City-based designer Sejal Kanoi has a surprise in store for you, the coming week. The couturier who is well known for designing both, feather-light bridal wear and western wear, has teamed up with a friend and fellow fashion designer Prity Mallick, to conceptualise a new space at her own studio, where people can shop for other designers.
While the ground floor is dedicated to her bridal wear collection, the first three floors have been converted into a shopper’s paradise, where they can browse menswear, fusion wear, prêt couture, and accessories, as well as home décor. “The idea behind this project is to bring young talent from the world of fashion, all under one roof in Kolkata, which still has a small but growing market for designer wear,” says Sejal. “Since we are trying to push young talent, we will also keep the prices affordable for the consumers,” she adds.
Bungalow no 57, as the combined space is called, stretches across three-floors, and will be stocking up on 30 young designers from all across the country, such as Ajay Kumar, I Am Trouble by KC, Attic Salt, Natty Garb, Pin it Up, Snob, Blank Slate, Rosa Damascena, Gulaal, Garvili, as well as the in-house label Zlato, among others. The new venture will be inaugurated with a two-day summer pop-up called Eat Shop Chill.
Whether it is the slow and sustainable fashion by Shilpi Agarwal’s Synonym or Attic Salt’s party wear with handcrafted embellishments, the pop-up is sure to open doors for both the consumers of fashion and the beginners, who are looking for the much-needed exposure. Accessories by Kanvas Kloset, Tissr, and menswear by Kaha and Sutori will also adorn the shelves, among others.
“We felt Calcutta doesn’t have many specially curated multi-designer stores. There are plenty of them selling very expensive bridal wear or ethnic wear, but there is a dearth of western wear and high-street fashionable wear. We wanted to bridge the gap with this venture and found 30 gen-next designers, who are doing good work, in terms of creating high-street fashion for both men and women,” informs Sejal.
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“People these days have become more conscious of their personalities and work out more to have a perfect body and look good. So the need for western wear has drastically increased- while ethnic wear has become very occasional,” she adds. In order to keep up with the changing trends, the designers at Bungalow no. 57 will also be asked to change their collection every three-to-four months so that people can avail the latest collections and keep coming back every couple of months.
Eat Shop Chill opens at 57A Southern Avenue. June 12-13. 11 am – 11 pm.
Starting price: Rs 3000 (for apparel) Rs 1000 (home accessories)