Corporates make a fashion statement
Nikhil Bhagat

KEEPING in line with fashion trends Indian corporates have been witnessing a silent revolution. Leading designers of the country are helping hotels, airlines and even public sector undertakings get the right look for their staff.

While Ravi Bajaj has designed the uniforms for Jet Airways and the Apollo group of hospitals, Ritu Beri has been engaged by Taj Hotels, Delhi Police Band and the Indian Olympic Association. Anjana Bhargava has done the uniforms for Maurya Sheraton, Inter-Continental and ITC group and Payal Jain has the Leela in Goa, Mumbai and Bangalore, the Marriot and six Hyatt hotels.

Apart from these top designers, the faculty of the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) is currently styling the uniforms for the staff of the Archaeological Survey of India, Postal Department, Telecom Department, CNG stations of Indian Gas and the Delhi Metro Rail project.

"We feel that the uniform our staff is made to wear should reflect the individuality of our group and effectively help in the brand-building exercise," reasons Harinder Singh of Hyatt Regency in Delhi. "This is best done by a professional."

Ravi Dubey of the Taj Group of Hotels is more specific about the role of a designer as an image-maker: "A hotel is all about style. After all, we are in a lifestyle industry. We need to be more trendy and futuristic and set new trends not only in food and beverages, but also in lifestyle. The first designer we employed was Ritu Beri, in 1998, for our New Delhi properties."

Beri had designed the trademark grey bandhgala blazers with embroidered collars and fronts for men and black-bordered maroon sarees with unusual hip-length, half-sleeved shirts in bold prints for the female front-office staff.

Before long, others were to break out of the straitjacket and came up with fascinating designs for the hospitality industry. For instance, Bhargava is still known for the bright red saree- ‘n’-blouse ensembles she had designed for the women working at Inter-Continental. Likewise, Bajaj’s dark blue tailored suit for the Jet Airways crew is being hailed for its striking "international look".

"Uniforms are for real people," says Jain, who has been in the business for the past seven years. "It’s not like designing for ramp models who have perfect bodies. You have to think of a design, fabric, print and colour that will make people of all shapes and complexions look and feel good. Add to this the environment in which the clothes will be seen — a large colonial style hotel lobby, a spartan airport, a crowded aircraft aisle... and an entire range of factors come into play."

Bajaj remembers working on the uniforms for Jet Airways in 1998. He has 5,500 people to design for, complete with name badges in steel, shoes and tow bags. It took him one year to get the designs through after more than 30-odd presentations and another year to execute them.

Explains Usha Patel, who is working on the uniforms for the Delhi Metro Rail project: "When we first started out, we were told that we had to think in terms of the Paris Rail and beyond, but not much else. We’ve been working with them for four months and only now have we come down to 18 categories of employees to design for."

NIFT’s deadline to deliver the 18 prototypes is September and the budget is just as tight. "This is because they feel uniforms are not an important part of the project as a whole," remarks Patel. "But we feel that at least they are becoming aware of uniforms becoming an important part of their service."

This is in contrast to hotels and airlines, which have a long tradition and large budgets for uniforms. "Some hotels like Hyatt have a uniform manual for their properties," informs Bajaj. "There are sets of guidelines, including the corporate profile of the company, the logo, colour and functionality."

But that doesn’t mean that designers are robbed of their creative freedom in such institutional designing. "When I’m doing my spring or summer collection, nobody tells me what to do," explains Bajaj. "But in institutional design, you have a very restricted brief and you have to show how well you perform."

Adds Jain: "Uniforms can be a designer’s mainstay, but I think you need to also let your creative juices flow... You need to strike a balance." MF