Bangalore-based Munch Design Workshop Pvt. Ltd. has struck an outsourcing deal to design apparels for Orsay, a major European fashion brand for women.

The 30-year-old brand has around 420 stores across eight European countries catering to young fashion conscious women, Orsay's director Jean-Pierre Pharaon told reporters

He said his company was convinced that it has a lot to gain by having its designing done in Asia.

"What we have started in collaboration with Munch is in direct line with this understanding. It is a question of confidence in the ability of a group of people to meet your requirements", he said.

The collaboration would see Munch -- based on a design brief from Orsay -- proposing ideas, design lines and work with Francis Wacziarg Agencies (buying agent) to convert it into a commercial product.

CEO and principal designer of Munch design workshop, Karunesh Vohra said the extent of design work that his firm is expecting to do for Orsay is "very, very large".

"It is Munch's capacity to understand and cater to the international market which led to this collaboration", Vohra said.

Munch's clients include Levi's workers, john players, Dockers, Benetton, Invista and Tom Tailor. Munch is a part of Mumbai-based Phulchand Group which its officials said was targeting a turnover of USD 45.5 million in 2006-07.

( www.zeenews.com)