India Ethnic Wear Market 2026: Size, Growth, Brands, Sarees and Who Buys

Ethnic wear is the largest single category in Indian clothing, and one of the least measured. Most of it is still sold by local shops, weavers and tailors that publish no accounts, so no two estimates of its size agree. What can be read is a growing body of evidence from rating agencies, consultancies, listed companies and the big marketplaces. Read together, it describes a market of roughly ₹2.4 lakh crore that is growing slowly as a whole, shifting quickly from unbranded to branded, dominated by women’s wear and sarees, contested by more brands and stores than ever, and moving online from smaller towns first. This report sets out what that evidence says about India’s ethnic wear market in 2026.

1. How big is India’s ethnic wear market?

The most recent Indian estimates converge on about ₹2.4 lakh crore. Wazir Advisors put the market at ₹2.4 lakh crore in 2024, with 70% of it women’s wear, and expects it to touch ₹3.3 lakh crore by 2029.^[3] Motilal Oswal, in a report cited by Mint, has the market growing at a 5.5-6% compound annual rate, from ₹1,800 billion in FY20 to ₹2,400 billion in FY25.^[2] Aditya Birla Fashion’s managing director put it at Rs 1.84 trillion in 2023, 30% of a Rs 6.15 trillion domestic apparel market.^[7]

Ethnic wear’s share of all clothing is put at a quarter to a third. CRISIL estimates ethnic wear at approximately 30% of the apparel market in FY24, expected to fall to 25-28% by FY2029 as western wear grows faster.^[1] The Clothing Manufacturers Association of India, quoted by The Hindu, describes a domestic apparel market of about $100 billion, of which ethnic wear constitutes almost 25%.^[28] Wazir, in figures reported by The Economic Times, put ethnic wear at nearly 30% of a $75 billion apparel and accessories market in FY23, or $22 billion.^[4]

International research houses use narrower definitions and smaller numbers. Grand View Research put India’s ethnic wear revenue at USD 19,093.9 million in 2023, rising to USD 30,448.6 million by 2030.^[5] By its count India accounted for 20.7% of the global ethnic wear market in 2023.^[5] Apparel Resources put the market at US $22 billion of a US $102 billion garment industry in FY24.^[6] Our festive and occasion wear report covers the festive-season slice of this market in detail.

2. Women’s, men’s and kids’ ethnic wear

Ethnic wear is overwhelmingly a women’s market. Wazir puts women’s wear at 70% of the ethnic wear market.^[3] CRISIL’s segment view shows why: ethnic wear forms about 60-65% of women’s wear in India, but only about 7% of men’s wear.^[1] CRISIL sizes women’s ethnic wear at about ₹1.3 trillion in FY24 and projects about ₹2 trillion by FY29, a CAGR of nearly 8-9%.^[1]

Men’s ethnic wear is small but concentrated in high-value occasions. Wazir estimated the ethnic menswear market at $2 billion in FY23, just 10% of the total ethnic wear market.^[4] By this report’s arithmetic on CRISIL’s figures (derived), about 7% of a ₹2.4 trillion men’s wear market is roughly ₹0.17 trillion, and about 15% of a ₹1 trillion kids’ wear market is roughly ₹0.15 trillion of children’s ethnic wear.^[1] Of the total ethnic wear market, wedding and celebration wear accounts for 58%, according to Wazir as reported by The Economic Times.^[4]

Buyers mostly shop for themselves. On Flipkart, 65% of purchases in women’s ethnic wear are made by women shoppers, and 88% of transactions in men’s ethnic wear are made by men.^[15] The women’s textile and apparel industry as a whole was valued at $125 billion in FY23 by Dun & Bradstreet, expected to grow to $250 billion by FY31, as reported by Mint.^[19]

3. Organised vs unorganised: the branded shift

Most ethnic wear is still sold unbranded, but the branded share is rising quickly. Motilal Oswal estimates branded ethnic wear grew at an 18–20% CAGR, lifting the organised segment’s share from about 11% to nearly 19% between FY19 and FY22.^[2] Even so, the unorganised segment still accounts for roughly 70-75% of the market.^[2] For women’s ethnic apparel alone, Wazir puts the unorganised share at nearly 70%.^[3]

The branded shift is clearest in wedding and celebration wear. Vedant Fashions, which owns Manyavar, reports in its 2025-26 annual report that the branded share of this market rose from 10% in FY15 to 15-20% in FY20 and 28-32% in FY25.^[12] Other estimates of the organised market are lower: industry experts quoted by Apparel Resources put the organised segment at 15-20% of the market, around Rs. 28,000 to Rs. 37,000 crore, growing at 20% each year.^[6] Executives quoted by The Economic Times in 2024 put the branded or organised market at Rs 30,000-35,000 crore, growing at 20-25%.^[35]

Branded ethnic wear is also the most profitable part of Indian fashion. Wazir’s review of 70 brands and retailers found ethnic brands held the strongest profitability, at about 10% PAT.^[29] Across the whole 70-brand cohort, total PAT margin was just 5% in FY25.^[29] Within the organised segment, Apparel Resources reports that 40% belongs to mid and value brands and 30% each to premium and luxury brands.^[6]

4. Sarees: the largest single category

The saree is the biggest single product in Indian ethnic wear. CRISIL estimates it is about 38% of women’s ethnic wear.^[1] CRISIL valued the saree market at about ₹515 billion in FY24, after about ₹558 billion in FY2020 and a pandemic collapse in between.^[1] It expects 5-6% annual growth to ₹650-675 billion by FY2029.^[1]

Estimates of the saree market vary widely. Redseer put it at US $12 billion in 2024, with over 100 million SKUs spanning more than 75 fabrics and 70 print types.^[8] IMARC put it at USD 6.15 billion in 2025 and USD 6.54 billion in 2026, projecting USD 10.77 billion by 2034, a 6.43% annual growth rate.^[9] Saree traders quoted by The Hindu in 2022 believed the overall market had crossed the ₹1 lakh crore mark (about $15 billion).^[10]

The saree market is even less branded than ethnic wear as a whole. Redseer finds 60-65% of the market unbranded and another 25-30% dominated by regional saree brands.^[8] CRISIL puts the organised segment at 25-30% of the saree market, growing at 9-10% a year to reach about 32-37% by FY2029.^[1] For the fabrics behind the premium end, see our silk and luxury fabric market report.

Most sarees are cheap, but most of the money is in the middle. CRISIL finds sarees in the value range (₹100-1,000) are about 70% of volume but about 28% of value.^[1] The medium range (₹1,000-10,000) is about 23% of volume and 45% of value, and the premium range above ₹10,000 about 7% of volume and 27% of value.^[1] IMARC, on its own price bands, gives economy sarees a 55% share.^[9]

5. Regions and smaller towns

The South is the saree heartland. CRISIL puts southern India at about 47-49% of the saree market in FY24, followed by the East at 18-20% and the West at 17-19%.^[1] North India makes up 14-16%.^[1] An earlier Technopak analysis, reported by The Hindu, valued the South India saree market at ₹23,200 crore in FY20.^[10] It expected the South to reach ₹30,800 crore by FY25, growing at 6% a year.^[10] Tamil Nadu alone had about a 32% share of the South India market, worth ₹7,400 crore, in FY20.^[10]

Not every estimate agrees. IMARC gives North India the largest share of the saree market, 36% in 2025.^[9] The difference probably reflects how each firm treats unbranded and handloom sales; neither publishes enough of its method to reconcile the two.

Online, ethnic wear demand is led by smaller towns. Tier 3 and smaller towns contribute 55% of Flipkart’s ethnic wear shopper volume.^[15] During Myntra’s Big Fashion Festival in October 2025, non-metro shoppers contributed 70 per cent of overall orders, with ethnic wear among the categories driving growth.^[16] Libas said 40-45 per cent of its e-commerce business came from smaller towns in mid-2025.^[20] Fashor, a D2C ethnic label, told The Economic Times that over 50% of its revenue comes from Tier II cities.^[35] The premium end is still metro-led: Myntra said about 60% of its premium ethnic wear demand in 2023 came from metros and Tier-1 cities.^[17] For the wider pattern, see our Tier 2 and Tier 3 fashion e-commerce report.

6. The companies, and the store glut

Ethnic wear’s largest branded businesses are a mix of listed companies, conglomerate portfolios and private brands. Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail’s ethnic portfolio (TCNS, with W and Aurelia; Tasva; Jaypore; and stakes in Sabyasachi, Tarun Tahiliani, Shantanu & Nikhil and House of Masaba) now has an annual revenue scale of over Rs. 2200 Cr, after adding 80+ stores in FY26.^[13] Reported figures from its annual meeting put ethnic revenue up 14% to ₹2,227 crore, with EBITDA margin expanding 560 bps to 10.8%.^[14] TCNS delivered about 7% like-for-like growth in the March 2026 quarter.^[13] Tasva, the men’s premium brand, grew 33% that quarter.^[13]

Sai Silks Kalamandir, a South Indian saree retailer, grew FY26 revenue 13.11% to Rs 1,653.67 crore.^[25] Its profit after tax rose 65.03% to Rs 140.92 crore.^[25] Vedant Fashions, the Manyavar and Mohey company, reported FY26 revenue of Rs. 1,435.5 Crore.^[12] Its revenue grew 3.5% with a PAT margin of 26.2%, and retail sales by its franchisees crossed Rs. 20 billion, up 6.1%.^[11] Its gross margin was 65.7% in FY26.^[11] It runs 669 exclusive brand outlets, including 17 overseas.^[11]

The private brands are smaller and mostly growing. Fabindia’s revenue rose 6.3% to Rs 1,313 crore in the year to March 2026.^[22] It had 342 domestic stores and 11 overseas.^[22] Biba clocked revenue of ₹769 crore in FY24 with a loss of ₹95.5 crore, and runs about 430 stores, 350 Biba and 80 Rangriti.^[21] Libas reported ₹609.1 crore in FY25, swinging to a ₹16.5 crore loss, and expected ₹750-800 crore in FY26.^[19] Titan’s Taneira, whose sales grew at a 65 per cent CAGR over three years, has 80 stores and 100 weaving clusters.^[23] Sarees make up about 85 per cent of Taneira’s business.^[24]

Manyavar, which built the branded men’s wedding-wear market, is losing ground. Motilal Oswal estimated it held roughly 38% of branded men’s ethnic wear as of FY22.^[2] Vedant Fashions told analysts in 2025 that competition was at a level never seen before, with ethnic wear store numbers trebling over two to three years; its same-store sales fell 4% in FY25.^[4] Its chief revenue officer gave Raipur as an example, where 25, 30 rival stores opened around its one outlet.^[4] Its December 2025 quarter revenue fell 3.8% to ₹492 crore, with SSSG at -4.5%.^[2] Store additions slowed from 58 in FY23 to 46 in FY24, 25 in FY25 and 14 in the first nine months of FY26.^[2]

Management blames weak middle-class demand more than rivals, and the full year ended better: same-store sales grew 2.7% in FY26.^[11] Its annual report says that in several markets the number of competing stores rose from a handful to several dozen within a short period.^[12] Its premium brand Twamev grew like-for-like by 17.4%.^[12]

"Indian wear was never only for weddings. What has changed is that women want it to work on a Tuesday, on a flight and on holiday, with the same ease as anything else in the wardrobe."— Ramola Bachchan, Founder, First Resort

7. Online, marketplaces and quick commerce

Ethnic wear is still bought mostly in stores. Grand View Research put offline at a 64.3% share of Indian ethnic wear revenue in 2023, with online the fastest-growing channel.^[5] Sarees are even more offline: CRISIL estimates e-commerce at about 4-5% of the saree industry in FY24, rising to 9-11% by FY2029.^[1] IMARC puts offline at 65% of the saree market in 2025.^[9]

The marketplaces are nonetheless large. Flipkart had over 6 million unique customers buying ethnic wear in the year to May 2025, with about 90% of sales from repeat customers.^[15] Kurta sets led its demand at 42%, followed by sarees at 24% and kurtis at 18%.^[15] Myntra’s ethnic wear category housed more than ~3.85 lakh styles from ~1000+ brands in 2023, with premium ethnic wear starting at Rs. 2500.^[17] In August 2025 Myntra waived commission for new women’s ethnic wear brands, targeting 500 brands over the following quarter.^[18]

Online-first brands are building stores, and store-first brands are going online. Libas earns 65% of its revenue from digital channels.^[19] It has opened more than 50 stores in two years and plans another 50.^[19] Soch, an offline-first occasion wear brand, grew e-commerce from INR 5.3 crore in FY20 to INR 54 crore in FY25, and online’s share of revenue from 12% to a projected 18%.^[26] Taneira’s e-commerce contributes about 8 per cent of sales.^[23]

Quick commerce is the newest channel. Libas told BusinessLine its average order on quick commerce was ₹1,000–₹1,200, against ₹2,000–₹2,500 on e-commerce.^[20] Its return rates on quick commerce were nearly 60–70 per cent lower than on regular e-commerce.^[20] Vedant Fashions also reports an emerging quick commerce opportunity in last-minute occasion purchases such as kurtas.^[12]

Discounting is the cost of the online shift. Wazir found average listed discounts on Myntra climbed from 28% in 2020 to 43% in 2025.^[29] Vedant Fashions, by contrast, says it runs no discounts or end-of-season sales on Manyavar and prices identically online and offline.^[11]

8. Prices, GST and premiumisation

The September 2025 GST reform split ethnic wear in two. Readymade garments now pay GST at 5% up to ₹2,500 per piece, raised from an earlier limit of ₹1,000.^[27] Garments above ₹2,500 moved to 18%, up from 12%; Vedant Fashions says the revision applied to the majority of products in its category.^[12] Its CFO told Mint that in around 90% of its products GST rose from 12% to 18%, and that it had not raised prices to match.^[2]

The CMAI estimated that ethnic and festive wear sales fell 15% at Diwali 2025, with branded garments above ₹2,500 down 5-7% and products below ₹2,500 up 7-8%.^[28] Branded Indian garments are typically priced between ₹2,500 and ₹7,000 each, putting most of them in the higher slab.^[28] The rule creates odd results: a saree priced ₹1 lakh attracts only 5% duty as a textile, while a salwar set priced over ₹2,500 attracts 18%.^[28]

Brands responded with price points. Biba cut products priced around ₹2,999 and ₹3,299 to ₹2,500 for the 2025 festive season.^[21] At the same time it opened a bridal store with prices from ₹15,000 to ₹100,000.^[21] Taneira introduced cotton sarees from Rs 1,200, silk sarees from Rs 6,999 and kurtas from Rs 1,100.^[23] It also piloted bridal lehengas at around Rs 60,000.^[23]

Premiumisation continues above the squeeze. Soch reports a 40% rise in average selling price and a 50% rise in average transaction value over five years.^[26] Myntra’s premium ethnic wear segment registered 2X growth in the year to mid-2023.^[17] A director at Crisil Ratings told Mint the premium segment remained resilient while middle-income households faced pressure.^[2] For the wider price pyramid, see our premiumization report; for occasion pieces, First Resort’s occasion wear and festive wear collections.

9. Young buyers

Retailer data shows young buyers driving online ethnic wear. Nearly half of Flipkart’s ethnic wear buyers are aged between 25 and 35.^[15] Myntra told the Hindustan Times that nearly half of its customer base is Gen Z, and that ethnic wear is one of the fastest-growing categories on FWD, its Gen Z store.^[3] Myntra also launched Indiework, a store of 18,000 styles from over 150 brands for ethnic workwear.^[3]

The products young buyers choose are lighter and more versatile. Flipkart reported Anarkali suits up 45X, Chikankari kurtas 40X and ready-to-wear sarees 3x in May 2025 against a year earlier.^[15] Taneira’s ready-to-wear range, aimed at younger women, makes up 15 per cent of its business and is expected to reach 20 per cent in three years.^[23] Vedant Fashions launched Diwas to address the festive and occasion-wear needs of younger consumers, particularly Gen Z.^[12] Libas told the Hindustan Times it now calls itself fast fashion, growing at 25%-28% a year.^[3]

New brands are being funded to sell to them. Kisah, a men’s and kids’ ethnic brand targeting Gen Z and millennials, grew revenue 65% to ₹41.8 crore in FY25.^[34] Among wedding shoppers, a luxury multi-designer store told Mint that nearly 30% of customers now look for new-age designers, against 70% who ask for iconic names.^[2] For the wider generational picture, see our Gen Z and millennial fashion spending report; First Resort’s Indo-western and co-ord sets sit in this fusion space.

10. Weddings, festivals and the sales calendar

Ethnic wear sales follow the wedding and festival calendar closely. Flipkart reports peak ethnic wear sales in the festive months of August to November and in the wedding seasons of November to February and April to May.^[15] Vedant Fashions’ revenue was Rs 491.7 crore in the festive and wedding-heavy December 2025 quarter.^[36] It fell 18.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter into the March quarter.^[36] Revenue from operations in that March quarter was Rs 399.4 crore, up 8.7 per cent on a year earlier.^[36]

Wedding dates move results. Vedant’s CFO told Mint there were no weddings in January 2026, against 11 wedding dates the January before.^[2] Libas told Mint that wedding and occasion wear is 25–30% of its revenue and has grown 40–50%.^[2] Vedant’s annual report cites 8 to 10 million weddings a year in India, and puts apparel and textiles at approximately 10%-15% of the total wedding economy.^[12] Our wedding fashion statistics report covers wedding spending in detail.

11. IPOs and investment

Public markets have backed two ethnic wear companies so far. Vedant Fashions listed in February 2022 after a Rs 3,149 crore offer, entirely an offer for sale, that was subscribed 2.57 times.^[30] Sai Silks Kalamandir followed in September 2023 with a Rs 1,201-crore issue subscribed 4.4 times.^[31] Biba filed draft papers in April 2022 for an IPO including a fresh issue of ₹90 crore; SEBI put its observations in abeyance without giving a reason.^[32] The market has since cooled on the sector: weaker sales wiped nearly $2 billion off Vedant Fashions’ market value in five months of 2025.^[4]

Libas is the next likely listing. It raised ₹150 crore from a fund managed by ICICI Venture in May 2024, its first external round.^[19] It is targeting ₹1,000 crore of revenue by FY27 and an IPO by FY28.^[19]

Large groups and venture funds are also buying in. Aditya Birla Fashion paid Rs 1,650 crore for a 51% stake in TCNS Clothing in 2023.^[7] Its managing director said then that its ethnic business was about Rs 600-700 crore, with a target of Rs 5,000 crore in 3 years.^[7] In 2026 Aramya’s parent raised Rs. 80 crore in a Series A round.^[33] That valued it at approximately Rs. 1,438 crore.^[33] Kisah raised ₹35.9 crore in a Series A led by Fireside Ventures at around ₹211 crore post-money.^[34]

12. The 2026 outlook

The forecasts agree on direction, not pace. Wazir expects the market to reach ₹3.3 lakh crore by 2029.^[3] Grand View Research expects 6.9% annual growth from 2024 to 2030.^[5] Apparel Resources cites a forecast of US $26.9 billion by FY26, at about 10.6% a year.^[6] CRISIL expects ethnic wear’s share of apparel to slip to 25-28% by FY2029 even as it grows, because western wear grows faster.^[1]

Company guidance for 2026 is cautiously positive. Biba expects growth of 15-20 per cent a year over the next three to four years.^[21] Libas is targeting annual growth of 30-35%.^[19] ABFRL’s ethnic business is still loss-making at the segment level: it reported a ₹188.54 crore Ethnic segment loss in the June 2026 quarter.^[14] The pressure points for 2026 are the 18% GST slab, the bunching of wedding dates, and the number of stores competing for the same middle-class shopper. The opportunities are the 70-75% of the market still unorganised and the young online buyer in smaller towns.^[2]

13. Where this data is weakest

No official size. India publishes no official estimate of ethnic wear sales. Every size in this report is a consultancy or company estimate, and they differ by definition (whether they include sarees sold as fabric, tailoring, handloom and children’s wear).

Branded share depends on the measure. Vedant Fashions’ 28-32% branded share is for wedding and celebration wear, a subset; the 15-20% organised share reported by Apparel Resources covers all ethnic wear.^[12][6]

Saree estimates conflict. CRISIL gives the South the largest saree share; IMARC gives it to the North.^[1][9] Redseer’s US$12 billion saree estimate is roughly double IMARC’s.^[8][9]

Young-buyer evidence is retailer data. No survey found for this report broke out ethnic wear by age with a published method; the young-buyer figures come from Flipkart, Myntra and brands.

Secondary reporting. Motilal Oswal and Wazir figures were read in Mint, the Hindustan Times and The Economic Times, not in the underlying reports. ABFRL’s ₹2,227 crore figure was read in ScanX’s report of the company’s annual meeting.

14. Frequently Asked Questions

Related research: Festive & Occasion Wear in India 2026 · Indian Wedding Fashion Statistics 2026 · Premiumization in Indian Fashion 2026