Flipkart has unveiled a new initiative, Fashion Spotlight, designed to accelerate the journey of emerging fashion labels in India’s booming digital market. The program, which goes live ahead of the upcoming festive season, is particularly focused on brands originating from tier 2 and 3 cities, where fashion entrepreneurs often struggle to scale despite consumer appetite.

Vijay Sharma, Senior Director at Flipkart Fashion, said the platform was created to bridge gaps that have historically kept small brands from reaching national scale. “Many of these founders innovate with fabrics, cuts and new use cases, but nine out of ten struggle because distribution and market feedback were missing. Spotlight addresses that gap,” he told ETRetail.

The initiative is aimed at early-stage direct-to-consumer labels and offers three distinct levers: curated discovery on Flipkart’s marketplace, ongoing product feedback, and guaranteed visibility to shoppers. Importantly, Flipkart is not asking for commissions or exclusivity, positioning the program as a low-barrier growth engine.

The company is starting with a limited group of brands, but plans rapid scale-up. By December, Flipkart expects Spotlight to host around 500 labels, with the long-term ambition of onboarding “tens of thousands.” This move comes at a time when the Indian fashion industry, valued at over $100 billion, is undergoing a shift from discount-driven shopping to trend-led discovery.

Flipkart Fashion itself has posted consistent double-digit growth over the past year, even as the wider retail environment slowed. One in three new customers on Flipkart is now entering through fashion categories, underscoring the vertical’s importance to the marketplace. Ethnic wear is expected to dominate festive sales, though growth in athleisure, footwear and travel wear is also strong.

Sharma added that Flipkart Minutes, the company’s quick-commerce service, is being integrated for fashion essentials, with kidswear already seeing traction.