E-commerce brands are the top purchase medium for women’s westernwear
Realising that there was a massive gap between women’s workwear and its quality in India, tech duo Rupanshi and Bharat founded women’s workwear brand Qua. With a goal to create something magical, aspirational but still rooted in reality, the e-commerce only company is reviving the art of power dressing through thoughtful designs, premium quality fabrics, trans-seasonal wear and ethical sourcing. In an interview with Fibre2Fashion, Qua Co-founders Rupanshi Agarwal, Divya Agarwal & Bharat Agarwal discusses women’s westernwear market in India.
What does Qua stand for?
Qua is an Arabic word that translates to ‘power’. Our wide range of ‘modern classics’ reflects both an eye towards the future and nostalgia for old school elegance. The brand describes the strong, independent and fearless woman of today. Every piece is tailored keeping in mind the contemporary woman with a multifaceted life. Our primary focus is on constructing exceptionally smart pieces that help women perform better.
How has Qua evolved as a brand since its inception?
The brand has evolved significantly since its inception. Qua’s first collection had classic business wear styles, but soon after the pandemic the lines between work and life got blurred and comfort started taking precedence over everything else. Office wear no longer looked strictly formal, and the workplaces started experiencing ‘casualisation’. The brand underwent a massive change in terms of the designs and the focus quickly shifted to the new business casuals that are smart enough for formal situations and stylish enough to make one look fabulous at social events. Versatility and functionality became core pillars of our design philosophy that allows our designs to provide maximum flexibility to women’s day-to-night wardrobes.
What has remained the same, especially after the pandemic?
What has remained the same is the focus on quality of the products—the fabrics are thoroughly tested, the tailoring is done impeccably and the designs are crafted with thoughtful details. With a major shift in women’s lifestyles and shopping habits in recent period, the brand is continuously adapting and evolving as per current trends.
How has women’s westernwear as a product category changed in the last decade?
The category is growing tremendously with a 12 per cent CAGR. Earlier, westernwear was restricted to metropolitan areas only, but now demand is growing across all regions of the country because of increasing globalisation, enhanced brand awareness, and easier access through the internet. The number of working women has increased at a massive speed in the last 10 years. That combined with a casualisation of the workplace is causing a growing demand for westernwear fashion. Moreover, Bollywood celebrities, fashion bloggers, and Instagram/Snapchat are operating as trend setters and major influencers in consumers’ shopping decisions.
Which are your major markets in India?
Our major markets are Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru.
Which are your best performing product categories?
Our best performing categories are suits, co-ords and styled sets, which are essentially pre-styled full looks. Apart from beautiful products, we also provide our customers with services aimed at easing their shopping experiences. We offer virtual styling session with our in-house stylists who help women understand their bodies and answer their styling queries. We also provide custom sizing. All of it is offered at no additional cost.
What factors are driving the growth of the westernwear market?
The biggest factor is globalisation as well as an increase in consumer purchase capacity and fashion consciousness with more exposure to the global trends. E-commerce brands are the top purchase medium for this category as they offer enticing deals and a larger selection of clothing. There has also been a substantial increase in the number of working women in India who are leaning towards westernwear fashion due to the shift in their lifestyles.
What are some of the latest trends in westernwear?
Tailoring has gone really mainstream this season. Suiting, though in a different avatar, has seen a comeback and is expected to stay in trend for a long time. Oversized silhouettes and wide legged pants are on the rise. Corsetry has been a huge trend and the new corset silhouettes are more playful and colourful. We have also incorporated corsetry in our Corset Suit, which is a modern combination of classic tailoring and new-age corsetry. Maxi lengths (skirts and dresses) are also gaining traction and we’re expecting to see this trend prevail as we head into Spring.
What kind of policy support do you expect from the government?
First and foremost, we expect policies and processes to favour the ‘ease of doing business’ in the country. While we’re seeing some progress in this regard, India still ranks 62nd in ease of doing business. We also expect easier and more favourable policies for doing international business. The government has already started working to make the Indian rupee an international currency which is a great move, but it is still very challenging to transact internationally for small businesses.
What are the future plans at Qua?
We envision Qua to be a one-stop shop by expanding into other categories like accessories, footwear, handbags etc. While designing chic and elevated smart wear, the brand also focuses on the shopping experiences of the customer. In five years, we will have a fully intelligent website where we will be able to reduce the time between product discovery to conversion by 75 per cent. We will have presence in international markets as well (North America and Europe) with annual turnover of ₹400 crore.
(Interviewer: Shilpi Panjabi)
Published on: 07/02/2023
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
