VIP traces its origins to 1971, when entrepreneur Jaykumar Pathare established the brand during a period when India’s men’s underwear market was relatively undeveloped and largely unbranded. The company subsequently became a pioneer in branded intimate apparel in the region.4

VIP Clothing Limited was incorporated in 1991 as the successor to Maxwell Industries, which had previously marketed hosiery and ready-made garments under brands including VIP and Blue Chip. The company assumed control of Maxwell Industries’ ongoing business in October 1991 and converted into a public limited company in 1992.5

Over the following decades, VIP expanded its product range and distribution network while developing additional brands in the innerwear and hosiery categories.

Key historical milestones

6

The principal founder associated with the VIP innerwear brand is Jaykumar Pathare (1936–2016). VIP Clothing describes him as the founder chairman and a key figure in the development of India’s branded innerwear industry. His approach emphasised innovation, customer satisfaction, quality improvement and making branded intimate apparel accessible to consumers.7

VIP originally gained prominence for men’s vests and briefs, though its portfolio has since expanded considerably. Current products associated with the VIP brand include:

• Vests
• Briefs
• Trunks
• Boxer shorts
• Thermals
• Socks
• Handkerchiefs

The wider VIP Clothing group also retails men’s and women’s innerwear and socks under several other brands.8

VIP has historically occupied the mass-market, value-oriented segment of the innerwear industry. Its proposition focuses less on high-fashion lingerie and more on reliable everyday basics. Core brand associations can be summarised as comfort, durability, value, familiarity and everyday wear.

This positioning helped VIP become a recognisable household name, particularly among generations of male consumers. The company describes the brand as targeting value-conscious buyers while emphasising comfort and lasting support.9

Advertising has been integral to VIP’s development. The company describes itself as the first brand to launch and advertise branded innerwear in India, making marketing a significant component of its effort to transform a basic garment category into a branded consumer market.10

Rather than positioning underwear purely as a fashion product, VIP’s marketing has historically focused on concepts such as comfort, masculinity, confidence, everyday practicality and value. This strategy contributed to considerable brand recognition beyond the immediate innerwear category.

VIP is part of VIP Clothing Limited, which is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The company manufactures, markets and distributes men’s and women’s innerwear and socks under multiple brands, including VIP, Frenchie, Feelings and Leader.11

The company operates an in-house manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu and maintains a large distribution network covering distributors, retailers and e-commerce platforms.12 In recent years, it has increasingly pursued omnichannel and quick-commerce distribution, making products available through digital commerce and services such as Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart and Zepto.13

VIP Clothing’s portfolio extends beyond the flagship VIP name through a multi-brand strategy that addresses different price points, age groups and consumer preferences.

Frenchie

A major men’s innerwear brand within the VIP Clothing portfolio, with products positioned towards contemporary and premium-oriented consumers.14

Feelings

A women’s intimate apparel brand serving the female innerwear market.15

Leader

Another brand within VIP Clothing’s innerwear portfolio, serving additional consumer segments.16

VIP Clothing operates an integrated apparel business encompassing sourcing, manufacturing, marketing and distribution. Company information highlights an in-house manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu and a substantial retail and distribution footprint across India.17

Historically, the company’s strength has been its wide physical distribution network, which remains important as consumers frequently purchase innerwear through neighbourhood clothing shops and traditional retail outlets. More recently, e-commerce and quick-commerce have emerged as additional channels for reaching consumers.18

VIP’s significance extends beyond individual products; the brand played a role in the formalisation and commercialisation of the branded innerwear market. Before branded innerwear became a major consumer category, underwear was generally treated as a functional necessity rather than a strongly branded fashion product. VIP helped shift this perception by giving everyday undergarments a recognisable brand identity and investing in mass-market advertising.19

It subsequently became part of a broader transformation in the apparel market, where consumers increasingly began choosing innerwear based on brand, fit, fabric, comfort and perceived quality rather than price alone.

VIP is widely understood as an established mass-market innerwear brand built around everyday comfort, reliability and value. Its name—commonly understood as “Very Important Person”—lends itself naturally to a marketing message of making the ordinary consumer feel important or special. The company explicitly connects the brand with the idea of making the wearer feel like a VIP.20

In recent years, VIP Clothing has sought to modernise the traditional VIP proposition through product innovation, premiumisation, digital distribution and omnichannel retail. The company has introduced newer collections and expanded its presence on e-commerce and quick-commerce platforms while continuing to develop its established innerwear business.21

Its stated longer-term ambition is to make the company an international symbol of excellence and expand beyond its traditional Indian market.22

Readers should note that there is another major Indian company called VIP Industries, which owns the VIP luggage and travel brand. That entity has a completely different history, beginning in the late 1960s and 1970s, and operates exclusively in the luggage and travel goods sector.23

1. Our Brands – VIP Clothing Ltd.
2. About VIP Clothing Ltd
3. Print this story – Sunil Pathare & Kapil Pathare, VIP Clothing Ltd
4. VIP Clothing Ltd.
5. VIP Clothing History | VIP Clothing Information – The Economic Times
6. Tvc ads and Press Release – VIP Clothing Ltd.
7. November 13, 2025
8. Our History | VIP Industries | Asia’s Largest Luggage Manufacturer
9. Terms & Conditions
10. Indian Retailer – How VIP Clothing is mulling its post covid strategy?
11. Sunil Pathare & Kapil Pathare | Chairman and Managing Director & Director | VIP Clothing Ltd
12. VIPSHOP SINGAPORE PTE. LTD. (201801261E)
13. About us
14. About Us
15. About us
16. About Us | OFFICIAL VIP
17. About us
18. Innerwear, Under Garments for Men, Loungewear – VIP Clothing Ltd.
19. Vip Clothing
20. About | Vip Clothing
21. Our Story
22. Be VIP Clothing
23. Our History | VIP Industries | Asia’s Largest Luggage Manufacturer