Machi Climbs Qutub

Madras, Check

Viia by Vivek Karunakaran

• What: Fashion label
• Presence: Mumbai, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Pune, Calcutta
• Price range: Rs 7,200 onwards

Language by Bachi, Akther and Akber

• What: Footwear destination store
• Presence: Bangalore and across 10 Westside stores in India
• Price range: Rs 1,500 onwards

Brass Tacks by Anaka Narayanan

• What: Fashion label for women
• Presence: Mumbai (from October)
• Price range: Rs 1,000 onwards

Evoluzione by Atul and Tina Malhotra

• What: Fashion boutique
• Presence: Bangalore and Delhi
• Price range: Rs 5,000 onwards

Evolv by Atul and Tina Malhotra

• What: A Fashion boutique.
• Presence: Pune.
• Price range: Rs 2,500 onwards

K Clothing by Kaveri Lalchand

• What: Fashion label for women
• Presence: Mumbai, Coimbatore, Goa, Pune, Bangalore
• Price range: Rs 1,500 onwards

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Now, for any designer, this high-end list of stockists would be impressive. From Chennai’s fashion point-of-view, it’s really a statement of sorts. For a city that’s always had to battle the dowdy label, it’s now busy showcasing a slew of big names that are not only crafting the city’s design course but also travelling the country with it. “The thing about Chennai,” says Atul Malhotra, a leading member of the city’s fash fraternity, “is that the city and its people may not flaunt their fashion but it doesn’t mean they don’t have a distinct sense of it.” Atul should know. In July, he brought his fashion boutique Evoluzione to Delhi. The boutique can take credit for pushing the fashion envelope in Chennai—it was one of the first in the city when Atul and wife started it 11 years ago. It started small but now stands as a 7,000 sq ft store at Chennai’s fashion street, Khader Nawaz Khan Road. Now they are testing the Delhi market with their outlet at The Kila in the capital’s Mehrauli area. “Our canvas,” says Tina, who’s also Atul’s business partner, “was a 17th century building from the Mughal era and our dream was to provide Indian designers a platform to bring forth their best designs in couture in an ambience that is truly international.”

Fortress breached The Evoluzione store at The Kila in Mehrauli, Delhi. (Photograph by Sanjay Rawat)

Both Tina and Atul recognise that in terms of fashion, Delhi is a more “mature” market. But as a design destination that will house “specially curated couture creations”, they are confident of their brand’s potential. “Evoluzione Kila is more than merely retailing couture,” Atul explains, “it’s really about offering our customers a bespoke and personalised experience. Our idea is to set a new benchmark in luxury retailing and we think Delhi is ready for it.”

Buyers in cities like Delhi and Mumbai aren’t complaining either, pleasantly surprised as they are by the varied materials as also the competitive pricing. Anaka Narayanan, whose name is now synonymous with her four-year-old brand Brass Tacks at Alwarpet in south Chennai, says it’s a “very exciting time”. She’s now readying to make a move on fashion capital Mumbai. “An entrepreneur who I met at an exhibition at the Cache Art Gallery in Bandra earlier this year was starting a design store in Khar. A two-storey building with clothes and accessories on one floor and furniture on the other, Sanctum will also house Brass Tacks.” For Anaka, branching into other Indian cities is the beginning of yet another journey. “Since the goal at Brass Tacks is to transform natural and hand-woven fabrics into stylish silhouettes, I think retailing in Mumbai is a good way to put the brand to test.” And it isn’t as if Brass Tacks hasn’t been through the test, so to speak. In an exhibition in Mumbai recently, Anaka had to buy curtains to create a make-shift extra changing room halfway through the first day as she couldn’t cope with the demand. With roots in Chennai, Anaka’s outfits are “classic with a modern twist. I do pay attention to trends but I like to design clothes that have a life beyond the current moment. I want women to wear Brass Tacks because it makes them feel good...I constantly remind myself, fashion first, then fabric!”

Madras designers are also setting foot in other areas. Like the footwear brand for men, White, that occupies pride of place at Language, a footwear destination in the city’s Rutland Gate. Now White is available at nearly 10 Westside stores across premium malls in India. The man behind Language, Bachi Pullela, gets his shoes sourced from Tamil Nadu’s leather hub, Ranipet, in Vellore district. After Westside, he’s now keen to explore the mall option and is pouring his energies into showcasing a range of children’s shoes as well. Language itself is quite new, Bachi set it up just a year-and-a-half ago in Chennai. The response was so good he soon set up another outlet in Bangalore. “Within Language, you’ll find an array of brands that are not only of international quality in terms of cut, design and comfort but also in line with the trends in global fashion,” says Bachi. “It’s heartening,” he says of the fashion explosion across India, “in the here-and-now world we live in, it doesn’t matter anymore where anything comes from. The discerning consumer lives in the moment.”

Kaveri Lalchand, who among other things (curator, theatre person, textiles activist) also creates and markets K Clothing in Chennai, agrees, “In today’s world, it does not make a difference where a designer is from....” The underlying philosophy, she says, is to “be joyful, happy and comfortable. My clothes appeal to a certain type of woman and it does not really matter where she lives,” she adds. Kaveri’s clothes are suited for the hot Indian weather, and the range consists of work, day and evening wear. Plus, the garments are designed such that “a woman can personalise it in her own way”.

Clothing owes some of its expression to the atelier’s passion for traditional embroideries, motifs, world culture and a fascination for colours, styling and design. “I will,” Kaveri says, “for instance, combine a Guatemalan embroidery motif with a kimono style and modify it into a top that can be worn to work, or for an evening out. Or use fabrics woven for sarees in Tamil Nadu to make shirts and flowing dresses.” Like the garments, the brand has, over the last two years, flown smoothly across the country. In addition to the studio in Nungambakkam, K Clothing’s eco-line is available at stores like Eco Corner in Mumbai and Earthworm in Goa. “Pune stocks the more quirky styles in printed cottons. Crimzon in Mumbai, Mogra in Bangalore, Dcube in Hyderabad and Taj Khazana here stock the more expensive linens and silks,” Kaveri says.

So are Chennai’s designers just the big fish in the pond, or are they ready for the ocean? For Chennai and other south metros like Hyderabad and Bangalore may have a market for high-end designer-wear, but the real sheen is in cities like Delhi and Mumbai. Some have already taken the plunge. After taking Evoluzione to Delhi, Atul now wants to let fly with Evolv, a lifestyle destination launched last year at Chennai’s luxury lounge, Express Avenue mall. Crafted to attract “younger customers”, the Evolv range is said to be “experimental and eclectic” The products—from music to magazines to other modern concepts—is as dynamic as its footfalls. They tested Evolv in Pune’s Phoenix Mall recently, and it got great response. The next stop may be Mumbai or Delhi. So is it time for designers in these big cities to start worrying about labels from the south? The players keep to a diplomatic response. “No, the market is big enough for all of us,” is a common refrain.