probably is very true for Shahid and Skult- What I do is the truest mirror of who I am.” 

2. Timing :

Athleisure is the new wave in India. Consumers want to look and feel comfortable, easy to move and dance. Clothes should not only be nonrestrictive but should also enhance the freedom to move, and be cool. And skult is the first Indian true athleisure brand. Perfect timing ! Victor Hugo said it well, nothing can resist an idea, whose time has come !

3. Far east coming to India 

Europeans inspired India's formals, Americans inspired denims, and then casuals. Now we are permitting Far east like Korea, Japan to titillate us with their fashion. This is a new trend which is likely to stay and take a certain portion of overall fashion. Hence SKULT can grow to become a large brand, being pioneer in street/ athleisure space.

4. National presence and ecom :

New fashion always start from niche segments. Only with few individuals who are fashion leaders. And ecom has capability of scouting and targeting  them. Right from day one of brand launch. Emergence of lots of new brands has happened because of ecom's willingness to spend loads of money and create visibility and demand. Ecom acts as a low cost experimentation platform for brands without asking for huge capital expenditure of opening the store. If brand succeeds, then it can be taken to physical stores. And abof.com is arguably the best portal to establish and nurture a brand.

5. Sourcing capabilities :

SKULT has completely new and differentiated merchandise. Non existent in India. This creates an uphill task of creating small quantities of the cuts and fits which are new and experimental. Aditya Birla group name and credibility helped in creation of sourcing partnership with sourcing companies of repute and capability. And created supply chain which is both fashion creator and quick best seller replenishment.

If through this brand, Indian youth is encouraged to be active and expressive, then I would consider that to be a larger success than what has been attained so far.