Lavish Soni, who spent years in senior roles at Rare Rabbit, has set up IATE Fashion Pvt Ltd. It is a premium-fashion company with a three-step plan: build a homegrown Indian brand, bring international labels into India, then take its own label overseas and possibly list it.
The first brand is due in January–February 2027. It needs Rs 2.5–3 crore to get off the ground. Soni has put in about Rs 75 lakh so far and plans to take his own stake to roughly Rs 1.75 crore. Talks are running in parallel with venture funds and family offices, and he expects that round to close around the launch window. He has said the raise will not hold up the launch.
Why premium, why now. Soni's thesis rests on two decades of selling to the premium Indian shopper. Most new brand activity is crowding the mass end of the market, he has said, while premium still has room for new players. He puts the premium fashion opportunity at Rs 28,000–30,000 crore excluding sneakers, about Rs 38,000 crore with them. He says it is growing at around 18% a year and could reach Rs 60,000–65,000 crore in five years. He also points to a shift in how Indians shop: buyers who once flew to Dubai for premium labels now have malls and high streets in Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, and are increasingly happy to choose an Indian brand alongside a global one.
The product. The debut label will be about 75–80% menswear and 20% womenswear. It will span six to nine categories, from jackets, sweatshirts and shirts to T-shirts, polos, denim and smart trousers. Footwear is out for now. The pitch is a mature, globally appealing wardrobe rather than a trend-chasing one.
Go-to-market. Online comes first, as the brand's shop window. Exclusive brand outlets and multi-brand retail follow. The target is 15–18 Indian cities at the start and 20–25 markets over time. A product, digital, supply-chain and sourcing team is already in place.
The bigger arc. Phase one aims for Rs 500–800 crore in domestic revenue within three to five years. Phase two, distributing international labels in India, targets a further Rs 300–400 crore. Soni frames it as a way to learn global operating standards before exporting the Indian brand. The first overseas market would be the Middle East, once the label covers around 60% of India's premium market.
The Capstack view. Premium Indian apparel has produced breakout brands, Rare Rabbit among them, and IATE's founder knows that playbook from the inside. The open questions are capital and timing. A sub-Rs 3 crore launch budget is lean for a premium label, and the company's growth beyond its first season will depend on the VC and family-office round landing in early 2027.
