TAILOR-MADE FOR INDIA

How online fashion retailer Myntra’s new alteration service is a convenience for its customers and an invaluable additional source of income for 200 tailors (and counting).

- Debojyoti Ghosh

RAHUL KUMAR RAM, 23, owns a small tailoring shop in Bally, a neighbourhood in the city of Howrah, approximately 16 km from Kolkata. After six years of running the tailoring business with his father and brother, his earnings average about ₹10,000 a month. The figure goes up to between ₹15,000 and ₹17,000 during the few months of the festive and wedding seasons.

The always escalating cost-of-living and business expenses have pushed Ram to explore additional avenues for a regular flow of income. Happily, his need and his ambition aligned late last year. “I always wanted to use my tailoring skills in an organized and professional set-up,” says Ram. In a fortuitous meeting of interests, his friend, who works with e-tail clothing brand Myntra, connected Ram with the Bengaluru-based outfit. The online fashion retailer was launching its alteration service for its customers in December 2019, creating an opportunity for Ram to become a resource for fixing issues around the length and size of garments.