14 November 2023, Mumbai
Clothes do make the man, and the millennial man is now a gentleman of style showing great interest in shopping for himself and knowing exactly what he wants and where to get it.
The rapid growth of social media, the availability of high-end brands online, and the elixir of shopping in malls have led to rapid growth in this segment.
Trends; Over the last two decades, men’s fashion has become on-trend, as even in the 1990s, before the internet onslaught, the segment was limited to just shirts, T-shirts, jeans, and trousers in casual wear by Western brands, along with some Indian brands for ethnic and casual wear.
The millennial man is a power shopper who has now overshot the tailoring market and is willing to spend on brands and designers who follow the latest catwalk fashion trends across the globe, the same as women’s segment.
Social media grows at 6.3 per cent CAGR by 2025
As per market research firm Grand View Research, the the the the global menswear market valued at $483 billion in 2018 and is expected to grow at 6.3 per cent CAGR over the forecast period of 2019-25.
Fashion shows across the globe including Paris, New York, London, Los Angeles, and Delhi, fashion magazines, and the onslaught of social media and fashion influencers have sky-rocketed the growth of men’s clothing.
Fashion and dressing styles are hugely influenced by the appearance of celebrities in movies, ZTV, news, etc, by wearing and promoting whatever is in style. Men’s fashion magazines such as ZQ, Men’s Vogue, Fantastic Man, and Nylon Guys and Man Magazine and fashion blogs are all cohesively working together to make it a big industry now.
Marquee brands; Meanwhile top Indian designers like Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Manish Malhotra, Manish Arora, Ujjawal Dubey, Raghavendra Rathore, and Tarun Tahiliani’s among others have taken ethnic wear segment by storm.
Data-points
A recent Statista market research report has estimated men's Indian men’s apparel market at around $29.82 billion in 2023 and predicts it will grow annually by 4 per cent through 2028. In global comparison, the largest market is the US, which estimated at around $111 billion this year. The average volume per person in the men's segment in India is around 4.8 pieces in 2023.
Indian designers lead men’s haute couture
The world of Indian men’s haute couture which has for long been led by women- especially in the bridal segment first took off with men also looking for formal wear. And now it has permeated to all other segments from casual to office wear. Many Indian designers who originally focused on women are now creating ensembles for men.
As designer Tarun Tahiliani explains, just like women, men also want to look and feel good in clothes that complement their build and personality. Men do not stick to safe and neutral shades anymore. Today, they’re no longer afraid to flaunt bold hues and bright floral.
Nuanced picture
The bestsellers of premium designers in the formal ethnic segment are sherwanis, bandhgalas and Nehru jackets in a variety of textures and cuts that strike a balance between classic and contemporary.
In Western formals, it’s the timeless three-piece suits as well as single-breasted blazers, while sweat shirts. bomber jacket, jeans, T-shirts, shirts and short or long kurtas are the bestsellers in casual segment.
With a strong focus on purchasing criteria such as quality, comfort and style and being on-trend, the men’s apparel segment is on an all-new high.
