Retailers in India have spent years researching Indian body types, yet due to the lack of formal and certified data, they have always leaned on Europe, US and UK’s size chart - tweaked a bit to (sort of) accommodate Indian sizes. Even though brands are creating garments with the certified chart available to them, it fails to realize that no two Indian women’s bodies are similar. This takes a major toll on women’s self-confidence because the joy of finding the perfect fit is extremely important and, conversely, getting stuck with an ill-fitting garment is stressful to say the leastSeven Indian Brands That Are Doing Plus-Size Fashion Right.
However, National Institute Of Fashion Technology’s new, work-in-progress standardized size chart will finally take the guesswork out of sizing and give Indian women the chart they deserve.
The project titled ‘INDIAsize’ will develop a comprehensive size chart just for the Indian body type for a much better fit of ready-to-wear garments, with the assistance of 3D scanners. This project will sample around 25,000 people aged between 15 and 65 years in six Indian cities spread across six regions of the country- Kolkata (East), Mumbai (West), New Delhi (North), Hyderabad (Centre), Bengaluru (South) and Shillong (Northeast) as the body structure and shape differs from region to region. Three machines would be installed in three different public locations, and will move across the city to collect the required data- measurements including height, weight, waist-size, hip-size, bust-size etc. in a single scan. The entire project will cost about Rs 30 crore.
The Indian size chart will not only help the Indian apparel industry identify the accurate size but this chart will also serve as a blueprint for international brands catering to the Indian market. “Apart from apparel, the findings of the study will have ramifications across various sectors such as automotive, aerospace, fitness & sport, art, computer gaming etc. where the insights from this data can produce ergonomically designed products which are well suited for the Indian population” their PR statement read.
Indians have accepted the ease and joy of online shopping with over-enthusiastic clicks, but there are a lot of shoppers who are unable to purchase their favourite outfit because they do not know their exact size and those who fight this size dilemma and make a purchase find themselves going through endless rounds of customization by local tailors or the vicious cycle of returns. But with the new size chart, all these issues would be addressed and shoppers won’t be skeptical about online shopping.
While the idea of creating a comprehensive Indian size was conceived in 2006, under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Noopur Anand, India will finally get a certified sizing chart and join the club of 14 countries who have previously completed the survey and designed their sizing charts, by the year 2021. The Indian size chart is an important step forward and will finally break some of the stereotypes around what makes the ideal body size and type.
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