Slowly but surely, Indian fashion is spreading its wings globally. After years of being on the margins, 2009 saw many designers participating at international fashion weeks. Leading divas of Indian fashion made waves on the world circuit: Hillary Clinton, Liz Hurley and most recently, the visiting Japanese prime minister’s wife Miyuki Hatoyama, were seen flaunting sarees by Indian designers.

With growing interest in Indian fashion, would it be an overstatement to say ‘what if India dominates the marquee world of international fashion?’ Financial Chronicle asked a few fashion experts if this could be a possible scenario.

“It could be very possible. Even Michelle Obama is wearing a saree,” says Abhay Gupta, executive director, Blues Clothing. It’s just a matter of time before it happens, he says, adding, “there are many international designers who now work on Indian-inspired themes. In the last five years, the kind of recognition we have achieved is 20 times higher than what we achieved in the last 20 years. The Indian market is huge and entirely capable of achieving global fashion status. All we need to do is be more sensible and focussed on the product supply chain in terms of quality and consistency.”

Jem Bendell, author and international expert on luxury, concurs. “It will happen to an extent, because which other place is as rich in culture, design and fashion technologies as India? But what this means is you would get two very distinct types of fashion... one that is worn by most Indians and another that is Indo-western, worn by people around the world.”

To be a fashion power, he says, India should create ideas that are not only Indian but draw from other international trends.