House of fashion heavyweights

In the age of digital hegemony, the concept of brick-and-mortar store is literally fading away. But the idea seems immune to fashion, as in the past few months the city has hosted an array of designer store launches. The latest addition to this is Ogaan, a multi-designer store, which has opened its second flagship store in the leafy Malcha Marg area.

“I think designer clothes are  something for which people still want to walk into a store, sit comfortably and take time to try everything on. I may buy an oven, cell phone and books online, but I still like to walk into stores and touch things when I’m looking for great clothing or accessories,” Aasthi Bhartia, director, Ogaan, tells Metrolife.

Apart from the regular display of clothes, this store also has a dedicated room for labels like Anamika Khanna, Payal Khandwala, Peachoo, Anavila and Raw Mango.

This is the prominent characteristic of this boutique. “We wanted some labels to be able to show their full collection and identity in the store. So the idea was to create boutiques or rooms within a larger, very comfortable, home like store,” she says.

While Anavila has a space under the store’s central skylight and presents a special line of metallic handwoven and khatwa saris with beautiful stitched motifs, Parisian-Indian designer Peachoo, known for her  penchant for black and white showcases relaxed, unusual cuts in her personal display space.

Elaborating on what basis they stock a particular designer, Bhartia says, “We look for designers with a strong identity of their own, something they believe in and they do season after season,” she says.

She also feels that they are at the threshold of an exciting moment in Indian fashion. “Indian clothes no longer prescribe to a fixed format, and our fashion brands are confident enough to develop definitive aesthetics of their own and are also becoming more accessible.”