Fast Forward 2014: Style

The Guide's wish list

Quicker fashion
Several international brands retail in India today, but we still don't get the latest trends here compared to their international stores.

No room for copycats
Several Indian designers rely on international trends and hence they come in late here. Why do you think our stores still stock neons?

Stylists in stores
Snotty and incompetent store assistants trying to sell you jeans not your size is common knowledge. Stylists in store would really help.

Organised street shopping
Hill Road in Bandra used to be a great place for footwear, but civic hassles have changed the scene. Better, organised set ups, please.

Logical sizing
Pants too long for you or bras with unnecessary push-ups -- sizing needs to compliment Indian body types and tastes.

Experimental stores
High street might have realised India's worth, but what Mumbaineeds is more niche stores offering edgy products at reasonable prices.u00a0

My Take Tanya Ghavri, Celebrity stylist

We have several high street and designer brands available in India now, though, what we lack is good innerwear brands for women. One can wear the latest dress from the rack but if your innerwear is wrong, it's a waste. We have a few international innerwear brands here but it is not enough.

Indian women have very different body types, and these brandsdon't work for all of them. We need brands like Victoria's Secret in India. Also, good, quality-controlled apparel isn't available in India, yet. Jeans is another basic fashion item that we need more options for. There are so many brands, but I wonder why don't we have GAP here, still.

Pic/Sayed Sameer Abedi

The biggest concern, however, is shopping options for men. I get several queries from my male friends about places to shop for, sadly there aren't that many for men. Be it streetside or branded, women have an upper hand when it comes to fashion in our country.

As far as Indian designer wear is concerned, we need more designers to deliver on quality, based on what they charge. When it comes to finishing, cuts and fits, it's not to the T. There are some good names too like Anamika Khanna, but Indian designer wear is expensive and not all of them give you great finished products. Besides, lndian designers need to come up with affordable prét lines to be accessible to more people. These products need to have a good fit for all body types. Hopefully, 2014 will sort all these concerns.u00a0