In India’s crowded online fashion market, where digital-first brands are multiplying and consumer attention is shrinking, success now depends on how well a label can combine technology, creativity, and community. Over the past few years, the country’s fashion landscape has shifted from being marketplace-driven to brand-led, as Gen Z and millennial consumers seek individuality, authenticity, and a sense of connection in what they wear.
Amid this evolving landscape, Urbanic has emerged as one of the most distinctive digital-first fashion brands in India. Founded in London and launched in the Indian market in 2019, the brand entered a space dominated by discount-led competition but took a very different route. Rather than depending on external marketplaces, Urbanic built its own app ecosystem, giving it full control over the shopping experience, engagement, and consumer data.
This single-platform approach has helped Urbanic move beyond short-term visibility and focus instead on building a loyal community. It has used technology to identify emerging trends, fine-tune inventory, and strengthen its design intelligence, resulting in leaner, faster, and more sustainable production cycles.
In 2024, the company introduced Savana, a younger and more dynamic sub-brand that reflects the fast-changing preferences of Gen Z consumers. While Urbanic continues to focus on curated collections and occasion wear, Savana captures everyday expression and youth culture with an experimental edge. Both brands share the same digital and operational backbone but serve different creative purposes.
Behind this strategy is Rahul Dayama, Founding Partner at Urbanic, who has helped shape the brand’s marketing philosophy from the ground up. Under his direction, Urbanic has evolved from being a fast-fashion label into a full-fledged D2C ecosystem that thrives on community and insight. Dayama said the brand’s growth has come from “a deep understanding of the consumer, leveraging data effectively, and staying focused on singular platforms.”
Over the years, this approach has translated into consistent growth across downloads, conversions, and repeat customers. Dayama added that the market still holds vast potential. “Every day, there is an increase in consumption,” he said. “All the cities have evolved when it comes to shopping habits, and we see a lot of depth in the future as well.”
Scaling Through Strategy
For Urbanic, expansion has never been about chasing visibility across every platform but about refining its existing digital foundation. The brand’s marketing playbook is built on three principles: reading data, minimising dead stock, and responding to trends in real time.
Dayama pointed out that Urbanic’s approach to digital growth differs sharply from traditional retail models that rely heavily on inventory build-up. “The rulebook for us is simple,” he said. “Understand the consumer, make sure we reduce dead stock, and work on sustainable growth online.”
This lean approach has allowed Urbanic to maintain agility and affordability without compromising on product quality. The brand also uses its data infrastructure to guide product diversification and collaborations. It has already launched Savannah, a younger, Gen Z–oriented label under the same umbrella, which has quickly gained traction.
“We follow a multi-brand strategy to use our existing infrastructure and scale more,” Dayama explained. “Savana is more dynamic in nature, while Urbanic focuses on collections. Together, they help us reach a wider audience base.”
The Science of Influence
In a digital ecosystem where creators are often the first line of brand discovery, Urbanic’s influencer strategy stands out for its precision. The brand collaborates with more than 35,000 influencers across markets and bases each partnership on measurable outcomes rather than reach alone.
Dayama revealed that the company takes a highly structured approach to influencer marketing. “We have a lot of mathematical models for deciding budgets per influencer, comparing multiple costs involved across channels,” he said. “That helps us calculate ROI for each campaign.”
The results speak for themselves. Influencer marketing contributes more than 10% of Urbanic’s Gross Merchandise Value, a figure that Dayama believes is likely even higher. “It’s a very good number when it comes to investment,” he added.
Crucially, Urbanic treats influencer engagement as part of its organic marketing framework rather than a peripheral activity. “From our organic marketing budget, more than 60% goes to influencer marketing,” Dayama said. “It keeps changing month to month, but influencer collaborations consistently deliver strong ROI.”
Each campaign is goal-driven and carefully segmented. “Every influencer we pick has a defined purpose,” he explained. “Each campaign has a different goal, and each platform plays a specific role in that goal. We work at a granular level, and our understanding of influencer marketing is quite deep.”
This precision-led approach helps the brand not only scale efficiently but also maintain authenticity. Urbanic’s influencer ecosystem functions as an extension of its consumer community, shaping how the brand is perceived across social media.
Data and AI at the Core of Creativity
As AI becomes an integral part of retail, Urbanic has been early in adopting technology to strengthen its supply chain and enhance personalisation. From product recommendations to real-time inventory adjustments, AI tools have helped streamline decision-making and reduce inefficiencies.
Dayama noted that AI integration has significantly improved user engagement and conversion rates. “The conversion rate goes higher when users find products they like and those products are discoverable,” he said. “It helps us reduce dead stock and respond faster to consumer requirements.”
He added that data plays a central role in making the entire organisation more structured. “With data, you can solve many problems and see things at scale,” he explained. “Since we work at such a granular level across platforms, data definitely helps us garner better engagement.”
Urbanic’s AI-driven supply chain has been instrumental in keeping involuntary waste below 1% , according to Dayama. However, he clarified that the company does not cite specific numbers publicly because data keeps evolving.
“It’s very interesting, and we are very focused on strengthening our supply chain,” Dayama said. “We don’t claim numbers because they keep fluctuating every time, as data keeps changing constantly. But it definitely helps us to reduce the margins, and the reason we are able to be affordable is because along with good quality, you can see very good feedback from consumers when it comes to the quality of Savana and Urbanic as well. It is because of reduced headstock.”
Segmentation and the Multi-Brand Strategy
Urbanic’s launch of Savana, targeted at a younger and more experimental audience, represents its strategic understanding of market segmentation. While Urbanic’s collections focus on occasion wear and distinct seasonal lines, Savannah is designed to be dynamic, learning from consumer data and trends in real time.
“We realized the market is evolving all the time,” Dayama said. “Urbanic focuses on particular collections, while Savana is more dynamic in nature. Together, both brands help us gain a larger audience base.”
Interestingly, the company does not separate revenue targets for each brand but treats them as part of a unified growth ecosystem. “We look at the projection overall,” he explained. “GMV-wise, it becomes an equal-to-equal share when it comes to both brands because Savannah has a lower price point.”
This multi-brand strategy allows Urbanic to capture different consumer segments without diluting its brand identity. It also positions the company for future scalability as consumer preferences continue to diversify.
The Community Connection
One of Urbanic’s defining strengths is its ability to build community-led engagement. The brand’s presence on social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube is not just about promotion but about participation. It actively leverages user-generated content and experiential campaigns in smaller cities to strengthen emotional connections with consumers.
Dayama explained that community plays a key role in extending reach beyond major metros.
Savana’s viral Rs1 campaign, launched under the banner “One Rupee, One Impact,” exemplified this community-first approach. The limited-time initiative invited consumers to purchase selected items for just Rs1, with proceeds directed toward Teach for India.
According to media reports, the campaign generated over one million app downloads in three days and more than 40 million social engagements, underscoring how Savana effectively blends social impact with digital virality.
“Community helps us go beyond the micro cities,” he said. “We’re doing small-scale activities in cities like Ahmedabad, Indore, and Pune. Along with social media, we add experience-driven marketing as well.”
He added that social media engagement often turns into cultural engagement. “People now use Savana’s packaging as their thumbnail,” he said. “There are memes around it, and people use it as a way to express themselves. That gives a sense of successful conversion.” This kind of organic engagement blurs the lines between marketing and culture. For Urbanic, it is not just about visibility but about becoming part of daily digital expression.
Looking Ahead: Experience and Expansion
As Urbanic continues to grow, its next phase of marketing will deepen its investment in community and experiential initiatives. “We will continue using all the channels we use now because we have seen good ROI,” Dayama said. “But we will be tapping more experiential marketing, more collaborations, and more community-based events and campaigns.”
The brand also plans to strengthen its content strategy to match changing consumer behaviors, where authenticity and relatability drive engagement more than scale.
Looking ahead, Dayama believes that the combination of data, technology, and creativity will continue to define Urbanic’s journey. “Being a data-driven company, it’s our duty to be adaptable,” he said. “With so much competition in online fashion, we are leveraging innovation in technology, content, and influencer collaboration to stay ahead and differentiate ourselves.”
The Future of Digital Fashion
Urbanic’s story is a reminder of how India’s fashion landscape is evolving from transaction-driven models to insight-led ecosystems. Its focus on AI, influencer strategy, and cultural participation marks a shift from fashion as commerce to fashion as a digital experience.
In a space where consumer expectations are rising faster than trends themselves, Urbanic’s data-first discipline offers a blueprint for sustainable growth. By balancing analytics with creativity and technology with empathy, the brand has turned its digital presence into a living, breathing marketplace of ideas.
And for Rahul Dayama, that is only the beginning. “There’s still so much depth in this market,” he said with quiet optimism. “Every day, new audiences come online, and our goal is to keep learning from them. That’s what will keep us growing.”
