Video summary
The video features Lavina Nalli, a director at Nalli Silks, who discusses the brand's core philosophy of remaining deeply consumer-centric while adapting to the evolving needs of different generations. Unlike high-end competitors like Sabyasachi or Raw Mango, which often price their pure silk and zari products out of reach for the average Indian middle-class woman, Nalli was founded on the belief that exquisite craftsmanship should not be reserved solely for the ultra-wealthy. The brand's strategy has always been to align its tactics with what customers truly value, ensuring that high-quality sarees remain accessible and relevant for a broader audience without compromising on quality or heritage.
A significant portion of the discussion focuses on how consumer behavior has shifted over the decades, particularly regarding convenience and self-expression. Lavina highlights the emergence of ready-made blouses as a response to modern demands, noting that today's younger women with disposable income prefer mix-and-match options rather than perfectly fitted, traditional running blouses. This evolution reflects a broader change in mindset where wearing a saree is no longer an act of social conformity or coercion but a deliberate choice driven by personal values such as sustainability and cultural appreciation. The brand successfully kept pace with these market changes by innovating its product lines to meet the specific desires of women who view the saree as a form of soulful identity rather than just a traditional obligation.
Lavina illustrates this generational shift through her own twenty-year career, observing three distinct eras of women's relationship with the saree. She recalls her mother's generation in the 1980s, who wore sarees out of habit and social expectation, often feeling coerced into expanding their wardrobe after marriage. This was followed by an early 2000s cohort that equated progressiveness with rejecting the garment entirely. In contrast, the current generation carries no emotional baggage regarding the tradition; they wear the saree because they choose to celebrate India's rich heritage and craftsmanship. For these women, there is no pressure to conform, only the freedom to express their individuality through a garment that aligns with their values.
Ultimately, the video concludes with an empowering message about seizing the opportunity to embrace one's cultural identity without feeling forced. Lavina advises against doing things merely because one feels obligated to do so, urging instead that people should act because they have the privilege and freedom to choose. She emphasizes that there is no better time than now for women to wear a saree as an authentic expression of who they are, free from the historical burdens of expectation. By staying true to this philosophy of accessibility and genuine consumer connection, Nalli Silks aims to ensure that its mission of making beautiful, sustainable fashion available to all remains relevant for another century.
Read the full video transcript
Hi, I'm Lavina Nalli. I'm a director at
Nalli Silks.
Um so, I think at Nalli, one of the
things that we've done is we've been
very tuned into our consumers.
You know, every generation of customer
goes through a lot a lot of shifts, and
they are quite different. As a brand,
we've stayed focused on being extremely
consumer-centric, understanding our
customer, understanding what they value,
and then doing orienting all of our
strategy and our tactics to ensure that
we provide for them what they want.
Well, you have these brands like
Sabyasachi and Raw Mango, who are
phenomenal and who have really put India
on the map, right?
Um but, if you see their cost structure
and the cost of the sari, it's really
not something that a middle-class woman
in India can afford.
But, Nalli's whole philosophy has been,
"But, why?
Why should something so
uh rich, designed well, pure silk, pure
zari,
um exquisite craftsmanship, why should
this be only kept aside for the rich or
the ultra-rich? Why is it that um an
Indian middle-class woman
should not be able to afford the sari?"
And so, we come from that philosophy,
and we've stayed very true to that, and
I feel that that will stay true even for
another 100 years. You need to know what
your consumers want, right? Where the
demand is shifting, where the demand is
growing, where there are new product
lines. So, readymade blouses, for
example, were something that was
probably nonexistent
say 40 years ago, right? And now, if you
see a lot of women in their early 20s
who have disposable income and who still
want to buy a sari and wear a sari,
for them, a sari is a self-expression.
And they also seek convenience, right?
They don't mind a blouse has to be
perfectly fitted and it has to match the
saree and it has to be the same running
blouse. They're okay with mix and match.
This is a shift from their previous
generation, right? Um and so because
there was a shift in what the consumers
and the market demanded, the innovation
and the product sort of kept up with
that. So two things that I tell them.
First, I'd say, "Look, um
don't do anything because you have to do
it.
Do it because you get to do it, right?
And this is something that I've seen and
I'll give you a little story.
Uh I've seen three generations of women
um in my own professional career of 20
years. I saw my mom's generation which
were like women in their 20s in the
1980s, right? Who wore saree out of
habit. And they wore it because it was
the social conform uh conformity. It was
expected of them. They were almost
coerced into wearing it. Especially as a
woman got married and then she had a
child like her sarees as a share of
wardrobe really grew.
And then in the early 2000s, I saw the
second generation of women who felt that
progressive meant I reject the saree.
And now we see a new generation of women
for whom they don't have this baggage at
all. There's no emotional baggage where
they literally say, "You know, I wear
the saree because I get to wear a saree.
Because I am um soulful. I am well-read.
You know, I am um that sustainable. I
have all of these values. I sort of
understand and I'm sensitized to the
heritage that India has the
craftsmanship and I want to sort of
portray all of that." So I would tell so
convince is not the word I'd use. I'd
basically tell someone, "Look, you get
to wear a saree.
You can choose at any point in time, but
let's say there's no better time than
now."