Recently, The Bear House, a men’s apparel and accessories brand, raised ₹50 crore in a Series A funding round led by JM Financial India Growth Fund III. This is the third funding for the company, founded in 2017 by Tanvi Somaiya, Alka Somaiya and Harsh Somaiya.
In May, Snitch, a direct-to-consumer (D2C) menswear brand, raised ₹278.9 crore, led by 360 One Asset Management Fund, as part of a Series B funding round.
In April, The Souled Store, known for its quirky clothes, and backed by investors like Elevation Capital and RPSG Ventures. acquired Redwolf to strengthen its pop culture merchandise business. It has licences of iconic brands such as One Piece, Naruto and Marvel. The Souled Store is now gearing up for an initial public offer (IPO).
Sewing up funds
At a time when the broader apparel segment has been facing headwinds, D2C fashion brands have been rapidly scaling up and securing funds. On one hand, these new-age brands are charting a brisk offline expansion, on the other hand they are using quick-commerce to deliver fashion at speed.
According to industry estimates, the D2C fashion space in India is projected to reach $10 billion by FY28, fuelled by rising online adoption led by Gen Z consumers, and a growing demand from Tier-II and Tier-III cities.
The Bear House aims to get to ₹300 crore by FY26, targeting 200 per cent growth. Co-founder Harsh Somaiya said the brand is looking to open about 25 offline stores this fiscal year to strengthen its omni-channel play.
So, what is making the D2C brands tick? “A lot of the traditional brands have not adapted to the shift in consumer preferences. The younger generation of consumers are demanding newer designs, fits and styles at a much faster pace. We launch close to 300 styles per month and have close to 65 per cent repeat rates, higher than industry average. Also, our focus is to leverage social media to sell an entire look or vibe, rather than just products. So we are constantly listening to our customers,” Somaiya explains.
Tech and textiles
The investor appetite for this space is not ebbing anytime soon. Shuchi Pandya, Principal at Fireside Ventures, observes that the D2C segment in fashion and apparel has been displaying strong resilience and growth. The VC firm has invested in Fable Street, Newme and Terractive. “We are seeing an increase in order volumes, as well, in the past quarter, and demand remains robust and consumers are actively purchasing. Where we see alphas in fashion are in two key areas — first, how tech is used to manage the supply chain; and second, innovative materials and fabrics that are better suited for Indian weather,” Pandya says, asserting that Fireside is actively investing in this space, with a deeper interest in the premium space and menswear.
According to data sourced from Tracxn, over the past year, D2C apparel brands in India secured $77.1 million in total funding. While the quantum is about 34 per cent lower year-on-year, it reflects resilience during challenging macroeconomic conditions.
“Despite a recent slowdown in funding, the strong backing for innovative brands like NewMe and Wrogn demonstrates enduring investor confidence and growth potential in India’s D2C apparel sector. Companies that present strong unit economics, capital efficiency, clear product differentiation, and leverage offline and online channels effectively will continue to gain investor interest,” Neha Singh, CEO and co-founder of Tracxn, said.
Vedang Patel, co-founder of The Souled Store, pointed out that hyper-personalisation through data and AI, and a growing preference for sustainable, value-driven brands is driving growth for D2C brands. “A data-driven approach enables quick design iterations and better inventory control, improving profitability. Additionally, strong community engagement and a focus on everyday casual wear have helped maintain steady demand. These factors collectively give The Souled Store an edge in a market where traditional players are facing headwinds,” Patel added.
He said the past fiscal year has been a “landmark period” with “robust revenue growth” driven by increased customer engagement, product innovation, and expansion in offline presence.
Quick delivery
Platforms such as Zepto, Slick, Knotgram, and M-Now (Myntra) have begun enabling D2C brands to offer instant deliveries in 10-60 minutes. This opens a new frontier of expansion for the new-age brands.
Shivam Tripathi, co-founder of fast fashion brand Newme, is confident that new-age fashion brands will lead the next wave of growth in the apparel market. The brand is betting big on its quick commerce strategy. “We are currently running quick fashion delivery in high-demand pin codes across Bengaluru and NCR. We have been receiving strong customer love and the unit economics are healthy. Our plan is to scale up the channel further to more pin codes across the two cities and then go to other big metros,” he added.
Tripathi said the brand is focusing on delivering the latest trends at speed. “Our primary focus is to cater to different last-minute use cases across trend-first categories such as dresses, tops and bottoms, and for high-depth SKUs such as jewellery and ancillaries like nails, shapewear, among others,” he explained. The brand, he says, has seen 200 per cent growth in the last fiscal year. “We expect FY26 to be even better as the foundations across supply chain, tech, data science are getting stronger, enabling us to offer a wider variety of trends across broader fashion categories,” he added.
Somaiya, too, expects quick commerce to become an important cog in the wheel for D2C brands and said the brand will leverage its stores to deliver within a 5 km radius swiftly.
“India’s fashion landscape is being reshaped by a distinct shift in customer behaviour — one where immediacy, access, and trend-responsiveness are no longer optional, but expected. Today’s digital-first shoppers are not just browsing for fashion; they are seeking an experience that matches the pace of their lifestyle. The demand is clear: consumers want the latest styles, from popular brands, delivered faster than ever before. This evolution is powering the rise of speed-led fashion commerce, with the category projected to grow 5X by 2028 to a $1 billion opportunity, as highlighted in the Myntra x Bain report,” said Sharon Pais, Chief Business Officer, Myntra. Myntra has expanded its expedited delivery services, M-Now, to Delhi-NCR and Mumbai.
Stating that M-Now has grown almost 2x in terms of daily orders, she added that popular products include T-shirts, dresses, jeans, kurta sets, lipstick and perfumes.
Meanwhile, the biggies of the apparel industry are acquiring D2C brands and going omni-channel to cater to the tech-savvy new-age customers. Certainly, the apparel category is opening its seams wide.