A decade ago when Shivan & Narresh launched their eponymous label – they tapped into the uncharted territory of holiday dressing, way before vacation wardrobe and Instagram OOT posts gained momentum. Starting with resort wear – the talented duo pushed the envelope with their chic design sensibilities and eclectic prints. Lately, the design house has also championed inclusivity the right way – celebrating different body types without categorising them into labels. With their ski line Farrago, Shivan & Narresh are all set to cement their footing in the winter segment of the luxury travel style. In a detailed dialogue with ELLE, the designers let us in on their creative process and talk about the sartorial travel trends that will be major in 2022.
ELLE: The label is predominantly known for its contemporary-chic resort-wear, where did the idea of the ski line stem from?
Narresh: Right from its inception Shivan & Narresh was meant to be a luxury holiday brand for the worldly connoisseur. This is the reason our animal Iconograms symbolise five distinct holiday lifestyles from Swim, Resort, Safari, Cruise to finally Ski. From the storyboard, the narrative of distinguishing each of them was envisioned to be so powerful that no matter where one travels be it land, water, sea, desert or mountains – you should only think of Shivan & Narresh.
ELLE: Vacation wardrobe and dressing have recently gained momentum as a concept in India. As a brand, are Shivan & Narresh planning to become the one-stop holiday shopping destination for all seasons?
Shivan: Absolutely! We already are a one-stop-shop for all our connoisseurs for their holidays across the year irrespective of the season. Shivan & Narresh has always been a luxury holiday lifestyle brand from its inception. Starting with swim as our core DNA, moving along we strategically kept adding complimenting categories like resort wear, menswear, accessories over the last decade to finally become a preferred brand for all HNI & UHNI of the country to travel. The idea now is to revolutionise Ski & the winter holidays after what we did with Swim in the previous decade.
ELLE: Tell us about the collection and the inspiration behind it?
Narresh: Last year on a holiday to the Golden city of Jaisalmer during the lockdown, I had taken a photograph of one of the Ralli Quilts that I had come across in the local by-lanes of the fort, and that intricate patchwork design on the quilt inspired the creation of Farrago – bringing to life a kaleidoscopic interplay of all our iconic archival prints patched into one checkered grid which is synonymous to standing out in a Ski Resort. The idea of having an all-white landscape around and to make a statement in your holiday wardrobe wearing such a maximalist checkered print was the concept behind Farrago, which further expanded into a full-fledged Ski & apreÌ€s-ski line for the season.
ELLE: In 2022, what are the travel style trends that will be major?
Shivan: I think 2022 again will be a mixed bag of what to expect when it comes to travel and holidays. With so much pent up energy for escapism, with people being just so tired of staying at home, there is a great desire to explore experiences, no matter how small and boutique or as large and lavish, there would be a democracy of ideas when it comes to holidays. A great trip will not necessarily mean that you have to be in St. Tropez in the south of France, it could equally resonate with reclining by a lake in Udaipur in India or you could be lounging by the slopes in Gulmarg, Kashmir. So, this idea that you have to be at a certain location or destination will be taken over by the quality of experience that you have on a holiday. I think that is what will really define the trends for holidays in 2022.
ELLE: What’s next for Shivan & Narresh in 2022?
Narresh: A lot of exciting things in the pipeline for this year! We are looking to launch our first stand-alone menswear store in the capital city. We are also looking to open a flagship store in Hyderabad in the upcoming months. This year has a major focus on retail expansion for the brand. Apart from this, we also have some big plans for International expansion that are underway. We will be taking some defining steps to put this in motion in the year 2022, as you will see it unfold soon.
Looking for Homegrown winter fits? We have something here.
