Targeted at 30+ age group millennials, connoisseurs of fashion
Ferrino Mizzoni, the brand from the House of Nicola Ferrino and Miuccia Mizzoni, is known for its elegant and futuristic designs. The brand’s Indian association dates back to 2004. In an interview with Fibre2Fashion, Sanjay Srivastava, Senior Vice President, Ferrino Mizzoni, shares his thoughts about the brand’s core strengths, the innovative approaches it implements to remain relevant in current times, and plans to further expand its customer base in India.
How far does the association of Donear with Ferrino Mizzoni go back? What are the terms of the association?
The association dates back to 2004 with the launch of Ferrino Mizzoni in the Indian market. Over the past close to 2 decades, the terms of association have traversed all aspects of product, manufacturing, designing, branding and much more.
What is the USP of the brand?
Our core strength is the colours we have in the collection. This season alone we have more than 100 distinct colours in sombre and in brighter hues. We also launched a catalogue called ‘The World of Colours’ where we showcased a variety of colours for formal, casual and partywear. Our endeavour has been to offer high quality products with Italian lineage at a competitive price point for all.
Which segment of customers is the brand targeted at?
Our brand is targeted towards the 30+ age group of millennials who are connoisseurs of fashion.This segment is filled with ambitious people who run second generation businesses or who are successful entrepreneurs.
They are globe trotters and like their wardrobe to represent their distinct lifestyle with fresh and out-of-the-box colours, designs, patterns and motifs. They love experimenting with fashion and have the courage to wear bold new designs where there’s an eclectic mix of classic styles with modern fashion, for example a charcoal suit with an orange-coloured classic Prince of Wales check.
They have a very packed lifestyle – both professionally and socially and seek attire that is an extension of their personality.
Where does the manufacturing of the clothing happen? Where is the sourcing of fabric done from?
We have continued to be very quality-conscious with our fabrics. While we used to source it from Italy earlier and premium manufacturers across the world with astute design sense. Now, with the group capacity expanded, we are also manufacturing fine poly wool fabrics in-house.
Tell us a bit about the design process which goes behind each collection. What is the significance of various colours in fabric selection?
The inspiration behind the collection is drawn from nature and its many colours. It spans across global runway fashion to social media trends. This coupled with a keen sense of the Indian customer mindset is what sets us apart. We’re constantly creating unique collections, unique fabrics.
Are you also into bespoke clothing? If yes, what are the things which are to be kept in mind while undertaking such projects?
We support our retailers who have bespoke facilities as of now. Perhaps the most important element in bespoke would be the quality of the fabric, which determines the drape and the fall of the garment.
How did the brand fair during the pandemic? How was sourcing, production, team cooperation etc affected?
The pandemic was a challenging period for us, but we kept our rapport going with the customers through video calls, conferences and WhatsApp. The entire team was very optimistic about emerging stronger than before.
Markets have opened up further now and we recently concluded a very elaborate product display at Kufri-Shimla, which received a very positive response from the trade.
What is the market share of the brand in the Indian suiting and shirting space today?
Since Ferrino Mizzoni’s inception in 2004, the brand has gained momentum in the trade and currently we are one of the leading players in the luxury fabrics market space.
Which are the major markets and which ones are evolving?
While we are present across the nation, the major markets for us would include Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat and Maharashtra. And we are ramping up our efforts and gaining more market share in Rajasthan, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
What are some of the innovative approaches that Ferrino Mizzoni implements to stay relevant in a country like India?
We have always tried to be with the times, and sometimes even ahead of it.
This time, we launched two catalogues specifically for a diverse country such as our – one was on colours and the other on ethnicwear. For the ‘Word of Colour,’ we chose a vivid colour palette that was reflective of trends from international runways to luxury fashion houses, all under one roof.For the ethnicwear collection, and true to the ‘Big Fat Indian Wedding’ we all take pride in, we showcased uniqueness in design, style and patterns. To suit a destination wedding theme, the motifs, patterns, colours were carefully decided and even the representative garment styles were offbeat including new designs for sherwanis, bundis, bandhgalas, jodhpuris etc.
How does Donear want to further expand Ferrino Mizzoni’s customer base in India? What are the strategies being planned?
Internally, we have ramped up our sales team, added agents across the country for better channel expansion.We have always prided ourselves to associate with high-end retailers, and offering the Ferrino Mizzoni product at their counters. Our team is convinced on reaching out to more such big retail houses and establishing our presence more so.
How is the brand retailed in India?
Our strength lies in the MBO network / through direct marketing alone. We are aggressively scaling up our distribution across all top luxury retail stores across the nation.
