Ravi Bajaj talks about the impact of Covid-19 on the fashion industry

As business all over the world is getting impacted by the coronavirus outbreak, the fashion industry has also taken a hard hit. From fashion weeks getting cancelled to stores being shut for months, the industry is now looking at ways to adapt to the current scenario. To evaluate the impact on the fashion industry, we caught up with fashion designer Ravi Bajaj, who has been a part of the industry for over 30 years.The legendary designer spoke to TimesofIndia.com on the current situation and the future of the industry:

The picture is looking bleak! Currently, most of the Indian fashion designers rely on occasionwear. It has been all about weddings and celebrations and these festive occasions won't be so frequent now. So, that is going to be a big problem until things go back to normal. "The Indian fashion designer is going to have a tough time," he further adds.

I would say at least 12 months! And, even if we expect things to get better, it will never be the same, for sure. We might get back to 70 percent of what the Industry was by next year, maybe!

Oh well, I do music, so I spend my time singing, cooking and some time even writing. Basically, just doing some fun things and spending some time to think about work. You know, how to survive and what to do for the future like having an online presence. We've been working on things like exclusive showcasing and sending clothes to clients, who don't want to come to a mall. However, I am not someone who is too worried about all this. I had a good time doing things l love.


Will e-commerce pick up for occasionwear?
It's really tough for occasionwear, as you want to see the finish and touch it. Fashion is all about the experience, to go to a store, try, feel and drape! So, I don't know how online is going to replace that? It's a feel and touch experience!
It's very impersonal to buy something online. I might order a shirt, a pair of jeans or even a handbag! But, will I go beyond that? I don't know. While we are working on selling online, but I am not a very big fan. E-commerce has its own limitations.

There's one school of thought here which is the saving grace I think. When a wedding happens, the key characters of the family will always be there. The bride, the groom, parents, sister, brother, etc. They will always be a potential buyer.
Of course, the functions of a wedding will be less and there will be fewer guests. Let's say from a thousand guests it gets to a hundred at weddings. And, when it comes to the guests, not everyone buys something new for a wedding. Do they?

We are going to launch our ready-to-wear line of shirts in the next few months. Shirts have been something we've been known for, so we are going to a collection online. Also, we are going to launch a collection of women's tunics. These are kind of items which can sell online, so currently I have been working on these two things.

The reality is that it's very difficult to deal with Indian mills and I have been saying that for many years now. Recently, I had to order a particular fabric and I needed around 3,000 metres of fabric. None of the mills here, even the top ones had the quality of fabric I was looking for. So, I had no option but to call my agent in China. This is a big issue with banning Chinese products. Even though I feel angry about the ongoing situation, I know that a complete trade ban will only hurt us more.

Yes, a lot! You know the chiffon used for saris is all by China. No Indian mill makes silk chiffon. Even international fast-fashion brands like Zara or Mango also rely on their imports. Many of the fabrics you see are in fact Chinese.
Also, regular-wear brands in India use a lot of Chinese fabrics and components like buttons, zippers and all those shiny things. Frankly, we don't even make a decent button here. I have been in the industry for 33 years and I don't remember the last time I bought a 'Made in India' button. It's not that we don't want to buy Indian products, but where are they? This is a huge setback and now the whole world is realising how much we are dependent on China.