BackIndia size for apparel, shoes close to rollout
Currently, international and homegrown brands available in India use measurements from the US or the UK for garments, such as ‘Small’, ‘Medium’ and ‘Large’.
PremiumNEW DELHI : The Union textiles ministry is finalizing the measurements and standards for clothes and shoes that would fit Indians better, three government officials aware of the development said.
Currently, international and homegrown brands available in India use measurements from the US or the UK for garments, such as ‘Small’, ‘Medium’ and ‘Large’. However, Indians’ body types differ from the western ones in terms of height, weight or specific measurements of body parts such as the shoulders and bust, throwing up problems in fitting. Size charts for Indians are expected to arrive with the help of 3D scanners that would take computerized body measurements of 25,000 men and women, aged 15 to 65, in six cities—New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Shillong, and Hyderabad, the person cited earlier said.
“India size has been a demand from the industry for quite some time as the Indian body type is notably different from the prevailing size in the UK or the US. The basic difference would be in the waist-legs ratio and an India size that is customized to our body type will fit much better. The India size would more likely be closer to the UK size than the US," Randeep Singh Arora, head of new business initiatives at Gokaldas Exports said.
In 2018, the textiles ministry said the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) would conduct a study to come up with a size chart for Indians and complete the project in 2-3 years. The National Sizing Survey of India project was expected to cost ₹31 crore, with the textiles ministry contributing ₹21 crore and NIFT the rest.
“Size India will surely give impetus to the growing domestic market for fashion goods. With greater focus on e-commerce and flexible lot sizes, size India will offer the much needed size fit to the domestic consumers. The growing domestic manufacturers, retailers and consumers give the required ecosystem to roll out size zero. The country with the largest population deserves its own size chart," Chandrima Chatterjee, secretary general of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI).
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