How the billion-dollar industry for pet clothing is finding its foothold in India

Our furry four-legged companions now have a fashion industry of their own

Our obsession with dressing up our pets is notnew. We’ve seen photographs of Paris Hilton’s chihuahua in diamond-studded tiaras and Lady Gaga’s French bulldog in pearls and headdress. But since the Coronavirus pandemic, there has been an exponential rise in the demand for pet-wear. According to a 2021 report by Fortune Business Insights, the global pet clothing market size was $5.01 billion in 2020 and is projected to grow to $7 billion in the next seven years.

Last year, Instagram’s most famous pet-fluencer, the Italian greyhound Tika the Iggy, sat in the front row at designer Christian Siriano's presentation with Drew Barrymore. Boobie Billie, a petite Italian greyhound/Chihuahua mix, launched her own fashion line called ‘Boobie World’. While our four-legged friends get ready to rule the fashion industry, we speak to pet-wear designers and labels in India who are barking up the right tree.

Couture for pets

Dressing up your pet is akin to dressing up an extension of yourself, a form of self-expression. Many designers have tried to provide this extension with their collection for pets. In 2019, Indian designers Shivan and Narresh teamed up with Heads Up For Tails for a premium pet-wear line. In 2021, Prada reimagined outerwear for little pooches with a $500 nylon jacket, perfect to walk your dog in the rain. Even fast fashion brands like Zara launched a collection dedicated to pets last year. And most recently, Hugo Boss signed a five-year deal with Kanine Pets World Limited to design, produce and distribute products for dogs, including apparel, accessories, home products and toys under the ‘Boss’ brand.

This sudden interest in pet clothing, especially in India, can be credited to the pandemic, as Kartik, the founder of Doxter’s Lab, points out that a lot of people got pets home during the lockdowns to deal with loneliness. “Pets have become like a member of the family. People also prefer getting pets instead of having children, and they call themselves ‘pet parents’. This term signifies our behavioural change over the years, in terms of how we treat our pets now,” he explains. Kartik started Doxter’s Lab five years ago when he realised a curious development about his dog. “Every time I dressed up, he looked at me with some kind of curiosity. So when I tried to get clothes for him, I found it hard to find outfits specifically meant for pets. At the places where they were available, there were very few choices with very low- quality products. That’s when I saw an opportunity,” he says. With Doxter’s Lab, Kartik offers a curation of T-shirts, shirts, sweatshirts and even tuxedos for doggos for special occasions.

Former Bollywood stylist Shachi Mehta, too, took this opportunity and started Petriot, which offers a fashionable wardrobe for pets. “My ginger feline has always been my inspiration. I realised the only clothes in the market available for pets were T-shirts,” says Mehta. So she made him a tuxedo on his first birthday, a sherwani for Diwali and a Santa T-shirt for Christmas, before venturing into making clothes for all kinds of pet animals. From lehengas to tutus, Mehta now offers everything that’ll make your pet look runway-ready.

Although this niche market of pet-wear is slowly growing in India, homegrown labels and brands are dealing with their own set of difficulties when it comes to tapping into this market.

Challenges of a niche industry

Being a niche market and a growing business, the difficulties that pet-clothing labels face are more technical. “The biggest challenge we faced with production was sizing. Unlike human clothing there has been no standard sizing chart for pets so far. There are a vast number of breeds and so to standardise sizing becomes difficult. Every region of the world has pets varying in sizes due to geological, biological or lifestyle changes,” says Megha Jain, one half of The Papaw Cartel. Kartik seconds with Jain. “With dogs, there are so many breeds and natural growth as well. Compared to four to six sizes that [clothing for] humans typically has, there are about 12-14 sizes for pets,” he says.

It’s not just the size that acts as a hindrance. The process of production of pet-clothing itself is something that Mehta has to deal with on a daily basis. “It’s a new market for masters and karigars to understand as well. With numerous trial and errors, we figured the best way to make pet clothing more comfortable is by using fabrics like cotton and making sure that not a single seam is in touch with the pet’s skin,” says Mehta. While cotton may be the choice of fabric to prevent any sort of irritation or allergic reaction, the rising cost of cotton makes it hard to sell these clothes at an affordable price. “Majority of pet clothing comes from China, which is sold at a cheaper price. But the quality is not safe for pets as these imported clothes are mostly made from polyester. We try to use 100 per cent cotton in most of our designs as it is more breathable,” says Paras Bhanushali, the other half of The Papaw Cartel.

The problems don’t end there though. It’s also the distribution of pet-wear that is increasingly difficult. “General pet stores purchase pet clothing from China without a fixed MRP, so it becomes very easy for these stores to maximise their profits. While we are a start-up and our pricing is already 40-50 per cent higher (due to design and quality) than China imports, distribution in retail stores becomes difficult as the margin that these retailers ask is between 45-60 per cent. This makes our profits very minimal,” explains Bhanushali.

While these independent labels try to navigate through the challenges of the industry, social media has turned out to be a big boon for them. “Social media has played a major role in pet fashion. For every pet parent, their furry babies are stars and more often they like to click their pictures and share their cuteness with the world. That’s why we have so many pet-fluencers now,” says Jain. Case in point, ​​Bodhi, a stylish Shiba Inu who is known as the Menswear Dog on Instagram, has over 400,000 followers and has been featured in campaigns for luxury brands like Jimmy Choo, Stuart Weitzman and Brooks Brothers. Tika the Iggy is already a fashion icon with more than one million followers. Wren and Ghost, with more than 46,000 followers, make for a very stylish couple in their matching outfits.

For Mehta, social media is a way to connect with her customers directly regarding the styles, fits and orders they want for their pets. “It’s also a simple platform where a client can ask the queries and get a clear view before ordering or buying the outfit. Instagram reels and stories play an integral role in growing the business as well,” she says.

In conclusion, regardless if your furry companion is Insta-famous or not, would you jump on the pet-wear bandwagon and turn your pet into a fashion star?

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