For an industry that hypes up individual style and looks down on photocopied dress codes, devoting entire creative units to designing uniforms may seem schizophrenic. Yet, the trend showing up in the factories of newer designers like Priyadarshini Rao and old timers like Rohit Bal is proof that production numbers are beginning to count much more than the pretty clothes staring out of the shop windows.

Jattinn Kochhar (in blue) with the Tupperware employees for whom he has designed saris. "At the end of the day everybody wants value for money."

For Ashish Soni, who has designed uniforms for the staffers of PVR, the cinema hall chain in Delhi, it is a lucrative prospect. "It is a chance to extend an arm to the services sector which is another source of revenue," says Soni who has also designed for Sahara for its Ambi Valley staff. While he began working on uniforms seven years ago, it is only now that there is a surge in interest among companies. "The services sector is realising that appearances are important and that it does affect the business in the long run," he says.

So when Priya Paul of the Park Hotels Group introduced a bar and restaurant in her Delhi hotel, she roped in good friend and designer Bal to do the uniforms. Meanwhile, Jattinn Kochhar has completed an order of 800 saris for Tupperware staff, besides designing for staff of restaurants such as 32nd Milestone and Blossom Kochar's spa as well as undertaking bigger orders like that of Sahara Airlines. It makes business sense, says the designer. The Sahara project meant designing for 1,500 staffers or 6,000 outfits a year.

But dealing with firms also requires adherence to production standards and deadlines, says Kochhar. "Everybody wants value for money. While the companies are ready to spend extra for design inputs, it does not mean that just because they have money they will blow it up," he adds. This means finding out what staffers will be comfortable in and quoting low prices while taking orders. It also means sticking to the client's brief on the look it wants to project-tough to swallow for designers with big egos.

ASHISH SONI (in white) with the PVR Cinema staff in designs created by him. "The services sector is realising that appearances do affect the business."

Among the pioneers of uniform designing was fashion's foremost business diva Ritu Beri who created designs for the Indian hockey team. Ravi Bajaj created the look for Jet Airways and the Hyatt Regency, but it is only in the past few years that designing uniforms has become a serious business. Experts believe school uniforms are the next in line, though only Hemant Sagar has designed for a school in Rajasthan so far.

Meanwhile, from restaurants to airlines and hotel chains everyone is jumping on to the designer bandwagon. J.J. Valaya has designed Indo-fusion clothes for the staff of London restaurant Vama. While Raghavendra Rathore has designed for the Imperial, Anjana Bhargava recently signed up for the ITC and Grand Intercontinental in Delhi. Payal Jain, who has designed for over 40 hotels, including the Hyatt properties from Kathmandu to Dubai, Leela Beach in Goa, Nikko in Delhi and Mariott in Mumbai, says it is exciting besides being lucrative. "It's much more challenging than making a bizarre outfit for the runway. You have to make power presentations, think functionally and dress up 400 people in all shapes and sizes. If they have to look good, they have to feel good as well." While Max Healthcare is another client in Jain's kitty, Rao is the label behind the new look that the employees of Orange, the mobile service provider. "The firm saw my work at the India Fashion Week. They wanted a different feel to their uniforms, not too outlandish or difficult to manufacture," she says.

With most designers gearing to set up separate units to cater to the growing demand for uniforms, and firms seeking professionals to create an individual look, the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) is chipping in. Among its proposals is designing uniforms for the Indian Navy. "It is an easy money-spinner so designers are taking a serious look," says Vinod Kaul, chairman, FDCI. Designing, it seems, is set to chart a uniformly upward course.

— with Kimi Dangor