Adarsh Gill to focus on affordable 'Defiance' line to weather future couture decline

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Mar 25, 2020

Adarsh Gill has already felt the financial effects of Covid-19 and expects the slowdown to especially impact luxury fashion sales, prompting the designer to focus on her brand's affordable diffusion line, ‘Defiance’.

 
“With this virus it has taken us to the doldrums,” Gill told Sputnik News. “The sentiments are low. No one is buying anything today, naturally, but, even once the pandemic dies down, I do not expect too many orders materialising from overseas and nor are Indians going to indulge in luxuries like couture.”
 
“My attitude is going to be to promote my affordable line Defiance and more than anything keep my workers happy but keep my expenses in control,” said Gill. 

Cost-cutting will be an inescapable part of company reactions to the coronavirus and the lockdowns it has led to. As around a third of the world is currently in lockdown, the economic fallout, including exports and domestic business, is expected to last for a long time. 
 
“For businesses like ours we also contribute to exports. But honestly, I don't see orders coming from early countries like Italy, France, and U.S. that will take a long time to heal”, said Gill.

For India, textile and garment exports make up a significant portion of its gross domestic product and so any change in figures will effect the whole Indian economy.
 
Adarsh Gill launched her eponymous brand in 1972 in New Delhi. Gill runs a couture line, menswear line, and homewares line, as well as its Defiance line of fusion style ready-to-wear. The brand has two flagship stores in New Delhi and one in Mumbai.