Men’s Ethnic Wear Gets Its Second Wave

For decades, the average Indian man’s festive wardrobe was simple. One dependable kurta that was worn for Diwali, family functions, office celebrations and the odd festive ceremony or ritual. Throw in a jacket or a pair of mojris or traditional leather sandals, and the same outfit could feel new. 

This was the state of ethnic wear for men in India, till D2C brands began showing them the world beyond the once-a-year kurta purchase.

With the emergence of dozens of brands, Indian men are trading jeans and polos for ethnic wear that feels comfortable, contemporary and suited to the occasion. Younger audiences are increasingly choosing lighter garments, contemporary colours, short kurtas, kurta-shirts and versatile separates for dinners, college events and casual gatherings. 

And the trend is prevalent across all corners of India, with each state and region having D2C brands that are carving a niche in ethnic wear. What began as brands experimenting with kurtas (inspired by Fabindia’s rise) has now become something bigger. 

According to Yash Sarawagi, cofounder of Kolkata-based D2C men’s ethnic wear brand Kisah, Indian men are becoming particular about how ethnic wear reflects their style, body type and occasion. “Reels, creators and marketplace listings are helping customers compare silhouettes, colours, fits and styling choices in a category where a kurta was once treated simply as a kurta.”  

These consumers are looking for complete, occasion-specific looks rather than individual garments, giving brands room to expand across products, price points and markets. 

“The opportunity, therefore, is no longer simply to sell more kurtas during more festivals, but to create new reasons for men to buy Indian wear for dinners, work events, travel, casual gatherings and celebrations,” added Kora by NM’s cofounder Nilesh Chhadva.

That’s why this is the second wave in men’s ethnic wear in the D2C and new-age retail space. 

However, this comes with ‘conditions apply’. More occasions do not necessarily mean more annual spending. As brands expand their assortments, stores and marketing calendars, the real test will be to create incremental demand while making the economics of repeat purchases, inventory and offline retail work.

From Festive Wear To Everyday Occasions

Currently, for brands, the challenge is to ensure that more occasions translate into more purchases. According to Puneet Mansukhani, the global retail head of digital and technology transformation at KPMG in India, this can be addressed by creating new use cases for contemporary ethnic wear across social gatherings, travel, work and celebrations — occasions that can increase purchase frequency and expand the addressable market.

The effort will, however, require changes on both the operational and marketing fronts. “Instead of making one large seasonal bet, brands need to focus on shorter merchandise cycles, smaller initial orders and faster replenishment,” said Mani Singhal, managing director and co-lead of the consumer and retail practice at Alvarez & Marsal India. 

Inventory allocation also needs to reflect regional differences, since the same festival does not generate equal demand across the country.

Marketing faces a similar challenge. Running campaigns around 10 festivals does not automatically create 10 purchase decisions. Incremental demand is more likely to come from products designed for new use cases such as a lighter kurta for a pooja, an office Diwali collection, coordinated family looks or garments that can move between ethnic and everyday settings.

The opportunity of men’s ethnic wear may be expanding, but the profitability and long-term sustainability of the businesses running these brands remain complicated. Like any other category, there is the risk of low purchase frequency, designs not working or the SKUs going out of fashion. Profitability varies sharply across segments with premiumisation underway among the established brands.  

Mass and mid-market products can offer greater scale and repeat potential, while premium ethnic wear brings higher ticket sizes but greater markdown risks. The segment with the highest sales volume, therefore, may not generate the best return on capital, while the highest-ticket products may not deliver the strongest store productivity.

Fit adds another layer of complexity. A t-shirt can tolerate some variation in fit but a structured ‘bandhgala’, ‘sherwani’ or fitted kurta may not. Since alterations are more or less a given, brands need physical presence through dedicated experience and retail stores, expert tailors or an additional service layer, adding both cost and operational complexity.

This is what sets the ethnic wear business apart from casual fashion or fast fashion, which often do not need such extras in their stores. 

Retail expansion and omnichannel strategy is almost inevitable for men’s ethnic wear brands moving up the fashion ladder. And as products and SKUs become more premium and of higher value, these are non-negotiables.  

Singhal suggested watching four indicators: falling full-price sell-through, rising inventory days or heavier end-of-season discounting, store additions outpacing like-for-like growth, and customer acquisition costs rising faster than gross profit per customer.

Smaller brands can bank on marketplaces and can ride on the quick commerce bandwagon to scale up without physical presence. And where such retail presence is needed, they can also look at multibrand retail partnerships rather than dedicated stores. 

Shuchi Pandya, consumer investor at Fireside Ventures, added that instead of relying entirely on exclusive brand outlets, newer brands or on-the-rise labels can use multi-brand retail and franchise-operated stores to expand with less capital. 

Then there is the fundamental problem of repeat purchases not being very regular in this category. In many D2C categories, customer acquisition costs can be spread across several transactions a year because of the frequency of purchase. Men’s ethnic wear follows a different beat and often customers may not spend anew for every occasion. 

Brands therefore need either healthy economics on the first purchase or a credible way to move customers into adjacent occasions, price points and categories. This naturally puts men’s ethnic wear in a slightly more premium space, even though the perception is that these should be more affordable than everyday wear. 

As Pandya of Fireside Ventures pointed out, capital can be useful for brands when it addresses some of these genuine gaps — from building stronger design capabilities to improving supply chains, and retail channel presence. 

It can also help D2C men’s ethnic wear brands build product awareness and expand organised retail into underserved markets. There is always the risk that several brands end up using capital to compete for the same urban customer, Pandya said. 

But the opportunity is meaningful enough that new brands can make a big dent, and particularly because men’s ethnic wear remains a fragmented category. Per CRISIL, men’s ethnic wear also accounts for only around 7% of the overall menswear market. 

This leaves room for brands to move customers from tailoring and fragmented local retail into organised formats. But winning that opportunity will require more than simply adding more products, stores and marketing.

The real test, then, is whether new capital can help create new demand and grow the overall market, rather than simply allowing brands more ammunition to fight over the existing demand. 

Spotlight | Inside CALAE’s Bet To Make Trend-First Fashion More Inclusive For Plus-Size Women 

• The Mumbai-based brand is a plus-size womenswear label focused on creating stylish, well-fitting clothing for women across sizes L–7XL. Its portfolio spans dresses, tops, shirts, trousers, co-ords, ethnic wear, nightwear and occasionwear.
• CALAE operates through its online store and online marketplaces, including Amazon and Flipkart. It also accepts wholesale orders in India and internationally, expanding beyond its D2C channel.
• Its products are largely positioned in the ₹1,000–₹4,000 range, based on the category. The brand competes with specialised plus-size players such as Sztori, Amydus and Pluss, while also facing competition from larger fashion retailers expanding their extended-size offerings. 

Ecommerce Buzz

• Third Wave Coffee Raises ₹408 Cr: The coffee QSR chain has raised ₹408 Cr in a fresh funding round led by existing investor WestBridge Capital, as it looks to expand its network and scale its dessert business. The chain currently operates 240+ cafes and is targeting 320 outlets by the end of FY27.
• Zomato’s New Experiment: The foodtech giant is testing rapid food delivery through vending machines, with ‘Zomato Now’ food pods being piloted at corporate offices in Gurugram. The move marks a shift from simply speeding up deliveries to bringing food closer to consumers, while also offering restaurants a new distribution channel through the platform.
• Atomberg Files DRHP: D2C consumer appliances startup has filed its DRHP for an IPO comprising a fresh issue of up to ₹450 Cr and an OFS of up to 7.65 Cr shares. The company plans to use the proceeds for debt repayment, marketing, R&D and general corporate purposes, while its cofounders will not sell shares.
• Flipkart’s Foodtech Bet: Flipkart is preparing to enter India’s food delivery market with a Bengaluru launch later this month. With Zomato and Swiggy deeply entrenched, the ecommerce giant will need more than scale and discounts to change consumer habits.

The Deep Dive

THE OPERATOR QUESTION

How should ethnic wear brands assess retention and lifetime value when purchases are relatively infrequent? Where is the most defensible profit pool in men’s ethnic wear, and what playbook is best suited to it? 

We reached out to Yash Sarawagi, cofounder and CEO of Kisah to understand the playbook here. Here’s what he suggests.

Measure Retention Over 12 To 24 Months: This problem is becoming relatively lower with purchase frequency improving. But having said that, a 30, 60 or even 90-day repeat rate is too narrow for this category. Retention should still be measured through an occasion-based lens, ideally over 12 to 24 months. Brands should examine whether a customer returns for the next relevant event. The gap between purchases may be longer, but the relationship may still be healthy.

Track Household-Level Value: In Indian occasion wear, one satisfied customer can influence purchases for brothers, fathers, children, friends or an entire wedding party. A referral or household purchase may therefore be a more meaningful retention signal than another transaction by the same individual within 90 days. Hence referrals and NPS is a very core metric for brands like us to chase.

Build The Affordable-Premium Playbook: The strongest playbook for affordable-premium occasion wear is recognisable design codes rather than an undifferentiated catalogue, cracking fewer, more productive styles with reliable sizing & fit and able to control cost of manufacturing without compromising quality & design and ability to control inventory through small batch manufacturing with the ability to scale up production for best selling SKUs.

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