India arrives: Exotic is the mantra this season

BY KATHRYN WEXLER

Made In India.

Time was, those three little words on an apparel tag could bring a dress down a few pegs. The cuts were dumpy, the colors drab and the prints indeterminate.

But this summer, the whole gauze thing is getting a new rep in the fashion industry. The word is out: India pops!

''Even Nicky Hilton's new line, Chick, just featured a whole line of Indian skirts,'' said Barry Rosenthal, owner of the Hollywood boutique, Unique Wear, where about 30 percent of the merchandise today is from India, as opposed to the usual 5 percent.

``It's reached a crescendo.''

Navy and The Gap, everyone wants to sell you tunics or circle skirts that make you look like you just got back from Goa.

''Earlier, the Indian looks were not taken by the consumer in a positive manner,'' said Vijay Mathur, director of the Apparel Export Promotion Council, based in New Delhi. ``Now they know it's a rich culture.''

This is a trend even the U.S. government can get behind. In January, the World Trade Organization dropped quotas on all apparel and textiles, making it easier than ever for stores to stock racks with foreign-made clothes.

India already has proven one of the biggest winners, with a 30 percent hike in exports to the United States during the first quarter of this year, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Mathur organizes a New York exposition for Indian garment manufacturers, whose number quadrupled in response to the new freedom, he said.

But pragmatism influences fickle fashion as much as, oh, numerology. The fact that consumers are snapping up Indian looks at a time when the garments have never been more plentiful is merely happy happenstance, Mathur said.

''The fashion has nothing to do with the end of quotas,'' he said. ``Designers look to foreign countries for inspiration . . . and the inspiration they receive from Indian culture is great.''

Mathur ticked off a few companies that rely on his homeland's manufacturers: ''Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, Sag Harbour, Wal-Mart, JCPenney, Target, Liz Claiborne . . . .'' American merchandisers have taken note of a marked rise in Indian quality in the last five years, improvements Mathur pegs to the rise of Internet commerce and technological advances.

At Macy's, racks are loaded with imports, like baby doll camisoles and kurta tops (those loose, collarless shirts known as tunics), in spice hues such as paprika and mustard.

''India and its region has the best quality woven fabrics,'' said corporate spokesperson Melissa Goff. ``It's nouveau boho, and these countries truly maintain the authenticity of the trend.''

Of course, this isn't the first time Americans have embraced Indian-wear. During the 1960s and 1970s, world travelers and hippies gave the breezy cottons their buttociations with exotic shores, free love and comfy style.

Today's trendy Indian garb has broader European and American appeal. Cuts are tapered, colors are vibrant and fabric is much more varied. Indian handiwork, such as beading and embroidery, are standouts.

''They do an excellent job with embellished products,'' said JCPenney spokesman Tim Lyons.

Ironically, as Indians have gotten better at making clothes that look Western, Westerners have gotten better at making clothes that look Eastern. At IOS boutique in Coconut Grove, for instance, India apparel abounds. Or so it appears.

''This is by a French company but it looks Indian,'' said owner Mark Cherry, holding up a pale pink number with cap sleeves, bugle beads and buttons sbreastched across the seams.

The $197 blouse by Love Junkie with the Hindu god Ganesh on the back? Made in the good old USA.

''I even have a couple of Chinese vendors who have gone to India and are doing the production there,'' said Rosenthal, of Unique Wear.

Last month, U.S. officials slapped new quotas on China in retaliation for keeping its currency artificially low to spur exports.

''There's a lot of expectations that India will pick up the displacements from China,'' said Stephen Lamar, senior vice president of the American Apparel & Footwear buttociation.

So if it seems like it's raining India merchandise now, just wait another few weeks. Soon, it may feel like a monsoon.