A strong focus on Indian crafts and embroidery and slow fashion could be the success mantra for fashion industry in the post-lockdown phase, said designer duo Shantanu and Nikhil during the second edition of Fraternity Talks recently. These are virtual interaction sessions hosted by Shantanu and Nikhil every week to discuss the future of fashion after COVID-19 outbreak.

Stressing on the relevance of slow fashion, Rahul said: “During the lockdown phase, people will start looking at their wardrobes and will know which clothes give them happiness and how many of them were bought by them without any requirement. After this experience of facing the pandemic, the focus will be back on quality rather than quantity. People would want to spend money on something exquisite and something that will last longer. I’ve been spending the last two months brainstorming with my team on new designs. I don’t want to create an inexpensive collection for the post-lockdown phase. I want to create a collection that extensively uses crafts and embroidery, gives employment to people and the final creation should be such that people would want to invest money in it.” He also added that designers will need to focus on Indian market. Indian weddings next year can bring back a lot of business for Indian couturiers, feels the designer.

“People will cut down on money spent on larger than life sets, décor and destination weddings, but they will continue to spend on designer wedding clothes as photographs will continue to remain an important part of weddings. People would like to spend money on customised designer wear to look their best on their special day,” added Rahul.