Deconstruction of the Indian Fashionista

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Do you want an insight into the Indian fashionista’s world? In an interview with the Wall Street Journal Shefalee Vasudev, author of Powder Room: The Untold Story of Indian Fashion, says she’s a wholly Mumbai girl; brand conscious, sophisticated and not afraid of mixing the high with the low (labels, that is).

Shefalee, who interviewed over 300 people to help her make sense of the Indian fashion scene for her book, had some eyebrow-raising – or giggle-inducing – observations to make. Here are some interesting insights:


1) Ludhiana’s Ladies love their brands, even more than their kids. Shefalee found these women ‘self-absorbed with brands. One interviewee told her it was a constant race to own a brand no one else had. And that pressure was greater than that of raising her two-year-old.


2) Bollywood is freebie central. For a big name luxury brand the real client isn’t the high-earning actor/actress, but the India’s super rich who apparently only live in west Delhi and Punjab. (That probably explains why there are so many brand-obsessed Punjabi ladies.)


3) If you’re a big-name luxury brand, you’ll feel the love. If you’re not, the going’s will get tough. As Shefalee told the WSJ, ‘They turn up in droves when luxury brands hold their events. But if Pankaj & Nidhi call them they won’t turn up.’