For a very long time, Indian consumers and homegrown apparel brands have faced the challenge of finding the right fit for the Indian body type. With a notable rise in the e-commerce retail sector in recent times, the absence of a standardized size chart for Indian consumers is a major deterrent for the growth of the domestic textile and Indian apparel industry. To counter this problem at the grass-root level, National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), New Delhi, under the aegis of the Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India has initiated a massive national sizing survey to create an anthropometric database of measurements for Indians, which is a true representative of the entire Indian population.
The monumental project approved by the Government of India and supported by industry consortium CMAI entails measuring more than 25000 (Twenty-Five Thousand) people in the age group of 15- 65 years in six different cities located in six regions of India i.e. New Delhi (North), Mumbai (West), Chennai (South), Hyderabad (Centre), Kolkata (East) and Shillong (North-East) using non-contact human safe 3D body scanning technology. The survey is being conducted in accordance with ISO 8559; ISO 7250 and ISO 20685 protocols. Mr. Shantmanu, IAS, DG NIFT, says, “NIFT is proud to be associated with MoT’s initiative of ‘INDIAsize’. This is a scientific exercise where anthropometric data is collected from a sample population, using human safe 3D whole body scanner technology, in order to create a standardised size chart. This will follow all international protocols of national sizing survey and will be a true representative of the Indian population, which can then be adopted by the apparel industry.”
The first-of-its-kind survey in India has will capture more than 100 anthropometric data points from each participants . Shri Upendra Prasad Singh, IAS Secretary Textiles, mentions “The INDIAsize survey will result in the creation of a size identification number for a customer through mapping, categorization and defining of their body size. This will help manufacturers to produce goods suited for the body size of the target consumer and help consumers to identify sizes that will be best suited for them resulting in a match and hence improved sales. Apart from apparel, the findings of the study will also have applications across various other industries where the insights from this data can produce ergonomically designed products which are well suited for the Indian population”.
Since July 2021, NIFT Delhi has collected data of over 5000 samples as a part of the first leg of the data collection. The ongoing study includes representation from various age groups, income index, and origin to collate a standard size chart.Dr Noopur Anand Professor and Principal investigator of the project says “This project will create an internationally recognized standardized apparel sizes for the Indian and global fashion industry will improve the fit of garments for enhanced comfort and aesthetics among Indian buyers as well as benefit other related Indian industries to develop better designed products for consumers”
The survey is being carried by support of the Design Smith Pvt. Ltd. and the next venue for the scanning would be at the Select CITYWALK in New Delhi. Speaking about the project. Mr. Yogeshwar Sharma, Executive Director & CEO, Select Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd, says, “We are elated to announce our support for the latest initiative of National Sizing Survey – INDIAsize, being launched at the shopping centre in collaboration with NIFT and the Ministry of Textiles. The objective of the initiative is to popularize and provide better fits and understanding of Indian dressing sizes against global standards like US & UK sizing. A kiosk has been setup for people to experiment with a 3D body scanner; the technology is quick and safe. This will help create a size identification for customers, which in turn can help retailers fine-tune sales and create a balance between demand and supply for well-fitted clothes”.
After undertaking the data collection in the NIFT Delhi Campus the project is now moving to the field and the launch event of the same was hosted in Select CITYWALK mall Saket Delhi on 26th Aug 2021 at 4pm. The event was inaugurated by Shri Upendra Prasad Singh, IAS Secretary Textiles and Mr. Shantmanu, IAS, DG NIFT and was attended by dignitaries form Ministry of textiles, NIFT and Select Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. – Mr. Shashi Ranjan Kumar, AS & FA (MoT), Mr. JogiranjanPanigrahi, Joint Secretary (MoT), Smt. Manisha Kinnu, Director Delhi Campus, Prof. Dr. Vandana Narang, Dean at NIFT Delhi, Prof. Dr. Noopur Anand, Project In-charge, Prof. Dr. Monika Gupta, Co Project In-charge, Prof. Dr. Suhail Anwar, Core Team NIFT, Mr. Y. Sharma, Select CITYWALK and Mr. Vikram Sharma of Design Smith, an alumni of NIFT.
