Fabric linen is the latest buzzword in the Indian fashion market, feels Abhey Nair, vice president of Indian Rayon & Industries Ltd.

The company is currently branding and selling linen under the brand name of Jayashree Textiles. And the demand for the fabric has increased so much that they have plans to modernise the Indian Rayon factory at Rishra in West Bengal.

”Till last year, we had a limited production capacity. However, now to increase our production we are modernising our plants by bringing in Italian machines. The total cost of modernisation will be Rs 5 crore. We will carry out the modernisation operations in the current fiscal itself,'' said Nair, sitting in his workmanlike office within the sprawling factory complex.

Most of the top fabric sellers from all over the world buy linen from
Indian Rayon. Amongst them are Tommy Hilfiger, Macys, J C Penny, Mark and Spencer, Zara, Next and Mango. Most of our clients are from the United Kingdom and US. However, we also have some very good European buyers,'' said Nair.

The company spends Rs 10 lakh annually for obtaining the fashion forecast of the season. Also another Rs 40 to 50 lakh goes in research and developmental work. But has all this spending helped the company? Nair points out that profit have increased quite substantially because of the innovations and research that is being carried out on linen.

However, Nair is the first to point out that linen cult has developed
in India for the last 18-odd months and the clientele is of the upper
middle class. “India strangely was fashion `unconscious'. But now it has woken up and people are spending a lot on fabric.'' He also adds that Indian Rayon has engaged local handicraft artists of West Bengal to draw designs on the fabric. ``Linen with ethnic designs sells like hot cakes abroad as these are not available in Europe. So we use a lot of these handicraft artists on a commercial basis,'' said Nair.

When asked about the advantage that linen has over cotton, Nair says, ``It is an air-conditioned fabric. It is also anti-bacterial and is
stronger than cotton. May be it costs one-and-a half times more than cotton but it also lasts longer. The moisture absorbing capacity is also more than that of cotton.'' But then linen comes at approximately Rs 500 to Rs 800 per metre. Only the rich at present can afford it.

Nair, however, feels that at one point of time even the middle class will go for it simply because of its longevity. "It gives you value for
money,'' he says. So how does Indian Rayon then plan to promote the fabric? "As it is, most of the top designers of the country use our fabric," remarked Nair. "Other than that we will supply all the fabric for the Lakme India Fashion Show on July 19. That in itself is a great promotion."