A fashionable return to Dubai for Valaya

For JJ Valaya, the economic downturn spells opportunity. The Indian fashion designer, who presented his new lines to the UAE last month, now wants to expand his retail network across the Gulf. "The recession has had a pretty much widespread impact on everyone, but having said that, we're looking at new markets so that when the upturn comes we're in a position to grow," the 42-year-old designer tells Emirates Business . Valaya is regarded as one of India's top designers, and his House of Valaya has product lines across garments, accessories, interior furnishings and flowers. Since founding the label with three employees in 1992, the company has expanded to retail across India and in select global markets through standalone stores as well as multi-brand outlets. The company opened two high-end stores in Delhi last year and is to open a San Francisco boutique this month. "In the Gulf, we're looking at Kuwait, a new store in Dubai and maybe one in Doha," he says. Valaya was in the UAE last month for Dubai Fashion Fiesta, an event launched to bring together designers, buyers and consumers. A previous JJ Valaya Life shop, on Dubai's Al Wasl Road, shut its doors last year. Without offering any more detail, the designer says that's part of a plan to move into a mall in the UAE, which could happen early next year. As much as 40 per cent of his annual turnover is generated from international business, either through his own retail outlets or from private trousseau and couture clients. India is one of the few countries where high-end couture actually makes money, and Valaya's domestic business, too, comes primarily from this rarefied end of the market. But like elsewhere, the truly big numbers are only thrown up the economies of scale required to operate in a prêt or ready-to-wear market. The designer segment of the estimated Rs200 billion (Dh15bn) Indian garment market is a tiny Rs2.7bn (Dh204m), according to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) and the nation's designers, including Valaya, have had a hard time growing beyond this sector – but not for lack of trying. Part of the problem has to do with the huge investments needed, but those who have the money, such as major textile manufacturers, see India's designers as unreliable and unable to meet the strict deadlines and low price points that prêt needs. Those designers who have gone it alone have, by and large, had a hard time adjusting to a business mindset, but Valaya is confident it&apos;s only a matter of time. "If you look at the West, a similar thing happened with Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton and Pinault-Printemps-Redoute stepping in," he says. "Gucci was on the verge of bankruptcy before new management was brought in." This, then, is the next big leap for the House of Valaya, who is now looking for investment to the tune of Rs 500 million (Dh37.6m) over the short term. A new Bangalore multi-brand outlet could serve as a test case for his clothes, he says, but beyond that, he wants a partner who has the stomach to launch with 10 dedicated new shops across India. "The margins in ready-to-wear are wafer-thin. Without that volume, we're not going to make money, we won't be able to survive." Earlier this year, Valaya tied up with Indian tobacco and hotel conglomerate ITC to create a line of garments for its Wills Lifestyle stores. This is one of several collaborations, including the Valaya by Skin Sin footwear line and Valaya Quantum, a range of garments priced between Rs5,000 and Rs50,000. Investors would be buying into Valaya for his contemporary take on regal India, what he describes as "the future of the past", "I must have been a royal in my past life," he jokes when asked about his fascination with regal India. "Seriously, I find it fascinating to combine two extremes, and my signature look is a combination of two very strong contradictions: royal and nomadic." For men and women alike, then, his timeless designs find inspiration in India's rich textile heritage, and his sensibility is expressed at opposite ends of the fashion spectrum – in exotic, finely embroidered couture and in chic, wearable styles perfect for the boardroom. Much of his infrastructure is already in place: Valaya operates with a team of 15 designers, who work under his direction on his three core lines, JJ Valaya (couture), Valaya Quatum (ready-to-wear for India) and Valaya Base (ready-to-wear for the international market), as well as on his Home range, which creates bespoke tapestries and is one area he wants to expand. Much of this is produced at his Rs50m factory in Manesar outside Delhi, but a significant shift into the large-volume prêt suitable for department stores would mean relying on outside suppliers. "Our factory is geared up for state-of-the-art sampling for ready-to-wear and couture. All ready-to-wear production will be outsourced and strictly monitored for quality assurances," he says. On his plate now are a rebranding and relaunch of the flow