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<ul><li><keyword id="432026" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lakm-Fashion-Week">Lakmé Fashion Week</keyword> recently concluded its digital-first, season fluid edition. </li><li>For the first time since its inception, audiences were able to stream the shows live between October 21-25 on a high-tech virtual platform, LFW Hub, that was specially created for the event.</li><li><keyword id="2178278" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jaspreet-Chandok">Jaspreet Chandok</keyword>, Head – Lifestyle Businesses, <keyword id="176407" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="IMG-Reliance">IMG Reliance</keyword> tells us how they pulled off the event virtually and how brands benefitted from associating with LFW this year.</li></ul>Despite the pandemic, Lakmé Fashion Week (LFW) recently concluded its 2020 edition, and this year saw the festival go virtual. Over the years, LFW has become an aspirational platform that gives fashion brands an opportunity to showcase their offerings, while also giving them visibility. This year, the virtual event was held between October 21 and 25. Audiences were able to stream the shows live on a high-tech virtual platform, LFW Hub that had been specially created for the event. And despite the event going virtual, there were ample brand activations. Moreover, the property saw its reach increase by around 40%. We recently caught up with Jaspreet Chandok, Head – Lifestyle Businesses, IMG Reliance to understand how they were able to pull off this mega-event virtually and how brands benefitted from associating with LFW this year. Excerpts: Q) Considering LFW was done virtually this year, how different was the overall edition? LFW as a platform has always endeavored to support the designers and their businesses, which we felt was an important industry input even in these challenging times. With this digital-first edition, we were able to create a captive space that replicated the elements of an on-ground LFW event. We called it the LFW Virtual Hub, an interactive digital destination that was customized to the needs of all kinds of the audience tuning in. To enjoy different views of the showcase, we created different vantage points that gave the viewers access to different camera angles of the show resulting in an immersive experience. Another highlight was the Virtual Showroom that allowed fashion buyers to interface directly with designers for B2B buying. We also strategically chose these dates to collide with the festive season as sales are generally higher in the season. All these factors combined helped us garner greater digital reach as well as help support designer businesses. Overall, it was a challenging yet fulfilling experience with this edition. Q) Every year brand partnerships mean brands get a lot of visibility during LFW. Were brands able to get that kind of visibility this year? We’ve shared a longstanding relationship with all our sponsors, and we have aimed to bring to the fore unique solutions and innovations for them every season in order to get the right visibility. In the recently concluded, digital edition too, we brought about different innovations to give the audiences new experiences. A couple of those were: - During every show, the virtual hub had a shop the look feature, that gave viewers Lakmé product recommendations while watching the showcases, enabling them to purchase the products immediately after the show. There was also a virtual make-up trial page where people could look at different shades of makeup on themselves. - With NEXA, the Hub featured a 3D version of the all-new <keyword id="10304886" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="nexa-s-cross">NEXA S Cross</keyword> car. When a viewer clicked on it, they could see the entire journey of LFW and NEXA since 2017. - <keyword id="3421090" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ajio">AJIO</keyword> showcased their new Sneakerhood store with the entire show shot green screen and viewers got to add styles from that show to their AJIO wishlist which could be purchased post the show ended. - We were also able to create designer partnerships for sustainable fibre manufacturers R-Elan and Bemberg which were highlighted through a strong influencer campaign as well as the traditional fashion showcase. We feel it's important to constantly innovate with sponsors especially our longstanding partners, so they keep investing in us. Q) Can you give us a sense of whether the number of brands associating this year increased, decreased, or remained the same? We made a strategic call to focus on our longstanding sponsors like NEXA, TRESemmé, AJIO, INIFD, Natural Diamond Council so that we could focus on delivering strong value to them. LFW’s digital edition was live-streamed on multiple platforms in addition to Voot &amp; JioTV this season. Over 40 influencers were used to push the digital experience. In these times, with global fashion weeks experiencing a 40% decline in digital numbers, LFW has had a 30-40% increase in terms of overall reach. Q) What were the challenges of organizing a virtual version of an event that has become such an awaited property every year? While a large cross-section of the universe is now quite tech-savvy, any new medium requires some time before people embrace the platform. The industry itself is struggling and we felt that the investments need to be made in actions that genuinely assist the industry. This first season is seeing a lot of experimentation as designers are trying out different ways to build businesses through our platforms. Audience and consumer feedback will define what we take forward and build on. Another challenge was the safety of all the talent involved in our shoots on-ground. We created perhaps the most aggressive bubble for a shoot/event in India with a mandatory 7-day quarantine and 7 tests over 12 days for each individual onsite. Q) What kind of engagement did brands witness? We have received a very positive response from all our partners with most already discussing activations in the coming season. A key action due to paucity of on-ground actions has been the ability to leverage our event for partners to create content their brands for the next few months. Our digital engagements are up 30-40% for each of the brands and some innovations have helped them generate buzz in PR as well. Q) What were your major learnings from hosting LFW virtually this year? Going virtual was a conscious call taken to be able to widen our horizons within the fashion industry and technology today has helped us with that to a much larger extent. We’ve learnt that a virtual experience doesn’t completely replace the experience of a physical show. The audience loves to engage in the runway experience, and we will hopefully see more phygital showcases once things start getting back to normal. However, even when we return to a physical event, all these elements will become companion actions adding to the overall product offering to consumers. We are very happy to get constructive feedback from all our stakeholders as we see this season as a pilot and will continue to develop our initiatives.

How Lakme Fashion Week managed to increase its reach by 40% despite going virtual this year

Amid a burgeoning body positivity movement, there is a spark. When the spotlights fell on the ramp, cuteness quotient of the models was overpowered by glamour. It was one of the rarest shows in the history of Indian fashion when not-so-conventional sized people walked the ramp wearing outfits that were a perfect fit for them. aLL: The Plus Size Store recently hosted the first ever plus-size show for men and women styled by designer Shilpa Chavan of Little Shilpa at <keyword id="2938" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lakme-Fashion-Week">Lakme Fashion Week</keyword> Winter/ Festive 2016 . 
 
The creations showcased on runways are meant for the everyday consumers who seek high-fashion designer-wear but are often restricted by available size options. 
 
The runway show featured notable curvy bloggers, businessmen and artists, cementing the importance and power of commoners to the plus-size movement. Here is a brief profile of the participating models.

These
aren’t regular models, but they took the Lakme Fashion Week Winter/ Festive
Show by storm

"Am I too fat for your everyday range? Should I just accept that accessible and affordable high street and on-trend fashion isn't for people like me?” – that’s what UK citizen Ruth Clemens wrote to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Bengaluru-to-have-its-first-HM-store-this-month/articleshow/51345033.cms">H&amp;M</a>, complaining how she couldn't fit into the brand’s size 16 jeans. 
 
Last June, the social media was taken by storm when Clemens posted on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/PHOTOS-Inside-Facebook-Indias-gorgeous-Mumbai-headquarters/articleshow/52464061.cms">Facebook</a> tagging H&amp;M, "I am not overweight (not that that should matter) and although I'm 5 foot 11 my body is pretty average shape-wise. It's already difficult enough for me to find clothes that fit well because of my height, why are you making jeans that are unrealistically small?" 
 
The Facebook post had received over 77,000 likes and over 10,000 shares. 
 H&amp;M responded to Clemens’ claim and assured her that they would “take on board the points” she and other customers had brought to their notice. While we do not have any update on what happened at H&amp;M later, we definitely know what’s happening this Sunday at the <keyword id="2938" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Lakme-Fashion-Week">Lakme Fashion Week</keyword> Winter/Festive 2016 in Mumbai.<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/The-Plus-Size-Industry-Is-On-The-Verge-Of-A-Revolution/articleshow/37102882.cms"> Also read: Plus Size industry is on the verge of revolution</a> 
 <keyword id="3615812" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="all-the-plus-size-store">aLL: The Plus Size Store</keyword> had host the first ever <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/The-Plus-Size-Industry-Is-On-The-Verge-Of-A-Revolution/articleshow/37102882.cms">plus-size show</a> for men and women styled by designer Shilpa Chavan of Little Shilpa. The creations showcased on runways are meant for the everyday consumers who seek high-fashion designer-wear but are often restricted by available size options. Keeping this in mind, aLL had collaborated with Lakmé Fashion Week to break thought patterns, by presenting a unique collection this season. 
 In an <keyword id="6370284" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Exclusive">exclusive</keyword> interview with Business Insider, Manish Aziz, Business Head of aLL, clears the air that roughly $17.5 billion industry of <keyword id="3615811" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="plus-size-fashion">plus size fashion</keyword> needs to be taken seriously. Here are the excerpts from the interview. 
 
How did the concept of <keyword id="115546" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Plus-Size">plus size</keyword> people walking the ramp come about? 
Over the years, the fashion industry was dominated with conversations of ‘size zero’ subsequently resulting in becoming the societal norm around the world. However, reality speaks quite differently. A majority of the world’s population does not fit a precise mould and has people in all shapes and sizes who just want to look stylish and trendy. aLL – The Plus Size Store was the first to identify this sentiment over a decade ago and begun altering the face of plus-size fashion in India. A show at <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Amazon-to-take-on-rivals-by-launching-its-own-fashion-label/articleshow/46214680.cms">Lakme Fashion Week</a> just seemed like a natural progression for us to initiate a fashion revolution of sorts and redefine preconceived notions of physical beauty. 
 
Don’t you think this should have begun a long time ago in India? 
Absolutely and that’s why we were the first ones to begin our efforts to bring about this change since the brand’s inception in 2005. Unfortunately, altering the mindset of people governed by societal norms and pressures is not an easy and nippy process. I’m glad to see though those notions are gradually changing. And as they say, ‘better late than never’. 
 
Will plus size stay a special segment in Indian fashion scenario or will it become a mainstream trend as well? 
I think it definitely needs to become a mainstream trend. A large portion of not just the Indian but global population has fuller figures so it seems quite archaic to segregate them as a special segment. Fashion doesn’t come with a rulebook and is perceived the way it is defined by the industry’s influencers. I think it is a collective responsibility of the entire global fashion industry to actively promote this movement until there is no distinction in fashion based on people’s size and shape. 
 
Body shaming in India is nothing new. How would the much talked about show on LFW fare? 
Since our announcement of this show, we have received nothing but positive reviews, support and accolades. It’s a bold move and the audience seemed so receptive to the concept and positively excited for the upcoming event. There is enthusiasm and fervor among of people which I think will effect change in mindsets in our country going forward. All-in-all, I have a really good feeling about the show and I’m eager so finally see all our hard work coming to fruition. 
 
At LFW, it’s brand above the models. What would make general brands make clothes for larger men and women? 
The sheer demand! Indian bodies have always been beautifully voluptuous so I don’t see how you can escape from catering to all body shapes and sizes. 
 
 
 
On what bases have the models been selected for LFW? 
We were instantly drawn to those who exuded confidence and attitude as they took to the ramp. We wanted people with vibrant personalities and an innate sense of personal style that would shine onstage. All the chosen boys and girls have their own unique characteristics that make them relatable and yet stand out. 
 
What were some of the contentions and don’ts the organizers brought up while you were conversing with them? 
On the contrary, IMG <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/BREAKING-NEWS-Mukesh-Ambani-speaks-on-Reliance-Jio-hear-it-here/articleshow/53956833.cms">Reliance</a> and Lakme were tremendously supportive of the initiative. Our approach was greeted with a lot of positivity and they were on-board with the idea from the get-go. 
 
When you were choosing the men and women who would walk the ramp for this segment, what were the few key things you were telling them to encourage them, since most of these people would have been dealing with body issues given the societal norms. 
It’s not about the way you look or the size and shape your body is, it’s about the way you carry yourself and your personality that really matters. What you think of yourself is of utmost importance as that’s the basis that defines what people think of you. Hold your head high since you have nothing to be apologetic about. You’re perfect the way you are and don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise. 
 
(Image: Facebook)

Defying the rule
book: Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive held a plus size show for men and women

Fashion weeks have passed their limitations from the lounges of elite houses. Surpassing the wardrobes, fashion weeks have got more meaningful than just exhibiting the latest oeuvre of trends. 
 
Lakme Fashion Week Summer/ Resort, which has created a niche for itself in revolutionizing the fashion space is no exception this season. The 2017 season just witnessed a ‘#NotWhatIWear’ movement launched by Ajio.com, a curated online fashion and style destination. 
 
Of late we have come across college diktats asking women students not to wear this and that. With ‘NotWhatIWear’ campaign, Ajio.com has added its voice to thousands of conversations of this nature taking place across the nation. The campaign aims to sensitize and encourage ‘inclusivity’ towards one another as well as choices, including the sartorial ones. 
 
Show must go on 
The show opened with a powerful thematic audio-visual presentation that set the context, featuring women sporting cardboard boxes, which had on them statements such as ‘I’m wearing skinny jeans. Should I be banned from college?’ 
 
What followed was a spectacular sequence that had four models strutting down the ramp in card board boxes highlighted with thought provoking messages. The show picked up tempo when four female and two male models showcased stylish monochrome creations, leading to the four female models dramatically ripping off the boxes to reveal an attractive collection of black minis, off- shoulder numbers and funky cropped tops. 
 
Then came the Work Wear sequence headlined as ‘They told me not to wear this to work’ made interesting by Ajio.com coming out with a fashionable dateline ranging from Fun Filled Mondays to Monochrome Tuesdays, Ethnic Wednesdays, Sporty Thursdays, and Feminine Fridays. 
 
Later, the show had a fun and sporty collection for campus clothing spunkily themed ‘They told me not to wear this to college’, which featured edgy denim shorts, colourful Tees, slinky maxis, and skinny jeans. 
 
Marriage of ethnic and western 
 
It was party time when a mix of western and ethnic wear took to the ramp with creatively draped saris teamed with tube tops, will-power dresses, and chic western styles with fusion elements. 
The finale had models clad in identical fabrics with thematic graffiti that urged women to express their style freely and fearlessly. The models moved in formation and dramatically turned when the lights went out to reveal a glow in the dark neon sign “#NotWhatIWear” on their clothes. 
 
Show stopper 
But the high point of the show was yet to come when the ramp was dazzled by celebrities, RJ Malishka, Mallika Dua and Varun Thakur as they whole-heartedly endorsed the relevant #NotWhatIWear movement initiated by Ajio.com.

Women's dress code at college: Let the Lakme Fashion Week Summer/ Resort guide you

We all are aware of <keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword>’s increasing fondness for <keyword id="2435124" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ecommerce-firms">eCommerce firms</keyword>. But we never knew that <keyword id="6355199" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Industries">Reliance Industries</keyword> chairman also has a liking for art and museums. Why else he would have offered Rs 1.8 crore to the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum, city landmark that would have hosted the finale of <keyword id="2938" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lakme-Fashion-Week">Lakme Fashion Week</keyword> in its auditorium last Sunday had an MNS leader not threatened to damage their properties if the show was held there. 
 
The Lakme Fashion Week finale was later shifted to Palladium Hotel in Lower Parel. 
 
The Reliance Industries chairman would not be making this investment in one go; in fact, he would be contributing Rs 60 lakh to the museum for the next three years. Interestingly, Mr Ambani won’t be using his business earnings for the task but the remuneration that he earns from his post on the board of the Bank of America. 
 
So, what prodded Mukesh Ambani to donate an amount to the museum? According to Tasneem Zakaria Mehta, honorary director at Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum and vice-chairman of INTACH, the Indian business magnate has given this money for the museum as he supports the work that they are doing. 
 
The museum would be using this money to fund programmes and exhibitions as well as for overall upkeep of a fine city landmark. 
 
Image: indiatimes

Mukesh Ambani to the rescue! Know why he shelled out Rs 1.8 cr to save this Mumbai landmark

<ul><li>Veteran star <keyword id="14505" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="zeenat-aman" source="Orion">Zeenat Aman</keyword> made her <keyword id="819905" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="instagram" source="Orion">Instagram</keyword> debut at 71 and amassed over 1.3 lakh followers in just a month. She will soon make her web series debut.</li><li><keyword id="1813" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="neena-gupta" source="Orion">Neena Gupta</keyword>’s appeal for work on Instagram heralded a change in the way the industry looked at veteran actresses.</li><li>OTT platforms have not only revived careers of veteran stars, it has also brought to centre stage actresses long-sidelined by mainstream media.</li></ul>Gauri Shinde’s English Vinglish that released in 2012, was considered a sleeper hit despite starring one of Indian cinema’s original female superstars, Sridevi. It took the industry by surprise because <keyword id="143" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="bollywood" source="Orion">Bollywood</keyword> rarely backs female-led movies and even when it does, these movies – especially those starring veterans, aren’t expected to become commercial potboilers. However, the advent of over-the-top (OTT) streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney plus Hotstar etc, and the rise of social media has changed the scenario. In some cases, actresses of a certain vintage have begun to take centre stage – with some even landing hits far more popular than the ones delivered by mainstream heroes. In February 2023, the 70s heart-throb Zeenat Aman, 71, made her debut on Instagram. Within a month, she has <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thezeenataman/">amassed </a>1.37 lakh followers and won over the audience with her articulate, unabashed and honest views — a far cry from the carefully-curated celebrity updates people are accustomed to. “The roles available to women are clearly not just ornamental anymore. What hasn’t changed though is the gender pay gap. In my time I was lauded as the highest paid female actor, but the disparity in the pay cheque between my male co-stars and myself was so vast it was laughable…it disappoints me that even today women in the film industry don’t have wage parity,” <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CpFl3XoA8Un/">remarked </a>Aman in one of her many posts on the platform. Aman, who’ll soon make her <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/zeenat-aman-to-make-her-ott-debut-soon-already-has-two-web-series-in-her-kitty/articleshow/92560748.cms">web series debut</a> with <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/web-series/zeenat-aman-to-make-ott-debut-with-the-series-showsttopper-101677773391183.html">Showsttopper</a>, co-starring Shweta Tiwari, Rohit Roy and others, also walked the ramp for Shahin Mannan’s fashion show at the Lakme Fashion week. She’s the latest in a long list of veteran actresses who’ve taken to new-age entertainment platforms and social media channels like fish to water, and have managed to shatter the long-held Bollywood concept of ‘limited shelf life’ for female actors. But, it’s certainly not a new phenomenon. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="The Bollywood stars who went to reality shows" comment="subhead" text="The Bollywood stars who went to reality shows">The Bollywood stars who went to reality shows</cmsannotation> There’s always been a clear divide between a TV and movie star in India, with television often seen as a stepping stone to movies — but only for a few. Most stars who start with TV shows, however, continue to remain there. However, when some of the stars from the 90s and early 2000s first made their comeback, it was as judges of reality shows on TV or in some cases, as contestants. For instance, Shilpa Shetty famously participated in Big Brother —- the British version of Bigg Boss, which catapulted her back to stardom. A few even took to TV shows, like Sonali Bendre in Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye (2014). Although superstars like Madhuri Dixit have managed to reinvent their careers and regularly land exciting roles, that wasn’t the case for many other veteran actresses. Until actor Neena Gupta decided to ask for work on social media, heralding a change in the way Bollywood views older stars. In 2017, Neena Gupta, the star of indie cinema in the 1980s, openly asked for work — a move that left a majority of the population within the industry, and even outside of it, surprised. After all, this is an industry where actors out of work for years still spout the excuse, “looking for the right script.” “I live in Mumbai and working, am a good actor looking for good parts to play,” wrote Gupta on Instagram. The result of Gupta’s request – since 2017, she’s starred in over 10 different movies and web series, including blockbuster hits like Badhaai Ho and crowd favourites like Panchayat. Her Badhaai Ho co-star, the late Surekha Sikri also won her third National Film Award for the film. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="The other comeback: Sidelined by mainstream media but stars on OTT" comment="subhead" text="The other comeback: Sidelined by mainstream media but stars on OTT">The other comeback: Sidelined by mainstream media but stars on OTT</cmsannotation> The advent of OTT streaming has not only shone the spotlight on veteran stars but has also given actors sidelined by mainstream media a chance to showcase their acting prowess. Like actor <keyword id="18676" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="shefali-shah" source="Orion">Shefali Shah</keyword>. Sidelined by mainstream cinema for years, 49-year-old Shah’s gritty performance in Netflix’s International Emmy-winner Delhi Crime was the perfect response to that mistreatment. Since then, she’s been on a roll, delivering hits across genres — romantic dramas like Netflix’s Once Again, thrillers like Prime Video’s Jalsa and Disney+Hostar’s Human or dark comedies, like Darlings (on Netflix). In fact, OTT brought back many millennials’ childhood divas, be it former Miss <keyword id="326110" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="universe-sushmita-sen" source="Orion">Universe Sushmita Sen</keyword> or the ‘tip tip’ girl, Raveena Tandon. And they didn’t return to play stereotypical mothers to actors who were as old or even younger than themselves — as Shefali Shah did for Akshay Kumar in the film Waqt: The Race Against Time. Shah is six years younger than Kumar. Rather they starred as protagonists in shows with gripping storylines that gave them a chance to flex their long-dormant acting muscles. The result — Sen’s mom-turned-mobster avatar in Aarya and Tandon’s small-town cop in Aranyak and the antagonist in KGF2. As Sen shared <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch">in an interview </a>with film critic Anupama Chopra for Film Companion, “What I like about Bollywood now is suddenly, content is king. It’s incredible how liberal the language of cinema is becoming. It’s allowing people to explore all different aspects — writing, execution, direction, actors getting that opportunity to go beyond the boy-meets-girl phase. It’s wonderful.” Long story short, the stars have finally aligned for Bollywood’s veteran and long-sidelined powerful actresses. And it’s a well-deserved comeback indeed! SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/how-is-gpt-4-different-from-chatgpt-and-what-makes-it-unique/articleshow/98688465.cms">How is GPT-4 different from ChatGPT, and what makes it unique?</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/googles-new-ai-features-for-docs-gmail-and-more-to-rival-microsofts-workspace-toolsheres-what-it-means/articleshow/98657324.cms">Google’s new AI features for Docs, Gmail, and more to rival Microsoft’s workspace tools—here’s what it means</a>

How stars like Neena Gupta, Zeenat Aman & Shefali Shah finally found their place in the sun via OTT

The first <keyword id="3354" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-model" source="Orion">Indian model</keyword> in history to open the <keyword id="16083449" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="versace-runway" source="Orion">Versace runway</keyword>, beating out the likes of Bella Hadid and <keyword id="1916728" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="emily-ratajkowski" source="Orion">Emily Ratajkowski</keyword>, Avanti Nagrath makes her Vogue India cover debut with its Jan/Feb 2023 issue. Divya Bala meets the girl of the moment blazing a trail through the international fashion scene. You're a model from Delhi in Milan for the first time, fresh out of your teens. You're somewhere in the sprawling, sumptuous headquarters of Versace, perhaps feeling a little out of your depth. You've made it through a room full of 70 other hopeful models and been approved by five gatekeepers of one of fashion's most storied luxury houses to be booked for your first international runway. A living legend-in this case, Donatella Versace-is overseeing your fitting, ensuring the precision tailoring of the sharply-cut black suit you are wearing lives up to the Versace standard. Suddenly, she flicks back her curtain of flaxen hair to look at you and, in her gravely Italian drawl says, "Do you know you're opening the show?" It's the kind of fairy-tale story that model dreams are made of, one that is Avanti Nagrath's reality. However, the 21-year-old has trouble believing it, even almost a year on. It was then that she burst onto the international fashion scene, opening the Versace autumn/winter 2022-23 show at Milan Fashion Week on February 25. "It still feels like a dream when I think about it-even while I was walking the show it felt like a dream. There were so many models around, it was Bella [Hadid]. It was Gigi [Hadid], and I'm the one opening the show?" Nagrath recalls, speaking from her home in Delhi, where she is taking a break before returning to the circuit in January. "I told myself, 'You can get intimidated by the big names, but just do what you do best and forget whatever else is around you.' And because I was the first girl out, I was like, 'If I don't go out, the whole show is going to stop.' So the second they said, 'Go!' I put blinders on and walked." Born and bred in Delhi, growing up with her parents, her younger brother and her grandmother, Nagrath was a self-confessed "outdoor kid", a tomboy who enjoyed nothing more than playing sports. And when she wasn't on the basketball court, she was perpetually in front of the camera. "My mum tells me that even when I was a kid, I loved taking photos. If there was a camera in front of me, I would pose for it. I still have pictures of myself doing the typical Bollywood pose-you know with your hip out, and your hand on your hip," she says, with a laugh. "And then at 14, my mum and I were sitting together and she asked, 'Why don't you try modelling?' I had always loved [modelling] and looked up to models like Bella Hadid, Emily Ratajkowski and Naomi Campbell, so I thought, why not? I took a few pictures and put it on social media and then a few agencies approached me." With the support of her mother, Nagrath started modelling at 15, between classes at the Modern School Barakhamba and extracurricular duties as an avid basketballer. (Nagrath was captain before handing over her captaincy to a teammate due to the growing demands of her modelling career. A movie moment saw her wave the flag at her school sports day before swapping her basketball shorts and sneakers to walk in one of Tarun Tahiliani's saris at his show at Lakme Fashion Week.) She has also worked with the likes of Rahul Mishra, Manish Malhotra, Lovebirds and Pankaj &amp; Nidhi, garnering attention for her appearances at 2019's FDCI-organised Fashion Week in Delhi. "I learnt a lot in India," explains Nagrath. "I met so many designers and people in the industry. I figured out how the industry works, how a runway show is. My vision was that I always wanted to be an Indian model representing India outside. I have that ambition of wanting to do something big." Upon graduating in 2020, Nagrath was anxious to go abroad to economics school and continue modelling, however, Covid and a vaccination mishap would more or less ground her until January 2022 when she was able to restart conversations with her agents. She then flew to Europe and promptly booked the aforementioned Versace show. For autumn/winter 2022, she would go on to walk for Bottega Veneta in Milan, The Row, Coperni and Givenchy in Paris. Since then, she has also worked for Burberry, 1017 ALYX 9SM, Jacquemus, Chanel, Ferragamo, Courreges, Hermes and Ralph Lauren, as well as the Alaia Summer 2023 lookbook, the Proenza Schouler White Label campaign and the Versace autumn/winter 2022-23 campaign. I ask Nagrath what she thinks it might be about her that have endeared her so instantly to the echelons of high fashion (besides her razor-sharp angles, glossy black hair, feline nose and pillowy lips, of course). She politely demurs: "I don't look at it that way. I just feel like this is something I love doing, and for me, what's important is how you are as a person. No matter what you do, you always have to be humble and grounded, no matter how much you achieve." When it comes to her off-duty style, a quick scroll through her Instagram reveals an aesthetic where racy meets tomboy: printed cargos with short tank tops, leather trousers with cropped shirts, baggy hoodies and ripped jeans amidst a strong smattering of saris. While she has begun her collection of luxury bags (the first bag she ever bought for herself was a Louis Vuitton), her footwear obsession is singular. "I love wearing Jordans the most-I love any Nike sneakers. Whenever I'm working I'm in sneakers, in case people are like, 'You're too tall!' So I rarely wear heels." "I think I'm still figuring out what my actual style is. It really depends on the way I'm feeling on a particular day," she explains. "I like to wear streetwear quite often. In Paris, I need to look chic, so I'll wear tight jeans with a nice blazer and boots. I just love being natural, I don't like to overdo it with my dressing. In terms of clothes, I like to experiment with up-and-coming brands and Indian labels. I love going vintage shopping too. I have this one brand called Esse Studios which I really love. I have a Siddartha Tytler skirt with me which is really cool. I love Atsu, I love UpToNoGood. There are so many brands coming up in India and I really want to work with them and see what they have because it's just nice to take them abroad with me and then have (the people I work with) see that there's so much potential in the Indian industry in terms of fashion. So my goal, in a wardrobe sense, is to explore the Indian market and start building my wardrobe." For her Vogue India shoot, Nagrath posed in a kaleidoscope of colours around Bandra in Mumbai, having flown in for the day from London on her way to Delhi, a location that brought her fond memories from her early days modelling in Maximum City and how far she has come. "It felt unreal to do the cover for Vogue because, again, that was something I always wanted to do. I have a collection of Vogue magazines in my room. [The idea] that I'm going to buy one which has me on the cover and put it over there [with the others] is just crazy. And the fact that my first [magazine] cover is going to be Vogue India is a big deal." Nagrath pauses. "I always tell my agents that I want to start from home. If I do something abroad, I want to come back and be an inspiration for the people at home. So it's a huge deal for me." SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/news/hyderabads-nizamate-comes-to-an-end-but-the-mystery-shrouding-a-chequered-saga-continues/articleshow/97045410.cms" style="">Hyderabad's Nizamate comes to an end but the mystery shrouding a chequered saga continues</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/zillionaire-this-startups-founders-walk-away-with-an-investment-double-the-original-ask-on-shark-tank-india/articleshow/97029721.cms" style="">Bling and ka-ching! – This startup’s founders walk away with an investment double the original ask on Shark Tank India</a>

First Indian model ever to open Versace runway beats Bella Hadid, Emily Ratajkowski for the job

<ul><li>In its recent earnings report, Reliance said that <keyword id="3421090" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ajio">AJIO</keyword> has scaled new highs with 4x growth in orders from pre-COVID levels.</li><li>AJIO’s latest numbers show that it’s levelling up to Myntra while moving fast ahead of other competitors like Tata Cliq, Snapdeal and Koovs.</li><li>However, Flipkart and Myntra continue to hold 60% market share in online fashion retail, according to a Bank of America report.</li><li>Currently, fashion and lifestyle account for just 9% of the total retail sales of Reliance.</li></ul>In April 2016, at the Lakme Fashion Week, <keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword>’s Reliance announced its big foray into fashion e-commerce with AJIO.com. The segment that has been crowded by the likes of Flipkart, Myntra (along with Jabong back then), Amazon, and others, left little room for AJIO to outshine the others. But the rise of e-commerce, especially as it spreads into rural India has brought about changes in the fashion e-commerce landscape. AJIO, which up until a year ago, wasn’t even counted among the frontrunners is scripting a story of resurgence now. AJIO’s fast-tracked growth “AJIO scaled new highs with 4x growth in orders from pre-COVID levels. Its quarterly revenue run rate is now equivalent to full last year’s revenue,” said Reliance during its earnings results on October 30. AJIO’s latest numbers show that it’s levelling up to Myntra while moving fast ahead of other competitors like Tata Cliq, Snapdeal and Koovs. While AJIO’s website visits are higher than Myntra, it lags behind in app downloads and users. <div type="image" title="Group 2" msid="78997632" hostid="261"></div> <div type="image" title="Group 2 copy" msid="78997646" hostid="261"></div> AJIO’s growth can be seen during lockdown when it began to see a spike in the number of app downloads. <div type="image" title="ajio vs myntra downloads" msid="78996631" hostid="261"></div> What’s working for AJIO Reliance is aggressively pushing ahead with its retail and e-commerce ambitions, and fashion e-commerce is set to play a substantial role. Currently, fashion and lifestyle account for just 9% of the total retail sales of Reliance. Analysts at Goldman Sachs believe that within e-commerce, RIL’s online GMV will reach $35 billion in FY25E with a 31% market share. And for that, Reliance is focusing on grocery and apparel segments with JioMart and AJIO. “RIL’s retail business outperformed peers last quarter and we expect this trend to continue given its omni channel offering driving market share wins,” said the Goldman Sachs report specifically pointing out the download trends of both JioMart and AJIO. <div type="image" title="reliance revenue chart." msid="78996641" hostid="261"></div> For AJIO’s growth, Reliance has opted for the omnichannel approach where the e-commerce site is riding on the inventory of Reliance Trends. “AJIO helps strengthen RIL’s O2O (offline-to-online) capabilities through in-store couponing, aisle kiosks. It does direct deliveries from 350 Trends and 70 Trends Footwear stores,” said the report by Bank of America. The platform has also enabled facilities like ‘Drop at Store with Cash Refund’ and ‘Pick at Store’ while also integrating the endless aisle kiosks where customers can even browse and order products that aren’t currently available in the store. With the deep pockets of Reliance, AJIO has also been able to offer great discounts while also making way for exclusive marketing strategies like the ‘Sneakerhood sale’ on AJIO. The platform has also focused on bringing on board luxury brands. “It offers over 2,50,000 styles of curated collections across its own brand and 1,400+ national and international brands,” said Reliance’s annual report. Resurgence in Indian e-commerce Indian e-commerce has seen multiple stories of resurgence with a focussed approach with the most popular one being that of Snapdeal, which has bounced back and how, to be India’s third largest e-commerce platform while also solidifying its presence in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets. However, when it comes to the fashion category, AJIO’s growth will still see hurdles especially as it faces tough competition from the bigwigs like Flipkart and Myntra. “While AJIO is gaining traction, we believe competition is stiff in the online fashion market with Flipkart’s Myntra/Jabong controlling 60%+ of the market,” believe analysts at Bank of America. But the potential remains immense – According to McKinsey’s State of Fashion 2020 report, the Indian clothing market will be worth $53.7 billion in 2020, making it the sixth largest globally. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/reliance-stock-tanks-over-7-post-earnings-to-lowest-in-3-months-heres-what-brokerages-are-saying/articleshow/78996203.cms">Reliance stock tanks over 7% post earnings to lowest in 3 months — here's what brokerages are saying</a>

Reliance-backed AJIO is riding the Indian e-commerce wave — poses tough competition to Myntra

<keyword id="2763516" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon-India-Fashion-Week">Amazon India Fashion Week</keyword> has just kicked off in Delhi. If you aren’t amongst the ‘many’ who eat and drink fashion, there is no harm for you to think that what the hell is happening at the JLN stadium in south Delhi. Well, to brief you, one of the biggest fashion extravagances in the country has ensued. 
 
So how many fashion weeks happen in the country? That’s countless. While the prominent ones would be 10-12. India Beach Fashion Week at Goa just concluded last week. It is India’s only resort wear fashion week at the moment. Worldwide, <keyword id="71187" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</keyword> counts, there are 138 fashion weeks. So it would take you a little more than 2 years to complete watching each fashion week in your lifetime. While Februray – March and September –October are the major seasons for fashion weeks as these set the trend prior to the season, there is also FDCI’s popular India Couture Week in Delhi that takes care of the elite wardrobes. 
 However in Indian context, there is a hierarchy. Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai and Amazon India Fashion Week in Delhi (formerly <keyword id="61798" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Wills-India-Fashion-Week">Wills India Fashion Week</keyword>) are the primary platforms for ace designers. These are the fashion weeks where you would find Shantanu - Nikhil, Shaina NC, Anupamaa Dayal, <keyword id="850" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Malini-Ramani">Malini Ramani</keyword>, <keyword id="23208" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rina-Dhaka">Rina Dhaka</keyword>, Abraham -Thakore and other prominent designers unveiling their newest collections. These are the ones where the editors of largest fashion magazines and buyers of biggest stores attend. 
While most Indian fashion weeks in other cities are raw talents coming of age, the ongoing Amazon India Fashion Week has already created a niche. 
 
Which season is it now? 
In case you are frowning about Amazon India Fashion Week Autumn Winter (A/W) and doubting the organizers’ sense of geography, when Delhi is recording 26 degree Celsius, let me tell you, fashion is always six months ahead of its calendar. So the collection unveiled now would take a minimum window of five months to reach the stores. It’s depending on the trends this season; the big brands would start working on their winter collections. 
 
How does it feel to be at the show? 
In most fashion weeks in India, there would be two-three ‘Main Stage Area’. So when a show ends at one ramp, the next show is scheduled at the other. This is done to make sure there is enough time to prepare the ramp. 
 
While the ramp is a flat platform, arranging the lights, choreographing the walk of models and of course the entire set up take time. Seated at the second or front row of a fashion week is a privilege enjoyed by media, celebrities VIPs and socialites. 
 
The entire event is an organized chaos. If you find a show starting sharp at time, you need to know that show has no future. Shows generally start 15-20 minutes late and even an hour later than the scheduled. The first thing you need to figure out is which gate is permitting which guests. If you are a VIP and want to sneak in from Media gate, you won’t be allowed. The bouncers are made sure to be ‘too rude’ to handle the crowd. 
 
How do fashion weeks in India make money? Now here comes the real question. While some fashion weeks have ticketing facilities where guests can buy passes, the popular ones don’t offer such easy avenues of entry. The main source of money for any fashion week is of course the sponsors. This season of Amazon India Fashion Week has ben sponsored by Amazon, Maybelline, Nexa, Suthol, <keyword id="215177" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vivo">Vivo</keyword>. You can well imagine the kind of money that has been invested. 
 
And then there are buyers. So if you visit a fashion week, you would see a lot of exhibition stores. And these stores need to pay the organizers to get a stall. It’s just like any other exhibition. And then there are the designers who need to pay a participation charge. 
So you can plan your fashion week now. Tell us about your doubts on earning money. Let us solve them.

How do fashion weeks make money?

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Peter Macdiarmid/Getty ImagesThe world's shortest man, Chandra Bahadur Dangi (who measures 54.6cm) pictured with the world's tallest man, Sultan Kosen (who is 251cm tall).</div></div></div>The most comprehensive study on human height around the world has just been <a href="https://elifesciences.org/content/5/e13410" target="_blank">published in the scientific journal eLife</a>, revealing the countries with the tallest and shortest residents on the planet.The report, conducted by scientists from Imperial College London in conjunction with the World Health Organisation, charts the height of 18-year-old men and women between 1914 and 2014 in 200 countries.Data from health and nutrition surveys, military conscription records, and epidemiological studies were used to determine the findings of the report, which discovered that the global height average for men ranges from 182.5cm to 160cm, and 170cm to 149cm for women.While the average difference in height between the shortest and tallest men has increased globally from 19cm in 1914 to 23cm in 2014, the study found that height growth has plateaued in Western countries like the US (which comes in 37th place for men, and 42nd for women) and <keyword id="6354868" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="UK">UK</keyword> (31st for men; 38th for women), which fall behind higher-ranking European nations.As for the countries with the shortest residents, for men, it's the Southeast Asian nation of Timor-Leste, where the average height is 159.8cm; for women, it's Guatemala, where the average height is 149.4cm.Scroll down to see the 13 nations that are home to the tallest men and women in the world, respectively, along with the average height in centimetres for each country and its place in the ranking from 1914:Note: Countries with the same average height are not tied; those that appear higher in the ranking have a slightly taller height range.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=DirectSearch&amp;AID=KAGUQ56B7LG">Lisi Niesner</a>People clap beside a statue of biblical character Samson, during the Samson Parade in Mariapfarr, some 100 km (62 miles) south of Salzburg on Assumption Day, August 15, 2010.</div></div></div><h2>Countries with the tallest men in 2014</h2>13. Norway (no. 2 in 1914) - 179.712. Slovenia (31) - 179.811. Germany (34) - 179.910. Czech Republic (24) - 180.19. Iceland (6) - 180.58. Serbia (30) - 180.67. Croatia (22) - 180.86. Bosnia and Herzegovina (19) - 180.95. Denmark (9) - 181.44. Latvia (13) - 181.43. Estonia (4) - 181.62. Belgium (33) - 181.71. Netherlands (12) - 182.5<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&amp;VBID=2C0FCIK06J59F">Vivek Prakash/Reuters</a>An aspiring model has her height measured during auditions for the Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai June 19, 2012.</div></div></div><h2>Countries with the tallest women in 2014</h2>13. Finland (no. 45 in 1914) - 165.912. Iceland (3) - 165.911. Slovenia (76) - 166.110. Ukraine (43) - 166.39. Belarus (42) - 166.38. Lithuania (41) - 166.67. Denmark (11) - 167.26. Slovakia (26) - 167.55. Serbia (93) - 167.74. Czech Republic (69) - 168.53. Estonia (16) - 168.72. Netherlands (38) - 168.71. Latvia (28) - 169.8<a href="http://www.ncdrisc.org/height-ranking-mean.html" target="_blank">Click here for the full interactive ranking</a>. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/taller-morning-wake-up-night-2014-8">The Science Behind Why You Add An Inch Or So To Your Height In The Morning</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="Q1aGo4bzqcO_SH-lImZg6Jb7MOK2Pc2Y" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

The 13 countries with the world's tallest residents, ranked

Every day, we see Indian women carrying off foreign-origin clothes with indescribable grace, but there is something special when it comes to <keyword id="2370" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="hollywood">Hollywood</keyword> beauties wearing the Indian traditional clothes. 
 
Of late, we have spotted many Hollywood beauties spotting this six-yard piece of clothing. Here is a look at these beauties and their sarees: 
 
Paris Hilton 
 
 
 
The American socialite, actress and entertainer was spotted wearing a pink saree on her India Visit in 2011. She was here to promote her brand of handbags and accessories. 
 
Elizabeth Hurley 
 
 
 
The English actress and model was seen wearing a light pink and silver saree in 2008 when she was promoting a charity event about breast cancer. 
 
Julia Roberts 
 
 
 
The American actress and producer was seen sporting a green saree in her 2010 movie Eat Pray Love when she shot the film in India. 
 
Lady Gaga 
 
 
The American singer and songwriter wore a grayish Tarun Tahiliani saree when she visited India in 2011. 
 
Victoria Beckham 
 
 
 
The English businesswoman and fashion designer wore a red saree in 2008 when she shot for Vogue Indian edition. 
 
Nicole Scherzinger 
 
 
 
The American recording artist and television personality wore a black saree with a golden border in 2008 for Fashion Rocks, an event. 
 
Naomi Campbell 
 
 
 
The British supermodel graced the Lakme Fashion Week India by wearing a black and golden saree in 2009. 
 
Jessica Alba 
 
 
 
The American actress wore an orange saree while shooting a song for the movie The Love Guru in 2007-08. 
 
Halle Berry 
 
 
 
The American actress and former model wore a red saree when she did the role of an Indian in a segment of the movie Cloud Atlas in 2012. 
 
Oprah Winfrey 
 
 
 
The American media czarina has sported a saree many a times on her frequent visits to India. 
 
Apparently, this is a flourishing business for the export industry. We had a look at the data of the past month and found that during 9th Jul 2014 to 9th August 2014, India exported sarees worth $13,090,329. Out of this, 30% of the exports were done from JNPT port. Average value per shipment of saree exports in India is $2,04,536. 
 
The major countries to import sarees from India are UAE (27.79%), Malaysia (24.16%), the United Kingdom (8.8%), Sri Lanka(5.41%), Singapore(4.49%), the United States(4.35%), Sudan(3.29%), Mauritius(2.43%) and Canada (2.03%), while the rest of the world makes up the rest 17.25%. 
 
Collage courtesy: Fotor 
 
Data Source: <a href="http://www.infodriveindia.com/india-export-data/sarees-export-data.aspx">Infodrive India</a>

Sarees Making Their Way Into Hollywood: Here Is How

Wearing a new outfit nowadays is as easy as just renting it. Gone are the days, when you had to save up money, month after month in order to afford high-end designer outfits or only dream about wearing a new outfit everytime you go out. 
 
Thanks to the burgeoning <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=fashion+rental+websites&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">on-rent fashion portals</a>, it’s now possible to rent <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=designer+wear&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">designer and high-end luxury wear</a> at a fraction of the price. 
 
This comes in handy especially when you’re attending a wedding and don’t want to spend a bomb on a lehenga that you’re only going to wear once or when you have to look your best at an outing, but have nothing to wear. 
 
Additionally, the fact that it is highly convenient (most of these websites pack, deliver and even pick up the outfits that you order) and time-efficient (most offer same-day delivery, if not delivery within a few hours) has also been the reason behind the unprecedented growth and popularity of these websites. 
 
Naturally, this has also led to a lot of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/The-CEO-of-500-million-startup-Rent-the-Runway-thinks-this-is-the-biggest-fashion-mistake-women-make-at-work/articleshow/51605082.cms">fashion rental websites</a> seeing the light of the day. From <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=flyrobe&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Flyrobe</a> and <keyword id="3394613" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Swishlist">Swishlist</keyword> to LibeRent and <keyword id="3394612" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Blinge">Blinge</keyword>, there is no dearth of options, if you’re looking to rent your fashion. 
 
But, is setting up a fashion rental website all play and no work? 
 
Business Insider asked Shikhar Khanna, co-founder of Blinge, a Mumbai-based on-demand fashion rental platform to take us through the process and give us a look into the behind-the-scenes of setting up a fashion rental portal. 
 
Here’s everything you need to know about starting a fashion rental website- 
 
 
 
 
 Determining your target audience 
 
Before starting an on-rent fashion portal, it is imperative to keep the audience in mind. If you are catering to the masses then be conservative in your price and if you are catering to a particular section, then it may go upto Rs. 25000. Your target audience will determine the designers and brands you wish to host. 
 
 
 How do you scout the designers? 
 
 In every business the product is the key hence one needs to be careful while scouting the correct brand and designer for the portal. You ahgve to realise that fashion weeks are your hunting ground. Apart from Lakme Fashion Week and Amazon India Fashion Week, there are various state specific shows happening in cities like Bangalore, Goa, Hyderabad and even Rajasthan. You need to capitalize on these as there are umpteen designers showcasing great work at affordable price. The choice of designers shall also determine the rental amount which should ultimately suit your target consumer. 
 
It’s ideal to have a set team which only visits the fashion shows and scouts the brands online. 
 
 
What happens after Fashion shows? 
 
Create a list of the designers who you feel fits your platform and shortlist 10% of those and connect with them. 
 
 
 How do you convince the designer? 
 
 We have noticed from our personal experience that designers weren't sure whether rentals would work for them or not, but numbers give them confidence. The entrepreneur needs to make them realize how they can get 100 users try and appreciate their creation by just making 10 pieces thus, the production cost is low and they are making a profit on it as they are earning 1.5 times more for every piece. 
 
Rental bridges the gap between designers and art lovers. Your job as an entrepreneur is to push home that point. 
 
 
 
 
Pricing the product 
 
 Do not just start by putting exorbitant rates. Keep in mind that renting offline has been going since ages as there are many unorganized offline sectors offering such services, hence be very careful in your price. That being said, do not be too low too as you need to do justice to the brand. One easy way is to price it according to the demand for example- the higher the demand the higher the rent. 
 
 
 How important is operations? 
 
 Logistics and dry-cleaning play a pivotal role as in this business you may need a dress within a day. So, a great rapport with on-demand deliveries is a must. On an average you need to spend 40% of total costs per order on operations. 
 
 
 Get your technology right 
 
 Technology is the essence of this business. Imagine a shop with a million people inside it, and every person has their individual preferences. Now for every 10 people you serve you would need one person on the payroll. Except, technology does exactly that. In our case, our technology replaces a 100k people on our payroll by building state-of-the-art technology, it ensures a ability to scale, handle traffic, and serve people with the inventory of their choice. 
 
 
 Last, but not the least, get cracking with social media 
 
 The moment you start your rental platform start spending on the influencers. Influencers pay a key role in moulding the thoughts of the consumers. Meet up sessions at office to understand their needs and to give them a touch and feel experience may work. Establish your social media company from day one as in the lifestyle segment social media is of great importance. Similarly monthly blogs or style tips are needed to engage the consumer.

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