Trends to watch out – creative business cards, chromopathy, astro shoes, pintucks and more

Consumer trends in India

Men’s wear continues to have a run and this time designers are getting more intricate with their designs and detailing. Saris are fast giving way to the fusion wear. Talking about ‘walking into luck’, chromopathy and astrologically appropriate shoes are new trends to watch out. Amidst all this bonhomie and experimentation, there is a cause for worry. India relinquishes its numero uno position to Vietnam in the retailing business. Indian kitchens continue its romance with Italian food and there is a new book lined up to help us get it right. If its cerebral exercise that you crave, Nalin Mehta’s new book on satellite television and its effect on the Indian television audience should have you charged. This week’s top pick in lifestyle trends is the Visiting Card. Check out with those who have theirs in a full-on creative avatar.

-Chillibreeze Business Research Team

Consumer Trends

Disappearing Saris

Saris are taking a quite bow from the big screen and most lead female actors are clothed in Western wear in the movies. The same holds true for women making a presence on International events. Bollywood through which the world looks and understands India therefore has made a shift in its attire to make way for fusion clothing. Even veteran film maker and his movies which had his heroines dress in chiffon sarees has yielded to this new age western or fusion attire. A case in point is Tara Rum Pum where Rani Mukherjee the lead actor is clothed in skirts and pants. "Today's generation is more inspired by fusion and Western wear," designer Leena Singh of the Ashima-Leena duo said. Designer Ritu Kumar is however quick to point out that the sari has not disappeared but only made its transition from the big to the small screen. Young actresses love the fusion look and so their fans. Hence the sari is all but a dimmed down memory.

August 3, 2008
Source: Times of India

Walk with the Stars

If you are hard up on luck, go buy shoes! Think it sounds rather far fetched? Then check out the new range of astrological and zodiac inspired shoes under the brand name ‘Serendipity’, retailed by shoe designer Swati Mehrotra. She says that this is as yet an unexplored charter. "The combination of astrology and shoes has been an untouched concept till now. I am providing two ranges of shoes - a zodiac one and the other is the astrological range," Swati said. "My zodiac shoes comprise my retail collection. These are based on the 12 sun signs and are developed on the basis of chromopathy - that is healing with colour. For example, green for Virgo, red for Scorpio and gold for Leo.

So in all this range comprises of 24 pairs of shoes. The range is priced at Rs. 8000 onwards and is made of synthetic and not leather as it is considered inauspicious.

About the astrological range, Swati will be working with 7 astrologers who have been doing a research project on the same for 2 years. "Whatever things have been done for people in terms of using astrology has been done above the waist till now. But people did not realise that their feet are the base and so even that area needs to be taken care of," said Sumit Kumar Hinduja, one of Swati's consultants. This range of shoes will be customized according to the astrological configuration of the person i.e. the sun sign, moon sign, ascendant days and on the basis of a specific period that the 'jaatak' (person in question) is in astrologically.” The range starts from Rs.20, 000 onwards and is retailed under Seren.

August 2, 2008
Source: Times of India

Plackets, Pin tucks, Pipings and more

Men’s apparel is looking for a major makeover and reputed men’s wear designers as Narendra Kumar, Rajesh Pratap, Ashish Soni are looking to increase detailing on men’s wear especially in terms of plackets and pin tucks. Textured embroidered and contrast plackets work well on a plain shirt. Pin tucks or small narrow pleats serve as a form of self textuarization on the fabric and are increasingly becoming the choice of designers. So is piping. In fact piping is very in at the moment on the International fashion scene and “Piping in contrast colours along the pockets, the placket or sides has been a rage for quite a while,” says Soni. So are also coloured buttons and loops sewn across the shoulder of a shirt as also appliqué which are pieces of fabric in decorative patterns that are sown on to the shirt. According to Soni, floral and geometric shapes are big this season. So men’s wear goes far from being stuffy and staid.

August 1, 2008
Source: Mint

Visiting Cards up the Creative Bar

Your visiting cards may not be just an ordinary point of contact and help you push your business forward. In fact they may be expressions of how creative you are and make an important statement about yourself too. Visiting cards are as important as your clothes today and are getting a new makeover; going from the dull and staid to colorful and definitely creative. Sample this. Bates 141, recently got Umbrella Design to create various sets of visiting cards with different pairs of ‘eyes’ on them. What’s unique with each card is that while all pairs of eyes look in one direction, one pair alone looks in the opposite direction. “Our positioning is centered at the concept of change — change in categories, consumer trends... We wanted to have something that would symbolize this philosophy of change,” says Kamath, CEO of Bates, who feels that change is often a result of looking at things differently. So the ‘eyes’ concept. Another company Onad use the letters ‘O’ and ‘N’ to form doodles which spell a message. All this provides not just a flashpoint in the conversation, but it is reflective of the philosophy of the company and the cultural ethos. Even personalized visiting cards could be a great way of highlighting working details in a creative and fun way. So visiting cards today are more about you and your tastes and are set to go from being just informative to fun and even outrageous.

July 30, 2008
Source: Economic Times

Food

Do It Yourself Italian Food

Italian food and Italian restaurants are doing well in India, whether in the format of Spaghetti Kitchen outlets, standalones like Mumbai’s Don Giovanni or premium hotel options like the Oberoi’s Vetro or the Four Season’s Prato, simply because Italian food with its emphasis on spices and curries and a generous helping of cheese comes close to the Indian palate. In fact the food has entered the Indian kitchens in a DIY way and a steady supply of balsamic vinegar, pasta, spaghetti, sauce mixes are making it simple and very available. Books on Italian food are available in abundance, the most recent entrant being Italian Khana by Ritu Dalmia, chef-owner of Delhi’s acclaimed Diva restaurant, who specifically tackles how to cook really good Italian food in India. Cooking Italian fare at home just got a lot easier.

August 2, 2008
Source: Economic Times

Retail

The Vietnam Challenge

Vietnam has emerged in the numero uno position in apparel retailing, a position that belonged to India some 5 years back. Vietnam with its low wages, low cost of production and ready consumer market on the domestic front is proving to be fertile market for retail brands. Already several brands (like Benetton) are expanding their operations to this South-East Asian nation. Even on the export front, Vietnam occupies a distinct advantage and has become a sort of Chinese backyard for textile manufacturers. Sudhir Dhingra, CMD, Orient Craft agrees: “We have been so focused on the Chinese challenge that increasing competition from countries like Vietnam and Bangladesh escaped our notice. Now Dhaka exports more apparel than we do.” The country has already surpassed India in terms of growth in the US market.

August 2, 2008
Source: Economic Times

Books

Breaking News

Coming on the heels of the Aarushi murder case, this is a book which seeks to find answers to the how and why of the impact of satellite television on our lives. Titled, India On Television: How Satellite News Channels Have Changed the Way We Think and Act, the author Nalin Mehta, is a political analyst, broadcast journalist and an academician. This book covers Indian television, especially the news side of television and its impact on the collective consciousness of the people. Coming from Mehta, this can only be well researched and well written, interspersed with interesting anecdotes from behind the scenes of television of which Mehta has been a part. It’s racy, provocative in parts and definitely intellectually stimulating. It also steers clear of making too many pronounced opinions and judgments and lets readers do that bit for themselves.

August 2, 2008
Source: Mint

Living

Run Your Way to Good Health

Running is the next way to hold board meetings, so move over golf and walking because running is the ideal way to set your mind and body in motion. Take inspiration from Bill Clinton, Bill Gates or our very own Anil Ambani and get into a jog routine of your own. Running has several benefits and one of the fewer known benefits is that it can help you overcome jet lag! Of course it gets you charged for the day and can help sort out your feelings and help you plan your day effectively. It is very de-stressing too and when done in the lap of nature can help very much. All it needs is some sort of time management.

August 4, 2008
Source: Mint