The plus-size market in India, though in a very nascent stage, is worth almost Rs 11,000 crore and growing

Fat market for full figures  Big, it seems, is also bringing in bigger bucks Early last month, when full-figured models walked a New York runway, it was not their size that surprised the industry watchers. The fact that they were sashaying down for the Full Figured Fashion Week in clothes by top international haute couture names like Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren and Michael Kors was the surprising bit. After all, high-end designers are known not to associate themselves with plus-size customers, as easily and as openly.      Fashion industry's global love affair with anorexic models is well known and India is no exception. As David Abraham of the design duo Abraham & Thakore puts it, "Our obsession with size zero is an imported one." No wonder an A-list fashion show for the plus-sized doesn't cease to astonish. It may be a long while before India hosts its own Full Figured Fashion Week but it is not ruled out. Hemant Sagar of the Indo-French designer duo of Lecoanet Hemant says, "Fashion in India is an entertainment, so it could happen. A fashion show is a trade event backed by a commercial reality. If a designer thinks he can dress big sizes off the rack, it would make sense. It's a specialised market in many countries."      'Market' is the operative word here. Those in the trade — designers or mass market retailers — cannot ignore the fact that the reality in India, as in the US, is far removed from the ramp. An overwhelming majority of people are not size zero. In fact, quite a few are plus size (plus XL). Delhi-based designer Anuradha Ramam says that about 30-40% of her customers are plus size. "Re-sizing is a very important component of the industry," she adds.      With aspirations attaining global levels in a post-liberalisation India, it's a segment whose need to turn out in style is as compelling as that of the size zero. According to management consultancy firm Technopak, the plus size market in India, though in a very nascent stage, is worth almost Rs 11,000 crore and is on an upward trajectory with an estimated growth rate of 25% per annum. According to internal estimates of e-tailer Jabong. com, plus size makes up 8-10% of India's clothing market with a ratio of 60:40 in favour of women.      Quite a few mass market retailers had smelt this opportunity long back even though the market continues to remain largely untapped. According to a Technopak analysis, the demand for fashionable plus-size apparel in India has accelerated and quite a few players like aLL (by Pantaloons), Mustard and Revolution, are competing in the RTW (ready-to-wear) plus-size opportunity. Other well-known private retail brands in the category include Plus S, X'Mex, Gia by Westside and Just Your Size, for both men and women.      The potential of the segment is not lost on ecommerce websites either. As Manu Kumar Jain, MD, Jabong.com, says, "There are not enough plus size brands in the country. It's a huge market opportunity waiting to be tapped."      The fact that the awareness of this plus size opportunity is trickling beyond the apparel retail stores, designer brands and e-tailers is evident in niche stores coming up in cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Jaipur. This is the market that sisters Neelam and Meenakshi Gupta had hoped to draw on when they launched their plus size store Damayanti in Jaipur in 2008. "Clothes for plus-size women don't pay attention to style and just flatten out the smaller sizes. We wanted to change that as even within this segment, body types vary." The attention to style paid off for the sisters and they now have a fixed clientele.      The economics of plus size seems to be slowly opening up great opportunities for people across the country. BOUNTIFUL A model walks the ramp for the first designer to showcase plus-size creations at the Olympus Fashion Week in New York in 2005. The plus-size now makes up almost 8-10 % of India's clothing market