Khadi India's successful Modi-inspired garments to be rolled out pan-India

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Nov 5, 2018

What stated as Khadi India’s way of celebrating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Birthday on September 17 has turned into one of its most popular product launches to date and the brand will roll out the collection pan-India.

Khadi India, a fashion brand by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has reported combined daily sales of around 1,400 pieces of Modi’s signature “kurta-jacket” combination at the seven retail outlets it sells the design from. This constitutes around 200 sales per store. The organisation has also reported that the style is especially popular with its younger customers.

Khadi India has originally launched the design at its flagship store at Connaught Place on September 17 and the store reported total sales of Rs 14.76 crore ($2.2 million) for the month of October, a 34.71 percent increase from the same month a year ago. This is also part of a wider increase in the popularity of the Khadi textile from the perspective of both designers and consumers.

"The response of Modi Jackets and Kurtas can be understood that at least 200 pieces are being sold on an average daily at each of the seven khadi India outlets across the nation, including Delhi, Kolkata, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bhopal, Mumbai and Ernakulam," the Chairman of KVIC, V K Saxena, told the Press Trust of India. Due to the popularity of the style, the design will slowly be launched across India, said Saxena.

Saxena has attributed much of Khadi’s increasing popularity to Prime Minister Modi’s backing including of the textile’s production and distribution. Along with expanding its own Khadi retail business, KVIC has been tightening regulations on the use of the term “Khadi” and has stated that businesses must seek its approval before being able to use the term to describe clothing.