Ahmedabad ‘dressmaker’ has designs on Modi’s style

Bipin Chauhan, MD of Jade Blue, a leading manufacturer and retailer of men’s apparel, first made the “Modi kurta” in 2010 at his garment facility in Khokhra of Ahmedabad, and will start retailing “Modi jackets” from his website and store soon.

Chauhan, who claimed that he sold 8,000 bandgala jackets last year, is planning to produce around 20,000 jackets this year.

“Last year, the Jodhpuri bandhgalas worn by Modi became popular, while this year the colourful V-neck jackets that he wears have generated a lot of demand from our customers.

Since the trend has caught the fancy of youngsters, we are planning to add on capacity. Popular as the ‘Nehru jacket’, it is now slowly turning into a ‘Modi jacket’ as traditionally they were worn by patriarchs of the household while lately inspired by Modi, people are opting to wear these colourful jackets over half-sleeved kurtas in a departure from the norm,” said 51-year-old Chauhan.

Selling it for Rs 900 to Rs 4,799, the “Modi kurtas” remain the “runway hit” for the brand, he said, adding that the latest rage was the linen version, which would cost Rs 5,000.
From Rs 150 crore turnover in 2012-13, the brand has clocked a 20 per cent growth to Rs 180 crore this year and retails from 18 stores across the country. They are opening a retail shop in Hydrabad soon.

“We have been getting feelers from big retailers like Flipkart and other e-commerce players to retail ‘Modi kurtas’, but at present we do not have the production capacity to supply at the volumes that they want us to. However we will add to our present capacity and increase the production of Modi Kurtas from 18,000 to 30,000 this year,” said Chauhan.