By Natalia Ningthoujam
New Delhi, June 25 (IANS) Designers Shivan Bhatiya and Narresh Kukreja of the luxury holiday fashion brand SHIVAN & NARRESH are looking forward to explore a standalone category for children.
“We have collaborated with Little Tags for a kidswear swim collection in the past, but launching it as a standalone category is yet to be done. Our research team has recognised the opportunity and we are looking forward to exploring it further,” Narresh Kukreja, Creative Director, SHIVAN & NARRESH, told IANS in an email interview.
While there’s still time for it, their latest collection caters to the young adult group.
“The collection is conceptualised around the motivations of the generation. With the exhibition of prints, the signature SHIVAN & NARRESH essence is aligned with a lifestyle of athleisure, sports, street style and cocktail,” said Shivan Bhatiya, Head Designer, SHIVAN & NARRESH.
Illustrating an exhaustive range of womenswear, menswear and accessories, SHIVAN & NARRESH X KOOVS features four prints, namely Summer Night, Sweet Magnolia, Rose Magnolia and Lush Vineyard.
“Curated exclusively for the collaboration, the prints are typified through innovative silhouettes giving an emphasis to a summer holiday mood spent frolicking sartorially through street style fashion and glamorous evening style,” said Shivan.
On collaborating with KOOVS, an Indian e-tailer, Narresh shared: “Change is a constant. In current times where every business is aiming to fight the mundane, it is essential to disrupt and break the pattern. Having woven a lifestyle of holiday luxury for Indian millennials for almost a decade, it is imperative to delve into the minds of a younger demographic.
“The collaboration with KOOVS comes at an opportune time, thus providing us the platform to touch base with a diverse, younger audience and cater to their needs. A fine balance of style combined with price point for a generation that prioritises value for design, and gives emphasis to fast, street-style fashion.”
Apart from this, their collections are already available on the digital platform. Should all the fashion designers follow suit rather than having brick and mortar stores or participating in fashion weeks?
“The fashion industry thrives on the smooth equation of look and feel-good factor. Brick and mortar stores are the bread and butter of fashion, especially the luxury sector, as they master the business of in-store shopping and retail experience.
“Although the conventional approach towards retail therapy – with collection launch at fashion weeks and drops at physical stores – will continue to flourish, online commerce will thrive due to its round-the-clock accessibility and swift processing,” said Shivan.
“With a major chunk of upwardly mobile generation giving precedence to time, convenience and availability of products through online browsing, the digital platform has already disrupted commerce, but cannot override the holistic experience of fashion as a universe of comfort combined with the luxury of style.”
The designers have given the Indian women the ‘bikini sari’. Actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas was recently trolled for wearing a sari without blouse.
Asked about it, Narresh shared: “With sari being the chalk horse of the Indian sartorial heritage, one can observe its benevolent immersion in a number of design realms.
“Diversity in terms of size and colour has become an extremely vital topic of conversation and one needs to favourably present design solutions for real women in mind. Our iconic bikini sari is immersed in the idea of a modernistic bathing suit while serving its purpose to the societal sentiment.”
He feels the Indian woman is blessed with a sensuous figure that is beautifully enveloped in the nine-yard garb, while flirting with the curves.
“The translation of its aesthetic can differ from an individual to individual. Inducing a premium degree of body confidence, an individual can choose the way she wishes to express her sari style and her sartorial personality, so be it paired with a bustier, a blouse, without a blouse, a pair of pants or a bodysuit,” he added.
(Natalia Ningthoujam can be contacted at [email protected])
–IANS
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