Applications
ICH NEXT partners with Fynd
Mumbai: ICH NEXT, India’s homegrown fashion forecaster, has partnered with Reliance-backed Fynd, a multiplatform tech firm. As part of this collaboration, Fynd gains access to ICH NEXT’s dashboard with trend reports for the next couple of years. All brands and businesses offline/online in fashion and lifestyle working with Fynd including Reliance Trends, Ajio.com, Ancestry, Avantra By Trends, Azorte, Yousta etc will be able to leverage insights from ICH NEXT, which is already revamping the Indian fashion & lifestyle space while empowering manufacturers/brands across the country.
“ICH NEXT via its comprehensive trend reports aims to empower Fynd with indigenous India-centric research, accurate trend acumen and the creative development process across design, buying, planning and marketing. While the present service directly benefits all the Indian wear brands, it can also be of interest to non-Indian wear brands, to gain insight into the country’s present sentiments and broader market trends. You never know what sparks off the next great idea,” said ICH NEXT co-founder and chief creator Anuradha Chandrashekar, on the impact of the multipronged collaboration with the tech giant.
Elaborating further on ICH NEXT vision, the company’s co-founder Kanika Vohra said, “This association is a win-win proposition as the fashion industry ultimately strives towards consumer satisfaction, of which the crux is well-researched, well-made products delivered at the right price and at the right time. While markets expand, businesses need to find a unique voice to break through clutter, stay relevant to consumer aspiration and timely tap on the right trends. This future reality is precisely what ICH NEXT is focused on – to aid and abet brands, manufacturers, retailers, labels, etc. to have access to future consumer-relevant trends.”
Fynd director of business finance Rahul Mandowara added, “Fynd’s unrelenting motto is ‘powering delightful shopping experiences for everyone, everywhere’, which perfectly aligns with ICH’s tryst towards ‘conscious creation of on-trend fashion that delivers to consumer aspiration, and ultimately delight’. Fynd serves varied digital solutions and eventually efficiencies across the entire value chain in fashion & lifestyle. We believe that this partnership is a step towards the future of fashion & lifestyle retail in India.”
Terming the partnership with Reliance-backed Fynd as ‘the beginning’, ICH NEXT has declared that it is in the process of deep investments and expansion in automation to heighten accuracy in trend reads and increase creativity, thereby benefitting users more effectively. The announcement comes close on the heels of ICH NEXT launching a nationwide masterclass for industry stakeholders and manufacturers from diverse geographies. The first leg of it, titled ‘Unlock Business Success through In-Depth research’, was recently held in Jaipur.
Applications
With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
