Fashion tips now at your fingertips
Monday, Apr 16, 2007, 23:48 IST
Saeed Khan
India's premier design institute, the National Institute of Design (NID), has now come up with the novel concept of launching a fashion helpline. AHMEDABAD: After extending help to the army and the Gujarat police to design their uniforms, India's premier design institute, the National Institute of Design (NID), has now come up with the novel concept of launching a fashion helpline. The helpline will provide not only fashion tips but complete customised guidance to people for makeovers and the service will be available on the phone, web interface as well as through personal interaction at shopping centres. Head of the department of apparel design and merchandising at NID Somesh Singh, who was instrumental behind floating the idea, said that the interactions between fashion designers and customers in an organised manner would reduce "shopping coma". "In today's organised retail, the human interaction is completely missing. The ambience is so heavy in shopping malls that the customer loses focus and indulges in impulsive buying, which he or she might find irrelevant after some time. If proper guidance is provided by an expert, it will not only help the client but also the company to sell its brands," Singh said. The objective behind the helpline, Singh explained, was to look at each person as an individual and address his or her need personally. "This will be to satiate the personal aspirations - what the clients want to get done as part of their makeover," he said. According to Singh, the web interface will be experimental. "It will operate through basic software. People can view different attires by altering their own photographs. They will just have to feed in data like their body-type, skin tone and feature, and they will have images projecting how they would look in those particular clothes," he explained. Regarding the phone helpline, Singh said it would mainly provide tips to people particularly on how to dress for social occasions. However, for NID the most important aspect of the fashion helpline will be the personal interaction. The institute plans to propose a strategic framework regarding the helpline to shopping complexes and big companies across the country. "A small place in shopping complexes can be allocated to a trained person who would be able to offer fashion tips to customers," he said. The personnel at the 'fashion clinics', which are likely to start within a year, would offer more than mere suggestions regarding garments and will also include health tips and shopping guidance. "We will rope in behaviour scientists also during our sessions with customers because apart from good clothes, mannerisms are also equally important," Singh added. He said he got the idea from a similar service being provided by an image consultant in New York. "They charge $300-350 per hour but we plan to offer the service by imparting sessions for minimum three months on a membership basis." Singh said feedback and guidance to customers was missing in the present shopping scenario.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-fashion-tips-now-at-your-fingertips-1091269
India's premier design institute, the National Institute of Design (NID), has now come up with the novel concept of launching a fashion helpline. AHMEDABAD: After extending help to the army and the Gujarat police to design their uniforms, India's premier design institute, the National Institute of Design (NID), has now come up with the novel concept of launching a fashion helpline. The helpline will provide not only fashion tips but complete customised guidance to people for makeovers and the service will be available on the phone, web interface as well as through personal interaction at shopping centres. Head of the department of apparel design and merchandising at NID Somesh Singh, who was instrumental behind floating the idea, said that the interactions between fashion designers and customers in an organised manner would reduce "shopping coma". "In today's organised retail, the human interaction is completely missing. The ambience is so heavy in shopping malls that the customer loses focus and indulges in impulsive buying, which he or she might find irrelevant after some time. If proper guidance is provided by an expert, it will not only help the client but also the company to sell its brands," Singh said. The objective behind the helpline, Singh explained, was to look at each person as an individual and address his or her need personally. "This will be to satiate the personal aspirations - what the clients want to get done as part of their makeover," he said. According to Singh, the web interface will be experimental. "It will operate through basic software. People can view different attires by altering their own photographs. They will just have to feed in data like their body-type, skin tone and feature, and they will have images projecting how they would look in those particular clothes," he explained. Regarding the phone helpline, Singh said it would mainly provide tips to people particularly on how to dress for social occasions. However, for NID the most important aspect of the fashion helpline will be the personal interaction. The institute plans to propose a strategic framework regarding the helpline to shopping complexes and big companies across the country. "A small place in shopping complexes can be allocated to a trained person who would be able to offer fashion tips to customers," he said. The personnel at the 'fashion clinics', which are likely to start within a year, would offer more than mere suggestions regarding garments and will also include health tips and shopping guidance. "We will rope in behaviour scientists also during our sessions with customers because apart from good clothes, mannerisms are also equally important," Singh added. He said he got the idea from a similar service being provided by an image consultant in New York. "They charge $300-350 per hour but we plan to offer the service by imparting sessions for minimum three months on a membership basis." Singh said feedback and guidance to customers was missing in the present shopping scenario.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-fashion-tips-now-at-your-fingertips-1091269
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