Bangalore now knows the difference between brands and labels, says Mayank Modi

Mayank Modi gets talking about prêt awareness in Bangalore and his store, Mogra Prêt.

What prompted you to start your new store, Mogra Prêt?
Surprisingly, the prêt market still remains pretty untapped in the city and we noticed that we weren’t able to do justice to all the designers who supply to us and have some great production capacity. Also, we wanted to target the mall-going crowd.

How did you get the infrastructure in place?
First, we tied up with exporters and designers who would give the prêt line an Indian touch, apart from increasing production, which meant a reduction in the costing. Also, we wanted a variety of colour and sizes to be able to reach out to more people as it often happens that you’re buying something to wear that evening but the size needs alteration. And in spite of all this, a customer will leave the store with a designer label without feeling the pinch.

A lot of stores selling designer wear have cropped up in the city. How do you tackle competition?
I don’t get unnerved by competition just as I don’t consider all the new stores to be competitors. For instance, there could be a Rohit Bal outfit in my store as well as somewhere else, probably the same piece, but what matters is the display and marketing. Stepping into Mogra is never a hurried purchase — it should be an experience worth remembering. Also, we need to sell the idea of looking good just the way we offer advice on what could be teamed with the outfit when it comes to accessories or shoes.

How viable is Bangalore as a market for prêt wear?
The market is big but what’s important is the right concept and location. It’s common to have misconceptions about designer wear if one isn’t well informed. At Mogra Prêt, we aim to give people simple stuff so that they can start experimenting and move on to the intricacies of cuts and colours. 

Is it easy to woo buyers?
We hope to be exclusive, yet cater to the mass. Although we are talking prêt, we change our designs every 20 days. People are wary of designer wear but they need to make simple buys to be able to break the ice. Of course, there are a lot of brands too but Bangalore now knows the difference between a brand and a label.