Acharya Marathe College in Chembur, Maharashtra, has sparked controversy by banning jeans on campus and imposing a strict dress code. According to the college’s official notice, students wearing jeans are barred from entering the premises.

Male students are required to wear formal attire, while female students can choose between ethnic or Western clothing, provided it does not reveal their religion.

The notice specifically prohibits items like nakab, hijab, burkha, stole, cap, and badge in common areas and restricts torn jeans, T-shirts, revealing dresses, and jerseys.

Following the announcement, some students who were unaware of the new dress code were denied entry the next day. This prompted at least nine female students to challenge the order in the Mumbai High Court, which ultimately dismissed their petition.

The dress code has ignited debates about cultural and religious expression within educational institutions.

In its financial results for Q2, FY24, San Francisco–based Levi Strauss & Co reported an 8 per cent rise in its net revenue from the DTC segment over Q2 2023. The company’s revenues from the segment rose from $621.5 million to $672.5 million while e-commerce revenue surged by 19 percent, with both Levi’s and Beyond Yoga demonstrating double-digit growth.

Wholesale net revenue for Levi’s rose by 7 per cent to $768.7 million. However, the company noted a $100 million adjustment to wholesale shipments due to its ERP implementation between Q2 and Q1 2023 and an exit from its Denizen business. With this adjustment, wholesale net revenues decreased by 4 per cent.

Levi’s continued to expand its DTC strategy by increasing its number of owned stores globally. On June 18, the brand opened its largest Levi’s store in India and the largest of its mall stores worldwide, with a 9,150-square-foot location in New Delhi’s Pacific Mall.

Harmit Singh, Chief Financial and Growth Officer, Levi’s, says, the structural economics of the brand’s business continues to strengthen, driven by record gross margins resulting in improved profitability across both DTC and wholesale, and lower-than-expected inventory.

Value retail chain V2 Retail announced a significant 57.11 per centrise in standalone revenue from operations during the first quarter ended June 30, reaching Rs 414.17 crore. This marks a substantial rise from the Rs 263.61 crore reported in the same quarter last year, according to a regulatory filing.

The company also achieved a remarkable same-store sales growth (SSG) of approximately 37 per cent in Q1FY25 compared to Q1FY24.

As of June 30, 2024, V2 Retail operated 127 stores. The company opened 10 new stores during the first quarter of the financial year 2024-25, bringing the total retail area to approximately 13.64 lakh sq. ft.

Promoted by the Ram Chandra Agarwal family, V2 Retail noted that the reported standalone revenue from operations for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, is subject to limited review/audit by the statutory auditors of the company.

This strong performance reflects V2 Retail's ongoing expansion and robust growth in the value retail sector.

Apparel brand Cosset Clothing has expanded its product range with the introduction of a women's travel wear line, designed specifically for monsoon trips. The new collection focuses on essentials crafted from natural fibers, offering comfort and style for the humid season.

Titled, 'Desk To Dusk, the new collection has been crafted from lightweight linen blends and pure cotton poplin to ensure maximum comfort and breathability in humid temperatures.

The collection features loose separates in a palette of light pink, lime green, powder blue, ochre, and saffron. These pieces are designed to enhance airflow and reduce moisture buildup, preventing clinginess and increasing comfort during long monsoon journeys.

The 'Desk To Dusk' collection is now available on Cosset Clothing's direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform, with prices starting at Rs 3,600. Highlighted pieces from the line include linen co-ord sets, structured dresses, and button-down shirts, among others.

Founded in April 2021, Cosset Clothing offers a range of men's and women's apparel. The brand is committed to creating sustainable clothing, with all products designed in-house and sourced and manufactured in India.

With its new travel wear line, Cosset Clothing continues to prioritise both style and sustainability, providing consumers with high-quality, eco-friendly fashion options.

Direct-to-consumer (D2C) brand Beyoung aims to expand its presence by setting up physical stores across India in the next three years.

These stores will complement the brand’s existing online platform and provide a seamless shopping experience. Extending beyond India, the brand aims to establish a global presence, says ShivamSoni, Founder.

Founded in 2018, the startup Beyoungclaims to have delivered over 20 lakh online orders. The company recently announced accelerating its offline expansion by 300 stores across India and growing GMV two-fold to Rs 650 crore by 2027

To cater to diverse target audiences with varying buying power across regions, brands need to adapt products and marketing to different regional preferences and cultures, adds Soni.

To solve these problems, Beyoung leverages technology and data-driven marketing campaigns. This technology analysises behavioral patterns and channel efforts toward solving the audiences issues.

Since its inception, Beyoung has shown significant growth and achieved notable milestones. The brand has built a robust customer base of 5 million, underscoring the strong demand and enhanced engagement with it.

Fashionista Fashion and Lifestyle Exhibition is set to showcase emerging labels from across India at a series of summer-themed events in Raipur, Jabalpur, and Nagpur later this month.

Fashionista’s52nd event in Raipur will be held at the Hotel Sayajifrom July 20-21. The exhibition will emphasise summer fashions and include a variety of product categories such as ethnic wear, traditional wear, fusion wear, accessories, jewelry, handicrafts, and gift items.

This will be followed by the 13th edition of the event in Jabalpur. To be held from July 23-24 at Narmada Jacksons, the fair will feature a similar product selection to Raipur, with the addition of numerous local labels, providing a platform for regional designers.

From July 26-28, the 67th edition of the Fashionista exhibition will be held at Centre Point hotel in Nagpur. Since its inception in 2008, the event aims to connect micro, small, and medium enterprises with new customer demographics.

Fashionista also launched a ‘Fashionavya’ shopping fair in Mysore on July 2, which runs until July 3. This event focuses on designer labels and offers a wide selection of womenswear and accessories, including wedding wear for the upcoming season.

A footwear-first lifestyle brand, Ludic has unveiled an all-home-grown canvas sneakers collection for men and women.

Launched in two designs namely Enhanced Canvas Low and Enhanced Canvas Pro, the collection is priced in the range of Rs. 2,799 - Rs 3,299 ($40) each.

IshitJethwa, Founder, Ludic, says, around 50 per cent of the brand’s product portfolio will always be footwear, whether sneakers, sliders, or more. The brand has launched enhanced canvas styles and designs to boost the appeal of their sneakers up a notch, to ensure consumersfind everything they need in the footwear with an affordable buy from us.

The newly launched sneaker collection will be available on Ludic’s website, Amazon, and Flipkart throughout the country.

A year after forming a strategic partnership with the Chinese fast-fashion brand, Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL) is gearing up to launch Shein in the Indian market in the coming weeks. The MukeshAmbani-owned retailer will sell Shein's products through its app and offline stores operated by Reliance Retail.

To lead Shein’s operations in India, RRVL will appoint Manish Chopra, Former Director, Meta (Facebook). Thee-commerce brand is being launched four years after India banned it from selling products on its app as part of a broader crackdown on Chinese apps in 2020, following heightened border tensions between the two countries.

A global leader in fast fashion, Shein will compete directly with Myntra and Tata Group-owned Zudio in the affordable fast-fashion sector. Brands in this space rely on scale and distribution to achieve higher margins by focusing on affordability, the executives noted.

In addition, Reliance Retail is setting up boutique studios in select European cities to track Western fast fashion trends and quickly bring them to India. These operations will be managed by a company wholly owned by Reliance Retail, with no equity investments from Shein.

India’s leading Kaftan brand, the Kaftan Company (TKC) inaugurated its debut physical store in Hyderabad. This milestone marks TKC’s transition from a digital-first brand to a prominent player in India’s retail fashion landscape.

Spanning 770 sqft, the TKC store is designed to offer a personalised and immersive shopping experience. It showcases a diverse array of Kaftans for men, women, and children, alongside enticing loungewear collections. Exclusive pieces curated specifically for the offline store allow customers to personally handle TKC’s high-quality fabrics and designs.

Prakruti Gupta Rao and Navin S Rao, Co-Founders, say, the store reflects TKC’s commitment to meeting customer demands and enhancing their shopping experience.

Looking forward, TKC plans to expand its footprint across major metro cities over the next 2-3 years. The brand’s collections are currently available on leading e-commerce platforms and it aims to expand globally while maintaining its sustainability ethos.

To cater to the growing demand for stylish and comfortable clothing among fashion-forward men in India, affordable luxury fashion brand by Kewal Kiran Clothing (KKCL), Lawman plans to open new stores across Maharashtra by the end of this fiscal year.

The brand recently inaugurated its largest and finest men’s fashion store in Borivali, Mumbai. The store offers a wide range of trending designs and modern fabrics, setting high standards for men's casual, work, and party wear. It provides a complete wardrobe solution, featuring a variety of clothing items such as shorts, T-shirts, jeans, casual shirts, casual pants, cargos, and travel pants. The store's modern contemporary design, clean lines, inviting lighting, and well-trained sales associates enhance the customer experience, making it a must-visit for exciting inaugural offers.

Dinesh Jain, Director, KKCL states, the launch of the new store signifies the brand’s commitment to provide top-notch fashion solutions to our customers. The brand blends contemporary designs with unparalleled comfort for its customers. The store is a testament to its dedication to quality, innovation, and customer satisfaction.

Vikas Jain, Director, KKCL, adds, with the opening of the new store, the brand aims to offer trend-setting apparel collection for the men in Mumbai in an immersive and comfortable ambiance.

The expansion will also help Lawman reinforce its position as a leading brand in the retail fashion industry in India.

A prominent ethnic wear retailer based in Kolkata, Vedant Fashions has inaugurated a new combined store for its brands Manyavar and Mohey in Bengaluru.

Situated in Orion Mall, Rajajinagar, the store offers a diverse range of products including lehengas, sarees, kurtas, dhotis, shararas, sherwanis, and Anarkalisalwar suits, catering to men, women, and children.

Manyavar already has a strong presence in Bengaluru with over 34 standalone stores.

Founded in 2002 by Ravi Modi, Manyavar is part of Vedant Fashions Ltd., which also owns Mohey, launched in 2015 to cater to women's wear. Other brands under the Vedant Fashions umbrella include Manthan, Twamev, and Mebav. The company boasts over 600 stores across 230 cities in India and 15 international stores in countries including the UAE, Canada, USA, and UK.

Nikhil Bhutada, Head – Retail Business Development, Manyavar-Mohey, states, continuous enhancement stands as one of the most pivotal aspects of the retail world, and the brand’s new store exemplifies this commitment perfectly.

The 10th edition of India Kids Fashion Week (IKFW) showcased over 537 designers and brands with visitors totaling to over 300,000. Held at the Crowne Plaza in Deira, Dubai, the event was a testament to IKFW's enduring commitment to celebrating children's fashion and style.

For designers, IKFW offers a grand stage, extensive media coverage, and invaluable networking opportunities. Brands can customise their fashion shows, connect with buyers, and expand their global reach. The runway experience, grooming workshops, and participation certificates enhance the overall event. Celebrities such as KarismaKapoor, Kartik Aryan, and others have graced the ramp during IKFW’s grand finales.

With an aim to make India Kids Fashion Week, a global platform, IKFW unites sponsors, brands, designers, media, and families with remarkable scale, reach, and style. At the 10th edition, brand Hue by designers Minal&Megha showcased exclusive collections. Creative Directors of Hue since 2012, designers Minal and Megha are known to passionately pursuing innovative and trendsetting designs. They were awarded with the ‘Designer of the Year’ award during the event.

A thoughtfully crafted brand, Hue focuses on creating timeless, original, playful, practical, and comfortable must-have pieces. Their unique selling point is lightweight yet dressy clothing that is meticulously hand-embroidered and designed to last, allowing kids the freedom to be themselves on every occasion.

Hue continuously strives to improve by upcycling outfits and focuses on offering versatile clothing for everyone. They infuse the vibrancy and aesthetics of culture into their designs, aiming to make clients stand out rather than fit in.