Couture keeps it young but loses serious buyers

Most fashion campaigns and bridal magazines continue to feature brides in their 20s, rarely representing older women

- Sujata Assomull

India has one of the world's largest wedding industries. So it isn't surprising that it remains the bread and butter for Indian designers. Weddings and festive occasions are central to the country's fashion identity, and India Couture Week has largely become "lehnga choli week", with only a handful of designers presenting looks beyond bridalwear.

While fashion tends to place the spotlight on the bride, a wedding involves many people—family, friends and guests—who will also be shopping for occasion wear. The wedding season is India's perfect excuse to shop, and Indian designers are overlooking a key consumer segment—the 40-plus shopper.

Couturier Tarun Tahiliani acknowledges that designers do tend to overlook these customers "in the race to dress the young and the visible."

With many millennials—who make up a large portion of luxury shoppers in India—turning 40 this year, Tahiliani believes more designers will have to change their view towards creating fashion. "Millennial women are incredibly interesting because they've grown up with exposure to global fashion, yet many are now rediscovering their roots—on their own terms," he says.