Brand Connect: A Snapshot of Top 5 Indian Lifestyle Brands Real Reviews December 5, 2016 People & Brands views: 993 Text by Sakshi Taneja 1. ALLEN SOLLY Allen Solly was established in 1744 by William Hollin & Co. Ltd. In the ’90s, it was owned by Madura garments, and later in 2001 Aditya Birla achieved rights on the brand well known for work wear. In 1993, Nat King Cole dedicated the famous song Unforgettable to Allen Solly, making it an unforgettable year for the brand. Allen Solly was one of the first to introduce the concept of Friday Dressing and gave working women their work look. The brand launched the first-ever line of work wear clothing for women in 2002. The brand is currently working on Ikat shirts, redefined Friday workwear and Air shirts. Allen Solly is reliable and works wear brand that has created some great fashion benchmarks in the industry. 2. AND “Fashion is for everyone, everyone has fashion!” – a simple and beautiful thought that stands for the brand. AND comes from the House Of Anita Dongre label (founded in 1995). It soon became a popular brand that offered chic and contemporary western wear for women. The brand stands tall in the market and has set some high fashion goals in the fashion industry. AND is a brand for the woman who wants to play, work, and look & feel better with her fashion picks. The brand has experimented with bold colours and unique designs to mark the effortless fusion of styles and silhouettes. 3. FAB INDIA Established in 1960 by John Bissell in Delhi, FabIndia is a well-known Indian traditional platform where products are still made using traditional technique, skills, and hand-made products. The vision was to bring to India’s notice its rich artisan skills and support small community-based artisans, designer, farmers and makers. FabIndia is predominantly a textile-based brand that went on to introduce non-textile products in October 2000, starting with Home products, later foraying into Organic foods (July 2004) and authentic Personal Care products (March 2006). The brand is famous for its crisp and traditional clothing for which cotton, silk, wool, grass, linen and jute are the basic fibres used. 4. HIDESIGN Established in 1978 from a two-man workshop, Hidesign is now a company of 3,000 spread all over the globe. The brand made its mark not only in India but all over the globe because of its sensuous naturalness of high-quality leather, brass buckles and a soft and smooth glow on its products. “Great brands take decades to build, the journey and story of every brand are unique and precious,” Loius Vuitton to Dilip Kapur (Founder of Hidesign). In 2014, Hidesign launched 11 bags from Hidesign’s vegetable-tanned goat leather – The Icons, which depicted a spirit of adventure, clean design, and use of natural materials. 5. FLYING MACHINE Arvind Lifestyle, Ahmedabad, launched Flying Machine in 1980 and by 1994 the brand established itself as the leader in the denim section. Chicco, an Italian designer, brought about a major brand makeover and Mr. Abhishek Bachchan was roped in as the brand ambassador. 2007 was a comeback year for the brand and since then there has been no looking back. Flying Machine aims to showcase the fusion of Indo-Italian style. You can contact Sakshi Taneja at omni.channel@shoppersstop.com