Shades of India spreads its wings

Shades of India, a lifestyle brand dabbling in artisan and weaver-led products, on Tuesday opened its second stand-alone store in India and first in the national capital region here.

The store is located at Emaar Palm Spring Plaza at Golf Course Road in Millennium City.

"We already have a flagship store in the Meherchand Market in Delhi and some 10 shop-in-shops in major cities. But we have been looking for a high visbility space in Gurgaon (Gurugram) which has grown at a breakneck speed but lacks innovative shops in apparel and lifestyle and this place suits us perfectly," said the company's chairman David Housego.

For Mandeep Negi, design director at the brand, they are not the "high scale multi-designer store".

"We are very niche and this is our passion. We feel comfortable working with such ambience and we have a strong clientele too here. We had a gut feeling and we opened this store," Negi told IANS.

The brand, which has been selling to major stores across the world, including Harrods and Conran shop in London, brings out four collections every year of apparel accessorised with scarves, bags and jewellery to mark the changing seasons.

It has also set trends in textiles for the home while working with artisans and weavers.

"Artisans are the original designers and we are the curators. We know how to present and what to choose otherwise everything is there. If I see something, I know I can use it. We work with multi skill tailors, then we work with pockets -- whether it is in Uttar Pradesh or Uttarakhand," said Negi.

The brand is also planning to open a stand-alone store in Mumbai.

--IANS

nv/rb/dg