Being a seller of fashion in India, one knows how quickly news spreads online. One’s client complains about a delayed delivery. The complaint is put up on Instagram. In the evening, the complaint becomes a discussion thread where other users voice their complaints as well. Before the digital era, it would take days for a complaint to go around, but now this happens instantly and affects many more people than before.
Reputation management in the era of fashion is extremely important for a brand since, for most of the fashion brands, it dictates whether a potential customer will buy from them or will keep scrolling until they see something more reliable and trustworthy.
In this article, we will talk about the importance of this concept in India, the reasons why fashion brands face this problem, and some possible solutions to that.
Why This Matters So Much for Fashion Brands in India?
India’s fashion market is growing fast. The value of the textile and apparel market is expected to be around $190 billion in 2025-26. Online sales of fashion products are predicted to increase more than 21% annually by 2030. This means that there will be a huge number of brands fighting for the same clients with products that are quite similar to each other.
With so many options available, consumers rely on reviews to know which brands they should be trusting. According to YouGov, 59% of urban Indians check reviews before buying clothes and shoes. This is one of the largest percentages found anywhere in the world. Another study indicates that approximately 70% of Indian consumers review products prior to purchasing anything at all. Over half claim that they changed their mind about a product based on images and reviews on social media.
This means that before anyone ever bought a product of yours, such as a kurta or shoes, he or she probably has already read what other people had to say about your brand elsewhere online.
Why Are Fashion Brands Different from Others?
Fashion brands are slightly different from any other types of products. The reason for this is that while consumers buy clothing, they actually buy emotions. Sometimes, they even buy what they think will reflect on them as individuals. That is the reason why people tend to take offense when something is done incorrectly by fashion brands.
A few reviews mentioning that the sizing is smaller can lead to a trend among new customers. An advertisement insulting Indian culture can quickly become viral on social media. Even a tear in an unboxing video of a package can become far more popular than an official advertising campaign by the brand.
Combined with fast-paced changes, influencer marketing and a generation of buyers that spend most of their time online, the industry becomes extremely volatile.
| Risk | What It Looks Like | Why It Hurts Trust |
| Fake reviews | A pile of 5-star reviews with no real detail, or a sudden wave of bad reviews from competitors | It is estimated that about 30% of all reviews online are fake, and consumers become increasingly skilled at detecting them |
| Sizing and quality complaints | Repeated comments like “runs small,” “poor stitching,” or “not like the photos” | Buyers rely on these reviews to judge fit and quality before they buy |
| Cultural missteps | Designs or ads that come across as disrespectful toward Indian traditions | Can trigger fast, large backlash, like brands criticized for using Indian craft without giving credit |
| Influencer controversies | Something a brand ambassador said in the past resurfaces after a campaign launches | People connect the brand to the controversy even if the brand had nothing to do with it |
| Delivery and support issues | Late orders, difficult returns, no replies to complaints online | These stay visible to every future customer researching the brand |
| Vague sustainability claims | Making false statements about the sustainability of a product | Consumers frequently make such claims, which damages the reputation of the brand in the long term |
Two Recent Examples Worth Learning From
There were a couple of recent developments in Indian fashion that show how rapidly the situation can escalate.
In 2025, a luxury brand released a sandal that resembles a traditional Indian Kolhapuri chappal in many ways, without giving any credit to the makers of the craft. People noticed fast. It spread across social media and news sites, and eventually led to a legal complaint. The brand eventually admitted that it had plagiarized the design and tried negotiating with local craftsmen. However, by this point, most damage had been done.
At around the same time, there was an online campaign against a sportswear brand, which became the object of protest in India due to one of its influencer collaborations. The number of mentions peaked at thousands per hour.
What both of these show is that the mistake itself is usually not the biggest problem. It is how the brand responds afterward. Brands that admit what happened and do something about it tend to recover. Brands that stay quiet or get defensive usually do not.
What is the way to actually build customer trust?
Customer trust should never be a one-time deal. It should be continuously fostered. Here is what actually helps.
- Pay attention to the conversation
Monitoring your Instagram comments alone will not do much for you. Look at Google reviews, X, Reddit, YouTube unboxing videos, and reviews on marketplaces like Myntra or Amazon too. Most problems show up in small places first, long before they turn into something bigger.
- Actually reply to reviews
Answer negative reviews properly, not with a copy-paste apology. Say thanks for the good ones too. People notice when a brand actually reads what customers write.
- Ask satisfied customers to write a review
The thing is, most satisfied customers will not leave you a review unless asked to. An email after the delivery will balance out all those negative comments that are more likely to be written no matter what.
- Be upfront about sizing and materials
A proper sizing chart, customer photo gallery, and realistic descriptions of fabrics prevent many complaints right away. Prevention is better than cure when it comes to negative reviews.
- Check influencers before working with them
Check out their past posts and public attitude towards them. Researching the influencers now may save you lots of trouble later on.
- Have a plan for when something goes wrong
Always have a plan in case of crisis. Plan who will respond, how quickly, and in which manner. In a case of a viral campaign for wrong reasons, speed becomes more important than perfect wording.
- Call upon professional assistance when things start to slip out of control
Once you are tracking reviews across ten platforms, or dealing with fake reviews, or cleaning up after a real crisis, it is probably time to get help. This is basically what ORM, or online reputation management, companies do. Build Brand Better, for example, is a Delhi-based ORM company that has worked with several retail and fashion brands. They handle brand mention tracking, review management, removing harmful or fake content, and crises. That way, you are not figuring it all out yourself in the middle of a crisis. If you are not sure where your brand stands right now, a reputation audit is usually a decent place to start.
| Basis | Doing It Yourself | Hiring an ORM Agency |
| Time it takes | A lot, since you are checking many platforms daily | Less, since the agency does the monitoring for you |
| Crisis response speed | Depends on whether your team is free at that moment | Usually faster, since it is their job to be ready |
| Removing fake or harmful content | Hard to do without knowing platform policies | Agencies already know the process for reporting it |
| Cost | Cheaper upfront, but you risk missing things | More ongoing cost, though often cheaper than lost sales during a crisis |
| Best for | Small brands that do not have much online presence yet | Brands that are growing and visible across platforms |
The Main Takeaway
Trust takes time to build but only one day to ruin. If something goes wrong, it can take a day for you to ruin the trust people have towards your brand unless you manage the situation effectively.
People in India are reading reviews and forming opinions about your brand before they have even opened your website. The successful brands are not those that never make mistakes. The successful brands are those that pay attention to issues, recognize them, and correct them.
What You Can Do Next?
- Search your brand name on Google, Instagram, and X and see what a new customer would find.
- Check your review scores on every platform you sell on, not just your own website.
- Request the 10 most satisfied customers to give their honest review within this week
- Create a simple one-page crisis communication plan in case of an online mistake
- In case your company has some negative reviews and/or fake reviews that seem to be too serious for your team, consider a reputation audit.
Common Questions
1. How does online reputation management work for a fashion brand?
Online reputation management involves monitoring online mentions of your brand and taking appropriate actions to ensure that customers find accurate, trustworthy, and positive information about your business.
2. What measures do fashion brands use to recover from bad publicity?
Fashion brands can recover from bad publicity by addressing the issue promptly rather than staying silent. Brands that acknowledge the problem and take appropriate action often recover faster than those that choose to ignore it.
3. Can you actually get negative reviews removed?
If an online review violates the platform’s terms, such as being fake, abusive, or defamatory, it may be removed. However, a genuine negative review generally cannot be deleted. In such cases, responding professionally and constructively is the better approach.
4. Do influencer collaborations have a significant impact on brand image in India?
Yes, they can have a significant impact. An influencer’s reputation can influence how people perceive the brand they collaborate with. That is why it is important to check an influencer’s history and public reputation before working with them.
5. How long does it usually take to fix a damaged reputation?
It depends on the situation and the extent of the damage. Early improvements may be seen within 1 to 3 months, while more noticeable changes can take 3 to 6 months. A fuller recovery may take 6 to 12 months with consistent effort.
6. Do small or newer fashion brands need to worry about online reputation management too?
Yes. Reviews and search results created early can continue to influence how people perceive a brand for years. Building a strong reputation from the beginning is generally easier than repairing one after it has already been damaged.
7. Isn’t online reputation management basically the same thing as PR?
Not exactly. PR, or public relations, mainly focuses on gaining positive media coverage and managing public announcements. Reputation management covers a broader range of activities, including review monitoring, search results, crisis response, and tracking how people perceive your brand over time.
