Pastels & Pop may be one of India’s favourite jutti brands at the moment, but it is a lesser known fact that it was the founders’ experimentation with designing clothes that led them down the path of footwear. “There was a wedding in the family and we decided to design the clothes ourselves. We were in our ancestral home in Punjab when we met a man who had come home to repaint our walls. The painter was actually a jutti maker who had given up his craft to make more money. So we got him to make our juttis for the wedding and that’s how the idea for Pastels & Pop was born,” says Akanksha Chhabra, an engineering graduate who runs the label with her sister Aarti, who has a degree in business management.

Originally started as an online store three years ago, the Bengaluru-based brand opened its first brick-and-mortar outlet a few weeks ago. The decor has a calming mint green theme interspersed with white accents for a modern, chic vibe. The juttis, a mix of favourites from previous collections and their latest collection for the summer, occupy the shelves on the walls and the island counter in the center. 

The back of the store is where their workshop is located and when you visit, you can see skilled craftsmen at work. “We use a mix of ethical, regular and faux leather,” shares Akanksha. Fabrics employed include cotton, silk, denim, jute and velvet. They are hand-stitched onto the base, and then finished off with embellishments such as sequins, zardosi and beads.

The sisters are looking at working with vegan leather in future and will also be opening more stores in the city.

Rs.2,100 upwards. At Vijayanagar