Customers who walk in to Juneberry, the designer boutique opened in RS Puram , at the eleventh hour to pick an outfit for the next day’s function - be ready to be surprised. Sowbaranika Balukrishnan, the owner and designer at the month old store, proudly assures that she can rustle up just what you want – even if you are picky about every thread and stitch. “I don’t think any place else will take orders just one day ahead of the function. But we do that and that’s our specialty.
Recently we designed and delivered a gown of five meter radius for one of our clients within 24 hours,” says Sowbaranika, the 28- year old fashion designer based out of Coimbatore who currently has over 250 clients. Formerly an advertising professional, the self-taught designer started a tailoring unit three years back and the party gowns she designed were a big hit among her clients. As the demand for ready-made gowns increased, she along with three of her friends decided to put up June Berry, which within two weeks since its launch got peoples’ attention and saw over 150 orders.
Get gown
“It is not easy to get gowns this pretty and elegant for the rates we have here. Say the word ‘gown’ and the starting price at any store will be 12k but here we have gowns of same quality for prices starting from 4k,” shares Sowparnika who added that gowns in merino silk and taffeta are most sought after because of its elegance and ease to carry. Featuring a wide range of ready-made bridal gowns, evening gowns, ball gowns and short gowns, “There are no loud designs with sequins and laces in the gowns here. We follow English designs where it is kept simple and elegant,” says the designer who gets a lot of bridal inquiries including dresses for the bridesmaids, flower girls and even for the brides’ moms. “People have started accepting that there is no age limit to pull off gowns. And for the brides, the sari which was replaced by Lehenga seems to have been replaced by gowns now. We are glad to be part of this fashion evolution taking place in the city,” she added.
Dye hard
They also have a collection of kurtis at the store, most are made in-house. Expect cottons and Kalmakari materials with designs using organic dyes from turmeric, beetroot, Indica leaves etc. The fabrics are sourced from Ahmedabad, Noida and Bangalore, while the silk is directly from weavers in Gopichettipalayam and Salem. Apart from gowns and kurtis, there is a section for casual wear like denim shirts, boho tops, tutu skirts and handmade accessories too.
Kurtis from Rs. 400 onwards and gowns from Rs. 4000 onwards
Details: 9043600015