The present pandemic has changed a lot of things in our lives — how we shop and how we study. The latest to join the list is an app that will help you get a tailor-made clothing without having to leave the comfort of your home. SHALINI SAKSENA tells you more
What if you found the perfect dress to wear at a party but it is not in your size? What if you liked a design of a blouse but there is nobody you know who can tailor it for you? What if you are on a tight schedule and need a blouse but don’t have the time to go to the market and buy the material and give it for stitching?
All this and much more will soon be available at a touch on the screen of your smartphone. Yes, you read that correct. Within the next two-three weeks an app — Louoj — will transform the way you give clothes for stitching.
The app is the brainchild of Bibhuti Dash founder-CEO, Louoj. It took him seven years to perfect it. The end result? A B2B2C marketplace that will take care of all your tailoring needs from the comfort of your home.
“Think of it like your personal tailor with a slight difference. This one is on your smartphone. Our app is already catering to people in the B2B segment and now that we have perfected this aspect of the business we are all set to introduce B2C,” Dash says.
The idea to create this app came because Dash wanted to cater to people who want a certain design on a particular material.
“Usually when you go to e-commerce sites to buy ready-made clothing, if you like the pattern you buy it even if you are not enamoured with the neckline or the sleeve design or even the back design. This is where we step in. Our app has over 500 materials that the app user can choose from. There are hundreds of neck, sleeve and back designs that he can choose from. The person has access to tens of designers who can help you make your mind if you are confused about what you want or what will suit you,” Dash explains.
MD Wakil Rahman, owner and tailor master of Tailor Made Fashion Studio from Ernakulam, Kerala tells you that most people who come to him know what they want. Others are confused. We are here to help them. To begin with, I was apprehensive how the app will work but I have been using it for four-five months and it is simple and user-friendly. All that we need from the customer is the normal size that she wears. For example it is a medium size of a particular brand. We then ask them to send a full-length photograph. This gives us the body shape of the person. Sometimes we may ask them to send us measurements as well. Once they have chosen the design and the material, the clothing can be delivered within 72 hours. But if the design is complicated and the person has chosen a material of another designer, this will take time,” Wakil tells you.
Dash says that there are thousands of permutation combinations that are available to the customer. He can choose the design from the app; he can give his own design; he can choose the material of a particular designer and a neckline by another designer; he can even give his own material.
“This is the best part of the app. The customer is king here. He is spoilt for choice. He can pick and choose what he wants. But to give this kind of choice took time; seven years to be precise. I had worked in different industries and therefore I could design the 3D design customisation for the app. I have done so much R&D. I have even joined the material manufacturer with designers. Now, the designer doesn’t have to hold 500 rolls of different material. He just needs to place his demand with the manufacturer. As soon as there is a demand the manufacturer ships the material. This benefits both — the designer who doesn’t have to invest lakhs in buying material, the manufacturer who is quickly able to sell the entire roll,” Dash tells you.
Bijoy Munda, a designer and owner of Fabric House in Bhubaneswar, Odisha opines that this app is a game-changer. “We have ben in this business for years. But what this app offers is going to make it possible for the customer sitting anywhere, be it India or abroad, to get whatever article of clothing he wants by just coming on the app. The rates are competitive as well. But this go up if the design is complicated and if the materiel that the client wants takes time of arrive because it is of another designer,” Binoy says.
Wakil tells you that while people are used to going to a tailor, this app will change the way how they will be getting their tailoring needs fulfilled in the future.
“The app is for people who are already shopping for clothes from e-commerce sites. We are just going a step ahead and providing them with an experience that they will love. Now, they can pick and choose what they want instead of buying what is being offered on such sites,” Dash says.
Munda tells you that there are many people who don’t have the time to run around buying material and then go to a tailor and give him a design. The app makes it easy for him. Within a few minutes he is connected to a designer. He has hundreds of material to choose from as well as any design that he wants. This makes things easy for all,” Munda says.
