7 fashion designers and their successful prêt-à-porter lines

Designer Anita Dongre’s prêt line is a big hit among consumers. Her company, House of Anita Dongre Limited is worth Rs 700 crore and houses three brands – AND with its line of chic, contemporary western-wear for women, Global Desi – a young, free-spirited, vibrant line of boho-chic ensembles, and the luxury label, Anita Dongre which offers breathtaking, curated looks in bridal, occasion wear, prêt, and menswear. She also owns and designs pieces for Pinkcity, a handcrafted jadau fine jewellery brand.
Prêt Line Brands: AND, Global Desi
Number of Stores: Within India, the network includes well above 700 points of sale with more than 185 exclusive brand stores and over 596 multi-brand large format stores in 84 cities.
Pricing: Rs 1,500 onwards
Expansion Plans: Anita Dongre hopes to take the company’s turnover to up to Rs 1,000 crore by the end of next fiscal.

Launched in 2002, Ritu Kumar’s prêt line LABEL is already going global with a second store opening at Dubai’s Festival City Mall recently. The brand, according to Padma Shri awardee Ritu Kumar, is a designer brand for young urban India – a youth fashion brand for the 20-30-year old age group. Though its influences are global, its identity originates from Indian design.
Prêt Line Brand: LABEL
Number of Stores: LABEL expanded to 12 exclusive outlets between October 2015 – March 2016. LABEL retails from most Ritu Kumar stores as well as some standalone stores
Pricing: Rs 2,000 onwards
Growth Chart: In 2015 and 2016, LABEL experienced rapid growth at a rate of approximately 30 per cent year-on-year growth and its online sales through e-commerce platform is also growing rapidly

Ace fashion designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee has decided to go more affordable for the masses. He launched a new, more affordable fashion line for India’s burgeoning middle and upper middle class, touted as the next big consumer of luxury in the country.
In doing so, Sabyasachi joined the ranks of a growing number of Indian fashion designers who have started to believe that fashion should be democratic. Last year, Sabyasachi told IANS in an interview: “If we are doing something very beautiful then you should make it accessible to more and more people and that is something the brand has constantly worked on.”
Prêt Line Brand: Sabyasachi
Number of Stores: No EBOs. Collection is available at all Sabyasachi flagship stores in New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kolkata
Pricing: Currently, his wedding lehengas are available for under Rs 1 lakh and sarees begin at about Rs 29,000
Expansion Plans: The designer is all fired up to launch his ready-to-wear line for men, revive his brand for children – Chota Sabya – and also launch an organic prêt line of clothing.

Balance is ace fashion designer Rohit Bal’s contemporary and classic ready-to-wear line for both men and women. On offer is traditional Indian wear including kurtas, lehengas, anarkalis, and sarees.
“As the name Balance appropriately suggests this collection creates a fine balance between haute couture and prêt-à-porter, it’s easy to wear at affordable price for the progressive women and men of India who are appreciative of excellent design and quality,” Rohit Bal said.
Prêt Line Brand: Balance by Rohit Bal
Number of Stores in India: 7 standalone stores, the latest launched in Pune in July, 2016
Pricing: An amalgamation of luxury and affordability, Balance by Rohit Bal reaches out to the masses with a starting price point of Rs 4,000

Masaba Lite is a prêt-à-porter affordable line by fashion designer Masaba Gupta and aimed at teenagers. It is vibrant, young, peppy, all the while paying tribute to the ‘pocket money’ phase. The pricing is just right for the young generation who are still in the process of discovering themselves and their personal style but don’t always have the means to do so.
Masaba’s collection pre-dominantly focuses on Western wear, but also includes some kurtis as well as sleepwear.
Prêt Line Brand: Masaba Lite
Number of Stores in India: Masaba Lite has no EBOs. The collection is available at the designer’s Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata stores, and also online on Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop
Pricing: The accessories start as low as Rs 600, while clothes start at Rs 4,000
Expansion Plans: To include affordable saris and bridal lehengas in her collections

Another top of the line fashion designer who’s known for his prêt line is Tarun Tahiliani. Tahiliani opened Lakmé Fashion Week 2016 with his Autumn-Winter 2016 prêt wear collection. The collection is inspired by bronze deity statues by sculptor Mrinalini Mukherjee.
Tahiliani – who is trying to become more affordable and market centric with his prêt line – credits his prêt design inspirations to everyday life. His collection includes tunics, gilets, dresses, kurtas, dhoti pants, and draped shirts.
Prêt Line Brand: Tarun Tahiliani
Number of Stores in India: Tarun Tahiliani owns 5 flagship stores in Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad and partnered stores in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, and Bangalore
Pricing: His Spring-Summer 2016 prêt collection with both ready-to-wear casual and occasional wear starts at Rs 10,000

Known for his trademark bandhgalas and regal men’s fashion, fashion designer Raghavendra Rathore, ventured into prêt culture with The Imperial Clothing Company (IIC). The men-centric label represents colonial Indo-Western charm and style.
This label has on offer achkans, bandhgalas, waistcoats, kurtas and shirts in terms of clothes, and pocket square and cufflinks in terms of accessories.
With this label, the designer wishes to reach out a wider youthful clientele who are looking to add regal, aristocratic styles to their wardrobe.
Prêt Line Brand: The Imperial Clothing Company
Number of Stores in India: At present The Imperial Clothing Company has two flagship stores one in Mumbai and another one recently opened in Jaipur. Apart from this, it has an exclusive website.
Pricing: His prêt line starts at Rs 4,000
Expansion Plans: The designer has plans to open more stores in the coming years and also add grooming products like soap and deodorants to the label.